Excel is a powerful tool utilized by numerous people including businesses, students, and professionals alike. However, one of the most common issues people face while using excel is when it stops responding. When Excel starts lagging or doesn’t respond at all, it can cause serious frustration which can lead to loss of time, money, and productivity. In this article, we will provide you with some of the most effective techniques you can use to fix Excel not responding failures quickly and easily.
What Causes Excel Not Responding?
Before we dive into the solutions to fix Excel not responding error, it is important to understand what causes this problem in the first place. Here are some of the most common reasons why Excel stops responding:
- Conflicting add-ins
- Incompatibility with the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) or the display adapter driver
- Insufficient memory or disk space
- Certain functions or formulas that take too long to calculate
- Outdated software or hardware
- Malware or virus attacks
Effective Ways to Fix Excel Not Responding Issue:
Disable Hardware Graphics Acceleration:
One of the easiest and most common ways to fix Excel not responding is by disabling hardware graphics acceleration. Sometimes, the display adapter driver is incompatible with the GPU, which can lead to the problem. Here is how you can disable hardware graphics acceleration:
- Open Microsoft Excel and click on the “File” tab on the top left corner of the Excel window.
- Select “Options” from the list of options and a new window will appear.
- Click on “Advanced” and scroll down to the “Display” section.
- Check the box next to “Disable hardware graphics acceleration”.
- Click on “OK” to save the changes.
- Restart Excel and see if the issue has been resolved.
Disable Conflicting Add-ins:
Add-ins are great for enhancing the functionality of Excel. However, they can also cause issues like Excel not responding. To disable conflicting add-ins, follow these steps:
- Open Microsoft Excel and click on the “File” tab on the top left corner of the Excel window.
- Select “Options” from the list of options and a new window will appear.
- Click on “Add-ins” and find the list of add-ins that are currently enabled.
- Select the add-ins one by one and click on the “Disable” button.
- Click on “OK” to save the changes.
- Restart Excel and see if the issue has been resolved.
Update Excel:
Most software applications come with updates and bug fixes that are crucial for consistent performance. If Excel is not responding, it may be because of outdated software. To check for updates and install them, follow these steps:
- Open Microsoft Excel and click on the “File” tab on the top left corner of the Excel window.
- Select “Account” and click on “Update Options”.
- Then click on “Update Now”.
- Wait for the update to download and install.
- Restart Excel and see if the issue has been resolved.
Disable the PowerPoint Real-Time Data Function:
One of the reasons why Excel may be not responding is because of the real-time data function in PowerPoint. Disabling this function can help fix the problem. Here is how you can do it:
- Open PowerPoint and click on the “File” tab on the top left corner of the window.
- Select “Options” and click on “Advanced”.
- In the Display section, untick the “Show data points in real-time with automatic refreshing” checkbox.
- Restart Excel and see if the issue has been resolved.
FAQs:
Q.1. How do I increase the memory size of Excel?
A. If Excel is not responding due to insufficient memory, you can increase its memory size. Here are the steps:
- Open Microsoft Excel and click on the “File” tab on the top left corner of the Excel window.
- Select “Options” from the list of options and a new window will appear.
- Click on “Advanced” and scroll down to the “General” section.
- Find the “Ignore other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)” box and check it.
- Adjust the value in the “Workbook Calculation” field. Increasing this value will allocate more memory to Excel.
- Click on “OK” to save the changes.
- Restart Excel and see if the issue has been resolved.
Q.2. Why is Excel not responding after saving the document as PDF?
A. If you experience Excel not responding after saving a document as PDF, it is possible that there are compatibility issues. Here is how you can fix it:
- Open Microsoft Excel and click on the “File” tab on the top left corner of the Excel window.
- Select “Save As” and choose “PDF” from the list of options.
- On the dialog box that appears, click on “Options”.
- Untick the “Compress Graphics” checkbox and click on “OK”.
- Save the file and check if the issue has been resolved.
Final Thoughts:
Excel is a fantastic tool for various purposes, and when it starts malfunctioning and not responding, it can lead to significant problems. The above solutions will help you fix Excel not responding errors quickly and easily. It’s always good to keep your software and hardware updated & secured as well. If the solutions provided in this article didn’t work for you, it may be time to call a professional technician to help with the issues. Now you can ensure that the next time Excel crashes or is not responding, you know what steps to take to fix it without losing any valuable time.
Video Tutorial:
Conclusion:
Excel not responding errors can be frustrating. They can cause loss of time, productivity, and money. In this article, we provided you with some of the most effective ways to fix Excel not responding failures. The above mentioned methods like disabling hardware graphics acceleration and updating Excel have been tested and proven successful in resolving the issue. Always make sure that the software and hardware are updated and secured to prevent any such issues in the future. With the above solutions provided in this article, you can now quickly and easily fix any Excel not responding errors you encounter.
