Help! Excel does not open - faulting module ntdll.dll

Question

Help! Excel does not open - faulting module ntdll.dll

Christina Hoffman 15

I can no longer open Excel. I am using a Windows 10 desktop computer.

When I attempt to open, I get an error: "Excel couldn't start last time. Safe mode could help you troubleshoot the problem . . . Do you want to start in safe mode?"

Clicking "no" results in seeing the splash screen but it immediately closes without ever getting to the app.
Clicking "yes" results in a pop-up that says "Excel has detected that you have recovered files. These files will be opened the next time you start in normal mode." When I click OK to close the dialog, it looks like the app might open because the blue circle spins and the frame of the app including the toolbar is displayed but the rest of the page is blank; it hesitates there for a few seconds then I'm back to the popup that says, "Excel couldn't start, etc. Do you want to start in safe mode. It's a constant loop.

Things I have tried:

Running as administrator: sfc /scannow; Result: Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.
Repair of Office: Quick Repair and Online Repair: After both, I did a restart but the problem remains.
Uninstalling then reinstalling Office 365: The problem remains
Deleted temp files from %temp% - problem remains
Windows Update: I'm up to date. Only optional updates have not been installed: Windows 11 and two optional drivers: Intel Corp. Driver Update (24.20.0.3) and Intel net Driver Update (24.40.0.4)
Boot in safe mode with networking didn't help either

The Event Viewer details on this error are:
User's image

System Summary:
User's image

Anyone have an idea on this issue? Is there additional information I need to provide?

Thank you!

Christina

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1 answer

Your answer

Answer 1

Hi, I'm Bernard. I'm happy to help!

The ntdll.dll is a system file that may be corrupted. Based on the steps you have taken, I recommend repairing the ntdll.dll:

Method 1. Reinstall ntdll.dll.

Open Terminal (Admin) or Windows PowerShell(Admin) (Press Windows key + X then click Terminal(Admin))

Copy each line of command to Terminal, then press enter (one line at a time)

regsvr32.exe /u ntdll.dll

regsvr32.exe ntdll.dll

Once done, restart the PC and check.

If none of the above solutions work, I suggest doing an in-place upgrade, wherein it will update the device to the latest version and repair all issues without deleting any files.

Note: before doing this, make sure to create a restore point: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4027538/windows-create-a-system-restore-point

Go to this link: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10
Select Download Now, and select Run. You need to be an administrator to run this tool.
On the License terms page, if you accept the license terms, select Accept.
On the What do you want to do? page, select Upgrade this PC now, and then select Next.
After downloading and installing, it should fix the issue.

Reference: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

Note: This is a public forum. I may respond shortly, but I apologize in advance for any delays. I am simply a fellow user trying to provide helpful insights and information.