PowerPoint won't start or PowerPoint starts then immediately quits or crashes
If PowerPoint won't start at all ...
Try starting PowerPoint in Safe Mode: hold down the Ctrl key while starting PowerPoint. Hold the Ctrl key down until you see a message asking if you'd like to start PowerPoint in Safe Mode. Release the Ctrl key and click Yes.
Try starting Windows in Safe Mode: A PowerPoint newsgroup visitor reported that after installing Office 2003 and downloading all the patches on the MS site, PowerPoint wouldn't start, though the other Office apps would. After starting Windows in Safe Mode, PowerPoint started, and continued to work after rebooting the computer normally.
Here are the steps to follow:
- Click Start, click Shut Down and choose Shut Down.
- Wait until the computer has completely shut down. If it doesn't power off by itself, turn off the power switch.
- Turn the computer back on. At some point before Windows starts, you'll see a prompt on screen telling you to press F8 to start Windows in Safe Mode.
- As soon as you see that, press F8 and hold it until you see a startup menu.
- Choose one of the Safe Mode options and let Windows start.
- Start PowerPoint.
- Quit PowerPoint.
- Click Start, click Shut Down and choose Restart to start Windows again normally.
Note: if at bootup you don't see a prompt to press F8 for safe mode and Windows starts up normally, start over but this time press F8 as soon as the computer has made its startup beeps and hold it down until you see the startup menu. If you still don't see it, check your computer documentation, manufacturer's web site, your system administrator or the neighbor's 13-year-old son.
Check for "leftover" running copies of PowerPoint: When PPT crashes, it may leave parts of itself running. Since it only allows you to run one instance of itself, the next time you start, it sees itself already running and quits. Press Control+Alt+Delete to start Task Manager. Click the Processes tab and look for an instance of POWERPNT.EXE. If it's listed, click to select it, then click End Task.
Or if you prefer, simply restart Windows. That will eliminate any "zombie" instances of PowerPoint.
Then try to start PowerPoint again.
Look for PCB files: While PowerPoint is not running, do a file search on *.PCB files. You should find one named either PowerPnt.PCB or <your user name>.PCB Rename it to something else or delete it. Some versions of PowerPoint can't start if the PCB file is too large or corrupt.
Check for problem add-ins
The Send to Bluetooth addin from Broadcom is a known troublemaker.
- Start PowerPoint 2010 and choose File | Options or start PowerPoint 2007, click the Office button then PowerPoint Options
- Click Addins on the left
- On the right, next to Manage: choose COM Add-Ins the click Go
- If you see a Send to Bluetooth add-in listed, remove the checkbox next to it.
- Click OK
Note: The add-in can be hard to get rid of and you may see suggestions that you uninstall the Bluetooth driver entirely. Be very cautious and back up all your data thoroughly if you decide to try this. There are reports that some versions of the Broadcom drivers have uninstallers that go wild and delete everything on your hard drive. HP and Lenovo users have reported this problem.
Rather than using any supplied uninstallers, it may be best to delete or rename the files in question.
- Restart Windows; do not start any Office applications.
- Locate a file named btsendto_office.dll
- Check in C:\Windows\system32\ and C:\Program Files\WIDCOMM\Bluetooth Software\ for starters. If you don't find it there, use WIndows search to locate it.
- Rename btsendto_office.dll to btsendto_office.dll.old
Other information
See the following knowledge base articles:
These describe a problem related to the DisplayLink User Mode driver (dlumd32.dll)
Office 2013 applications crash on launch at the splash screen
PowerPoint 2013 crashes after click-to-run install with DisplayLink manager driver
Microsoft PowerPoint 2013 Tutorials
Scroll down to see a set of links to issues with various add-ins.
Older PowerPoint versions
OFF2000: Program Quits Immediately After Starting When SR-1/SR-1a Update Is Applied
OFF2000: Program Quits Immediately After Installing Project or Visio
OFF2000: Error Messages Starting Office Program, or Program Immediately Quits on Windows XP, Windows NT 4.0, or Windows 2000 (Q236592) which explains how registry permissions problems can prevent Office apps from starting up.
Error message when you try to start or to exit PowerPoint 2003: "Setup Error, Failed to load resources from resource file" (note that you may or may not see this exact message. PowerPoint may simply display its "PowerPoint has found an error and must close" dialog box and quit. The problem in this case is the MS Data Assistant add-in. Uninstalling it solves the problem.
PowerPoint starts, then displays "MS Power Point has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience." then quits and tries to send an error report to Microsoft.
This could be a problem with your video drivers. Try getting updated drivers from the manufacturer or changing the settings of the existing one. Rightclick the Windows desktop, choose Properties and go to the Settings tab.
- Change the color "depth" (24-bit or 32-bit color instead of 16-bit color)
- Change the resolution (800x600 or 1024x768 instead of higher values)
- set hardware acceleration back
- Temporarily disable multimonitor support if it's enabled