5 Fixes for “Application Was Unable to Start Correctly (0xc0000142)” Error for Office Apps

Quick Tips

• Try running your Office app as an administrator or using Microsoft’s Office repair tool to fix the error.
• Restarting the “Office Software Protection Platform” and “Click-to-Run” services can also help resolve the issue.
• If nothing else works, you may need to uninstall and reinstall Office completely.

Fix 1: Run the Office App as Administrator

Lack of relevant permissions can prevent Office apps from accessing essential files, triggering the “The application was unable to start correctly (0xc0000142)” error on Windows. You can try opening your Office apps with administrative privileges to avoid this.

Right-click on the Office app you want to use, such as Word or Outlook, and select Run as administrator from the resulting menu.

Fix 2: Run the Office Repair Tool

Microsoft provides a dedicated tool for fixing common issues with Office apps on your PC. Several users on a Microsoft Community post reported fixing the 0xc0000142 error for Outlook almost instantly by running this tool. You can also give it a go.

Step 1: Press the Windows + R keyboard shortcut to open the Run dialog box. Type appwiz.cpl in the box and press Enter.

Step 2: In the Programs and Features window, select the Microsoft Office product on the list and click the Change button at the top.

Step 3: Select the Online Repair option and click the Repair button to continue.

Fix 3: Start or Restart the Office Software Protection Platform and Click-to-Run Service

The “Office Software Protection Platform” service on Windows ensures that you’re using a genuine Office product. Another background service, “Microsoft Office Click-to-Run,” helps manage the installation and provides relevant updates to Microsoft’s Office suite of apps.

If either of these services is not running on your PC, Office apps like Word, Excel, and Outlook may not open and display errors. Here’s how to fix that.

Step 1: Click the search icon on the taskbar, type Services and press Enter.

Step 2: Locate the Microsoft Office Click-to-Run Service on the list. Right-click on it and select Start. If it is already running, select Restart.

Similarly, start or restart the “Office Software Protection Platform” service as well. Note that this service won’t appear on your PC if you’re on a newer version of Office that doesn’t require this service. In that case, you don’t need to worry about it.

Fix 4: Re-Register the DLL Files

Corrupt or inaccessible DLL files on your PC can also give rise to “The application was unable to start correctly (0xc0000142)” error on Windows. To fix this, you can try re-registering all the DLL files using these steps:

Step 1: Right-click on the Start icon and select Terminal (Admin) from the list.

Step 2: Type the following command in the console and press Enter.

for %1 in (*.dll) do regsvr32 /s %1

Wait for the process to complete and then check if the issue is still there.

Fix 5: Reinstall Microsoft Office

Another reason why Office apps may fail to open and display the 0xc0000142 error is if some core files are corrupt or missing. In that case, your best option is to uninstall Microsoft Office from your PC and then reinstall it.

Step 1: Press the Windows + R keyboard shortcut to open the Run dialog box. Type appwiz.cpl in the box and press Enter.

Step 2: In the Programs and Features window, select the Microsoft Office product from the list and click the Uninstall button at the top.

Follow the on-screen prompts to finish removing the Office suite from your PC. Then, use the following link to download and install Microsoft Office.