Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Starting in Safe Mode.
If you are having problems with Excel, it could be because of the files and add-ins that are loaded whenever you start Excel. To test this theory, you can start Excel in "safe mode." Here's an easy way to start Excel in safe mode:
First, make sure Excel is not running. If it is, exit the program entirely. Then, display the Search box in Windows (you may need to display the Start menu to do this) or simply click in the Cortana box (if you are using Windows 10), In the box, type the following:
excel.exe /s
When you press Enter, Excel starts, but in doing so it bypasses all the files in the various startup folders (such as XLStart). You know you are in safe mode because the words "Safe Mode" appears in the title bar. (See Figure 1.)
Figure 1. Running in safe mode.
You can use Excel as you normally would, and then exit the program. The next time you start the program—without the safe mode switch—it runs as it normally does.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (11632) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Starting in Safe Mode.
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2022-03-05 15:49:51
John Mann
Hi,
I didn't have any problem with the ALT + = in safe mode (Excel 2010, Win 10), havever I did like the comment since it intrduced me to a keyboard short cut I didn't know and would likely find very usefull
2018-08-01 10:27:41
Martin Yates
Thank you !
2017-06-03 04:59:07
Parag Shah
Sir, also in safe mode key board short cut of Alt+= (Auto sum) not working in OS Windows 10 & MS Office 2016, kindly suggest the possible solutions
2017-04-15 09:51:01
The method displayed in this tip by Mr. Wyatt is probably the easiest way to start Excel in safe mode. However, if you'd rather click things...Press and hold the Ctrl key and double-click the Excel shortcut (or single click if it's in your taskbar, e.g.). You should get a pop-up message confirming that you want to start Excel in safe mode.
Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.
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Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: 
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