VBA macro is an essential part of Excel. But while dealing with a larger size of VBA, the Macro gets slower and results in a note responding warning window. The way you can avoid Excel files not responding when running the macro is discussed here.

---

Download Practice Workbook

Download this practice workbook below.

---

Problem Statement

We are often familiar with the image below. this image pops up whenever there is any malfunction or error inside the Excel. While running Macro, we often see this due to various dealing with large files and internal code compile issues. In some cases, it’s just because the process is just running in the background.

Another main reason it can cause Excel to respond this way is that while there is a big file running in the background, the user switches to another program which results in a shortage of computation power dedicated to Excel.

Another factor that can cause this unresponsiveness of Excel, is the status bar not updating that much. Normally when a macro runs, there is a status bar where the progress of the computation is being shown. When the macro file is large, the status sometimes doesn’t get updated that much and this makes Excel show something like Not responding. But the process is still ongoing in the background. After all of the calculations inside the macro get completed, the Excel goes back to its normal state

---

9 Possible Solutions for Excel Not Responding When Running Macro

First, we are going to discuss and investigate the problem. Then we will elaborate on how we can avoid the problem itself.

---

Solution 1: Recompile Macros

You can recompile macros to resolve the issue of Excel note responding when running macros.

Steps

• From the Developer tab, then go to Visual Basic.

• A new window will open from that window click on Tools.
• Then click on Options.

• After that, a new window will open, and from that window go to General.
• After that, in the Compile group, tick the box on Compile On Demand.
• Click on OK.

• Then close the window.
• Next, add a new module.
• Then, exit the Visual Basic Editor by closing the empty window.
• Restart the program.

There should be no Excel not responding icon when running a macro.

---

Solution 2: Repair Microsoft Office

The built-in windows repair/modify tool in apps settings can repair the inherent issues in the Excel and repair them

Steps

• Go to Settings from the Start menu.

• Choose Apps.

• And then search for Microsoft Office.
• Click on the Office icon and notice there is an option named Modify.

After clicking Modify it will modify the Excel software internally and restores permissions with other apps in the app settings.

There should be no Excel not responding icon when running a macro.

---

Solution 3: Install Microsoft Office and Its latest Updates on Your Computer

If you don’t update Office on your computer, it could mess up your Excel workbooks.

As you know, Microsoft Excel is a complex program with a lot of hard-to-understand code.

So there are supposed to be a lot of software bugs in earlier editions.

To fix this problem, updates for Excel for PC are released regularly as Windows updates.

By keeping your Excel software up-to-date, you can make sure that your Excel files run smoothly.

Steps

• First of all, from the start menu search and select Control Panel.

• To keep your pc automatically up to date. Click on System and Security in the Control Panel.

• Then in the new window click on Start maintenance.

When you click the start maintenance button, Windows updates will be installed automatically.

---

Solution 4: Clean Boot or Different Startup Options

If the VBA macro-enabled file faces a problem due to any program running in the background. Then this method will come in handy to tackle this. Clean booting is a common way to free up space and clean up junk files. At the same time, if there any program interferes with the Excel file, then clean booting will reset this process.

Steps

• To do this, first in the Windows Start menu, search for System Configuration.
• As the System Configuration window spawns, go to the General tab.
• In the general tab, select the Selective Startup.
• Check all the boxes under the Selective Startup.
• Then click on OK.

• After that click on the Services tab.
• At the bottom of the window, tick the box Hide all Microsoft services.
• And then click on Disable all.
• Click OK after this.

• After that, you can go to the Startup tab in Taskbar, and disable all the startup apps there.
• After you disable all of them, you can restart your system.

This startup will bring initiate a clean boot and reset all the relations of Excel with applications.

---

Solution 5: Disable Add-ins or Remove Plug-Ins

Various types of add-ins and plugins can mess up with the Excel macros, as they are not always modified for the Excel function appropriately.

Steps

• At first, from starting panel, click on Options.

• Then click on Add-ins.
• Then in Add-ins tab, click on the Manage dropdown icon.
• From the drop-down menu select COM Add ins.
• After clicking the Manage icon, click on OK.

• After clicking Go, there will be a new window.
• From that window, uncheck all of the add-ins options.
• Click OK after this.

• If there is any chance the problem you are facing is due to  Add-ins, the issue will resolve by now.

---

Solution 6: Start Excel in Safe Mode

If Excel installed on your pc not working well or crashes frequently or shows no response when running the macro. You can try running the Excel file in safe mode.

What happens when Excel goes into safe mode, is that it bypasses some functions and stops loading add-ins. If by any chance, any add-ins unknown causing the issue beforehand will get addressed and resolved. After that, your file will start responding normally.

Steps

• To do this, first, click on press the ‘Windows+R‘ buttons on your keyboard to open the Run application.
• Then type excel.exe/safe and press Enter button or click OK.

• Then the Excel file will open in safe mode. Notice if the previous problem persists.

---

Solution 7: Verify If Your File is Third-party Generated or Not

A third-party application may often make Excel files not respond. If the user opens the files in Excel, certain functions may not function reliably because the files were generated improperly.

Check the validity of new files outside of the third-party software if this happens. If the functions work as expected, make sure the third party is behind the problem.

---

Solution 8: Antivirus Software Issues

Antivirus can cause adverse effects on macros when they are running.

Update Your Anti-Virus Program if Needed

Antivirus software companies provide upgrades that you could always download online regularly to stay up to date with new threats that are released. Visit the website of the antivirus software vendor and get the most latest update.

Verify Whether Your Antivirus is Conflicting Excel Workbook

You may face performance problems when your antivirus software integrates with Excel.

You should remove all Excel integrations inside the antivirus software in this case.

Alternatively, you can remove all antivirus software add-ins in Excel.

---

Solution 9: Check to See If There Are Any System Constraints

As new versions of Excel releases every year. The complexity of those versions also increases every year. The system requirement of those yearly versions also increasing. If you have an updated version of Excel installed on your pc . and the configuration of your pc is below the requirement of the Excel. Then you might face bottlenecks or not responding issues.

To counter this issue, always install Excel versions on your PC after checking the requirement of your PC.

---

Conclusion

To sum it up, the issue “Excel not responding when running ” is addressed here and some solutions to this issue are discussed herein 9 different ways.

For this problem, a macro-enabled workbook is available to download where you can practice these methods.

Feel free to ask any questions or feedback through the comment section. Any suggestion for the betterment of the Exceldemy community will be highly appreciable

The post [Fixed!] Excel Not Responding When Running Macro (9 Possible Solutions) appeared first on ExcelDemy.