Microsoft Word, or Word, is a graphical word processing program that is used to create professional quality documents. It is the most popular word processing software in the world today and is the preferred choice by most businesses. Although this is a solid performing software there are instances when certain issues can occur. In this latest installment of our troubleshooting series we will tackle the Word can’t save document in windows 10 issue.
Before performing any of the recommended troubleshooting steps listed below it’s best to restart your computer first. This action refreshes the operating system and remove any corrupt temporary data that could be causing the problem.
There are several factors that can cause this particular problem ranging from issues with the add ons to an interference from the antivirus software. Listed below are the recommended troubleshooting steps you need to do to fix this problem.
How to fix Microsoft Word Cannot Save Document In Windows 10
Try starting Word in Safe Mode
The first thing that you will need to do is to start the application in Safe Mode. This will disable any add-ons that you might have enabled that is possibly causing the problem.
- Make sure that Word is completely closed.
- Locate Word shortcut, press and hold the CTRL key and start Word.
- You’ll be asked to confirm that you want to start Word in Safe Mode.
When Word starts all add-ons will be disabled. If you can save a document while in this mode then there’s a chance that an add-on is causing the problem.
You can disable the add on by following the steps listed below.
- Go to File > Options in Word.
- Select Add-ins in the left pane. In the right pane, click the GO button next to Manage COM Add-ins.
- Locate the problematic add-ins and disable them.
Once this is done try to check if the word can’t save document issue still occurs.
Rename the template file
One of the reasons why this issue can occur is if the template file that you are using is damaged or corrupted. An easy way to fix this is to simply rename the file.
- Press Windows Key + R and enter %appdata%. Now press Enter or click OK
- Go to the Microsoft Templates In there you should see Normal.dotm file. Rename the file to OldNormal.dotm
After doing the steps listed above Word will be forced to recreate a new template file. Try checking if the Word not saving document issue still occurs.
Turn off the antivirus software
One factor that can cause this problem is a strict antivirus software. To check if this is what’s causing the problem you should try to disable this software.
If you are using Windows Security
- Select Start – Settings > Update & Security – Windows Security – Virus & threat protection > Manage settings
- Switch Real-time protection to OFF
If you are using Avast
- Search for the Avast icon in your computer’s system tray and right-click on it.
- Click on Avast shields control.
- Locate the options to disable the program – the options are to disable it for 10 minutes, an hour, until the computer is restarted or permanently (until you yourself turn it back on). Select whatever option suits you best and use it to disable the program.
If you are using AVG
- Search for the AVG icon in your computer’s system tray and right-click on it.
- Click on Temporarily disable AVG protection.
- Choose how long you want AVG to be turned off and whether you want AVG to disable its Firewall too.
- Click on OK to disable the antivirus program.
If you are using McAfee
- Search for the McAfee Antivirus icon in your computer’s system tray and right-click on it.
- Click on Exit.
- You should see a dialog box warning you that McAfee‘s protection will be turned off. Click on Yes in this dialog box to disable the antivirus program
If the problem does not occur after turning off the antivirus then I suggest that you try using another antivirus program or find its folder access or folder security settings and disable it.
To disable the controlled folder access from Windows Security just follow the steps listed below.
- Open the Settings app. You can do that quickly by pressing Windows Key + I. When Settings app opens, navigate to Update & Security section.
- Select Windows Security from the menu on the left. Now choose Open Windows Defender Security Center from the right pane.
- Navigate to Virus & threat protection.
- Select Virus & threat protection settings.
- Scroll down until you reach Controlled folder access section. Click on Manage Controlled folder access option.
- Make sure that Controlled folder access feature is disabled
Check if you can now save Word documents on your computer.
Check the save location
It’s important that you check what location you are trying to save to Word document at. Try choosing a different location then check if the issue still occurs. You should also try saving the file with a different file name.
Remove the Word Data registry key
If the problem is caused by a corrupted registry key then you should perform the steps listed below.
- Press Windows Key + R to open the Run dialog. Enter regedit and press Enter or click OK
- When Registry Editor opens, in the left pane navigate to the following key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office16.0\Word\Data
- Take note that this key might be slightly different depending on the version of Office you’re using.
- Right-click the Data key and choose Export from the menu
- Select the desired location, enter backup as the File name and click the Save button
- Right-click the Data key and choose Delete from the menu. When the confirmation menu appears, click the Yes button.
Try checking if the Word saving document failed issue still occurs.
Recreate the Word document
In case the above steps fails to fix the problem then this might be caused by certain formulas included in the document. To fix this just copy all of the text in the document in notepad. Restart word then copy the text from the notepad to the new word document. Try saving the file.