Excel Only Opening in a Safe Mode

Question

Excel Only Opening in a Safe Mode

Moira Lauer 0

I cannot open excel except in safe mode. I have tried doing an online repair which did not remedy the issue. Then I tried removing the office 365 apps and reinstalling--still no luck. I believe the issue is in one of my add-ins "ChemDraw". I've previously had issues with this add-in and its compatibility with Excel. Unfortunately, when I try to open Excel in safe mode to remove or disable this add-in, it tells me that I need administrator privileges. I cannot open Excel when I try to "run as administrator", as it will only open in safe mode. I'm still not sure if the add-in is the issue or if it's something else.

In my search to find other potential issues, I also read that the user profile can be an issue. On a separate laptop, I have no issues using Excel with the same user profile.

I have also restarted and shutdown/turned on my computer.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Jay Tr 1,295 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-07-25T21:05:30.39+00:00

Hi @Moira Lauer,

It has been a while and I am writing to see how things are going with this issue. Have you had a chance to check the replies provided? Any update would be appreciated.

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Jay Tr 1,295 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-07-29T20:49:33.84+00:00

Hi @Moira Lauer,

I hope this message finds you well.

This is my second follow-up to check whether your issue has been resolved. I truly want to ensure your experience is as smooth as possible. If your problem is still ongoing or if you have faced any new difficulties, please share more details about the current steps you are stuck on. I am here and happy to provide further help whenever you need it.

While waiting for your response, I will continue tracking other customer questions on the forum to ensure everyone receives timely support. If you have additional questions, please feel free to tag my name in your reply so I can assist you promptly and more personally.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

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2 answers

Your answer

Jay Tr 1,295 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-07-25T21:05:30.39+00:00

Hi @Moira Lauer,

It has been a while and I am writing to see how things are going with this issue. Have you had a chance to check the replies provided? Any update would be appreciated.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.
Jay Tr 1,295 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-07-29T20:49:33.84+00:00

Hi @Moira Lauer,

I hope this message finds you well.

This is my second follow-up to check whether your issue has been resolved. I truly want to ensure your experience is as smooth as possible. If your problem is still ongoing or if you have faced any new difficulties, please share more details about the current steps you are stuck on. I am here and happy to provide further help whenever you need it.

While waiting for your response, I will continue tracking other customer questions on the forum to ensure everyone receives timely support. If you have additional questions, please feel free to tag my name in your reply so I can assist you promptly and more personally.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Answer 1

Hi @Moira Lauer,

Good day to you! Welcome to Microsoft Q&A.

Thanks for the detailed explanation. Based on everything you've tried and observed, the most likely cause of Excel only opening in Safe Mode is the ChemDraw add-in. Safe Mode disables add-ins, customizations, and startup files. If Excel crashes in normal mode but works in Safe Mode, it usually means something in the normal startup—like a faulty add-in—is causing the crash. Since Excel only opens in Safe Mode and you're blocked from disabling ChemDraw due to admin rights, here’s how to proceed:

Option 1: Run Excel in Safe Mode as Administrator

Close Excel completely.
Open Command Prompt as Admin:

Press Win + X → choose Command Prompt (Admin) or Windows Terminal (Admin).

Launch Excel in Safe Mode with Admin Rights: excel.exe /safe
Disable the Add-In:

Go to File > Options > Add-Ins.
Use the Manage dropdown to check both Excel Add-ins and COM Add-ins.
Uncheck anything related to ChemDraw and click OK.

This should disable ChemDraw and allow Excel to open normally.

Option 2: Uninstall ChemDraw Completely

If the above doesn’t work or you prefer a clean slate:

Go to Control Panel > Programs and Features or Settings > Apps.
Uninstall ChemDraw/ChemOffice (may be listed under Revvity or PerkinElmer).
Reboot your PC.
Try launching Excel again.

Option 3: Registry Edit (Advanced)

If you're comfortable with the registry:

Open regedit.
Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Office\Excel\Addins\
Look for a key like ChemDrawExcelAddInXX.ExcelAddIn.
Change LoadBehavior to 0 or rename the key to disable it.

Always back up the registry before making changes.

If these methods still don’t resolve the issue, I would recommend trying the following steps

Create a New Windows User Profile: Log in as a new user and launch Excel. If it works, your original profile may be corrupted.
Clean Boot Windows: Disable all third-party startup programs and services. If Excel opens normally, another background app may be interfering.
Check Event Viewer: Look for Excel crash logs under Windows Logs > Application. If ChemDraw DLLs are listed as faulting modules, that confirms the issue.

If you have any further questions and concerns, please don’t hesitate to ask. Looking forward to your response.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

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Answer 2

William Thomas 0

Hi I also had the same issue with ChemDraw - looked like it had been uninstalled at some point but Excel still thought it was there for some reason. Fixed it by deleting the registry keys: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Excel\Options\OPEN and HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Excel\Options\OPEN1. Might need to change "16.0" to whatever Office version you're using. Hope this helps!

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Excel Only Opening in a Safe Mode

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