How to Troubleshoot the Spell Check in MS Word

Microsoft Word's built-in spelling and grammar checkers occasionally cause Word to crash. It may also be grayed-out in the "Tools" menu. This issue may be caused by a corruption in the Word spelling and grammar utilities module. In order to restore spell checking functionality, you need to force Word to reinstall the module by deleting the folder that contains it.

Things You'll Need

  • Microsoft Word installation disk
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Instructions

    • 1

      Quit the Microsoft Word application if it is currently open.

    • 2

      Locate the following folder path on your computer's hard drive:

      C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Proof\????

      The question marks represent numbers. Right-click the folder and select "Rename" and rename it to "????old."

    • 3

      Launch Word and start a new document. Type a misspelled word and click the "Tools" menu. Select "Spelling and Grammar..." to run the spell checker. Pressing the F7 key also starts the spell checker.

    • 4

      Insert your Microsoft Word installation disk into your computer's CD drive when Word asks you to reinstall the module. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

Tips & Warnings

  • Deleting the Grammar and spelling folders from your registry is another way to solve this issue. These folders are located in the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\ Shared Tools\ Proofing Tools path in your registry.

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