Office Apps Freezing

Fix Microsoft Word Freezing When Right-Clicking on Dell Computers

Camila Milosovich Sep 30, 2026 869 views

Question details

The Microsoft Word desktop application becomes entirely unresponsive when the user right-clicks within a document, whereas Word for the web continues to function normally.

How to Fix Microsoft Word Freezing When Right-Clicking on Dell Computers

Product: Microsoft Word
Device & OS: Windows
Scenario: Attempting to right-click text or elements within the Microsoft Word desktop application on a Dell computer.
Observed behavior: The Word application freezes, hangs, and becomes completely unresponsive to any user input.

Before you start

Before proceeding with these troubleshooting steps, ensure you have completely closed Microsoft Word and saved any open work in other Office applications to prevent data loss.

Solution 1Recommended

Disable COM Add-ins in Microsoft Word

Third-party add-ins can conflict with Word's right-click context menu, causing the application to freeze.

COM add-ins are integrated tools designed to add functionality to Office programs. However, an outdated or incompatible add-in is one of the most common reasons for unexpected freezing when accessing the right-click menu.

Open Word in Safe Mode

Press and hold the 'Ctrl' key on your keyboard, then click the Microsoft Word shortcut. Confirm that you want to start in Safe Mode.

Access Add-ins Menu

Click on 'File' in the top-left corner, select 'Options', and then click on 'Add-ins' in the left sidebar.

Manage COM Add-ins

At the bottom of the window, ensure the 'Manage' dropdown is set to 'COM Add-ins' and click the 'Go...' button.

Disable Add-ins

Uncheck all the boxes in the list to disable the add-ins, click 'OK', and then restart Word normally to see if the right-click freezing is resolved.

Identify the Problematic Add-in: If the freezing stops, you can re-enable your add-ins one by one, restarting Word each time, to identify exactly which add-in caused the issue.

Solution 2

Rename the Global Template File (Normal.dotm)

Resetting the default global template can resolve interface freezing caused by a corrupted template file.

Solution 3

Reset the Word Office Registry Key

Clearing the Word registry key resets custom user settings that may be triggering the freeze.

Free Microsoft Office alternative

Switch to WPS Office for a Stable, Freeze-Free Experience

If Microsoft Word continues to freeze on your computer, consider switching to WPS Office. It provides a lightweight, highly compatible, and completely free alternative that prevents frustrating interruptions while maintaining full support for your existing Word documents.

1. Download WPS Office: Visit the official WPS website and click the download button to get the free installation package.
2. Install the Application: Run the downloaded installer and follow the simple on-screen instructions to set up the software on your computer.
3. Open Your Documents: Launch WPS Writer and open your existing Word files to edit them seamlessly without experiencing right-click freezes.

Seamless format compatibility with Microsoft Word (.docx, .doc, .rtf)Lightweight architecture ensures fast performance without freezing or laggingFree to use with a familiar, tabbed user interface that requires no learning curveAll-in-one suite to handle documents, spreadsheets, and presentations

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Word freeze only on the desktop app and not the web version?

The desktop application relies on local system resources, Windows registry settings, and installed COM add-ins, which can become corrupted or incompatible over time. Word for the web operates entirely within your browser and does not load these local configuration files.

Will renaming Normal.dotm delete my saved documents?

No. Renaming the Normal.dotm template only resets your default blank document formatting and removes custom macros. All of your previously saved Word documents will remain completely intact and unaffected.

What should I do if Safe Mode prevents the freezing, but it returns in normal mode?

This confirms that a third-party COM add-in or a startup file is causing the freeze. You should disable all COM add-ins through 'File > Options > Add-ins', then re-enable them one at a time to isolate and permanently remove the specific add-in causing the failure.

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