How to Run Word 2016 in Startup Mode

Word 2010 For Dummies

Sometimes a problem you're experiencing with Word 2016 has to do with an add-on or extra feature. These features extend Word's capabilities, but they might also lead to problems. To ensure that the problem isn't with those extensions, you can run Word in Startup mode. (You can think of it as Naked mode, but Bill Gates frowned upon that naming suggestion.)

To run Word in Startup mode, follow these directions:

Ensure that Word is closed. You can't enter Startup mode when Word is open.
Press the Win+R keyboard shortcut. The Run dialog box appears.
Type WINWORD /A into the box. WINWORD is Word's secret program name.
Click OK.

Word starts normally at this point, minus any add-ons. If they were the source of woe, the problem should be gone. If not, try running Word in Safe Mode.

About This Article

About the book author:

Dan Gookin has been writing about technology for 20 years. He has contributed articles to numerous high-tech magazines and written more than 90 books about personal computing technology, many of them accurate.
He combines his love of writing with his interest in technology to create books that are informative and entertaining, but not boring. Having sold more than 14 million titles translated into more than 30 languages, Dan can attest that his method of crafting computer tomes does seem to work.
Perhaps Dan’s most famous title is the original DOS For Dummies, published in 1991. It became the world’s fastest-selling computer book, at one time moving more copies per week than the New York Times number-one best seller (although, because it’s a reference book, it could not be listed on the NYT best seller list). That book spawned the entire line of For Dummies books, which remains a publishing phenomenon to this day.
Dan’s most recent titles include PCs For Dummies, 9th Edition; Buying a Computer For Dummies, 2005 Edition; Troubleshooting Your PC For Dummies; Dan Gookin’s Naked Windows XP; and Dan Gookin’s Naked Office. He publishes a free weekly computer newsletter, “Weekly Wambooli Salad,” and also maintains the vast and helpful Web site www.wambooli.com.