Microsoft Project opens and closes immediately

Jessicasdd 5 Reputation points
2026-05-20T15:40:06.74+00:00

Project worked for maybe a day after it was originally installed before having this issue. I've tried all of the things I could find and the only one that did anything was opening it in safe mode. It throws an error about not being able to open a file but we are not opening a file. We are opening Project from the start menu.

Here is the entry from the event viewer. I have other logs but every time I try to post them it deletes my question. So hopefully this is enough to get started.

Faulting application name: WINPROJ.EXE, version: 16.0.14334.20688, time stamp: 0x6a04e772

Faulting module name: mso30win32client.dll, version: 0.0.0.0, time stamp: 0x6980e086

Exception code: 0xc0000005

Fault offset: 0x005a029d

Faulting process id: 0x9D04

Faulting application start time: 0x1DCE86D7D4999EB

Faulting application path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\WINPROJ.EXE

Faulting module path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Office16\mso30win32client.dll

Report Id: [Moderator note: Personally Identifiable Information removed] 

Faulting package full name:

Faulting package-relative application ID:

Thanks,

[Moderator note: Personally Identifiable Information removed] 

Microsoft 365 and Office | Project | For business | Windows

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  1. Jessicasdd 5 Reputation points
    2026-07-06T14:47:13.3466667+00:00

    So was this a known issue to Microsoft and they didn't want to tell anyone? Four different installation files, FOUR, three had the issue and the last one didn't.

    2/17/26 11:20am 16.0.19628.20204 - worked originally and failed after the first update

    5/15/26 4:07pm 16.0.19929.20172 - never worked

    5/20/26 10:22am 16.0.20026.20076 - never worked

    6/16/26 11:21am 16.0.20026.20168 - worked

    Here I thought I was losing my mind. I even had our MSP working on it trying to figure out what was wrong.

    Thanks,

    Jessica

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  2. Kai-L 17,990 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-05-20T17:59:32.5866667+00:00

    Dear @Jessicasdd,

    Good day, and thank you for clearly explaining your issue.

    I understand how concerning it can be when the application starts crashing unexpectedly, especially after it was working initially. As a forum moderator, I genuinely wish I could directly access your account or delve into the backend systems to investigate and fix this for you. However, our role here is limited to providing general guidance and solutions that can be applied by users.

    From my research, the faulting module mso30win32client.dll + Exception 0xc0000005 almost always points to a corrupted Office shared component or a bad add-in. Since the issue started after installation, it is likely that something became corrupted during or shortly after setup. Please try the following steps to see if it helps:

    1.Run System File Checker (SFC) and DISM

    • Search for cmd in Windows search
    • Right-click Command Prompt and select Run as administrator
    • Run the following command: DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
    • Wait for it to finish, can take 10–20 minutes
    • Then run: sfc /scannow
    • Restart your computer after both finish.

    2.Modify the Registry

    Important note: Editing the registry incorrectly can cause system issues. Please back up your registry before making any changes. (In the Registry Editor, right-click on Computer or the specific key you want to back up, and select Export. Choose a location, name the backup file, and click Save. This allows you to restore the registry if something goes wrong).

    1. Press Win + R, type regedit, and press Enter
    2. Navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\General
    3. Look for a value named ShownFirstRunOptin
    4. If it does not exist: Select Edit > New > DWORD (32-bit) Value Name it ShownFirstRunOptin
    5. Right-click ShownFirstRunOptin, select Modify, and set the Value data to 1
    6. Click OK to save the change and close the Registry Editor

    3.Contact Microsoft support

    If the issue continues, I recommend that the Global Admin in your organization create a service request with Microsoft Support. A technical support engineer can perform a remote session to investigate the situation, verify the backend configurations, and run any necessary synchronization tools to resolve the problem. If the issue requires further attention, they can escalate it to a specialized team for deeper analysis. For detailed instructions on how to get support, please refer to Get support - Microsoft 365 admin. If you don't know who your IT administrator is, please refer to this article: How do I find my Microsoft 365 admin? - Microsoft Support 

    I hope these steps help resolve the issue. Please give them a try and let me know how it goes. If the problem persists, feel free to share any updates, and I’ll do my best to continue assisting you. Thank you for your patience and understanding. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to share them in the comments. I'm looking forward to your reply.

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it.

    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. 

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