FIX: Word is Slow to Open or Close

The delayed start or termination of MS Word is a typical issue on many systems. This issue is often caused by a corrupted or defective “Normal.dot” template.

This guide resolves the following Word issue: Word is too slow to start, load documents, or close.

Delete normal.dot

Press Windows + R on your keyboard to open Run command box.

Type %appdata%\Microsoft\Templates and press OK.

Locate for the file Normal.dot / Normal.dotm / Normal and delete it.

Open your Word app and a new clean Normal Template will be created which should fix your error.

Edit Registry Keys

Press Windows + R on your keyboard to open Run command box.

Type regedit and click Enter.

Navigate to the following:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Office/16.0/Word

Under the Word key, right-click and delete Data.

Right-click and delete Options.

Close the Registry Editor and open your Word app. The problem must be resolved now.