Excel crashes whenever file tab is clicked

Since it happens only when clicking File, works in Safe Mode, and survives reinstalls, the problem is almost certainly outside the Excel binaries—usually user profile, registry, graphics, printer, or Windows components.

To resolve the Excel crash when clicking the File tab on your VM, follow these structured steps. Since safe mode and registry resets didn't work, focus on these advanced solutions:

 1. Check Event Viewer for Crash Details

• Action:
  Press Win + R, type eventvwr, and navigate to Windows Logs > Application.
  Look for errors with Excel, VBA, or Office in the source/description around the crash time.
• Goal: Identify underlying errors (e.g., DLL conflicts, missing components).

 2. Repair Office Installation

• Action:
  Go to Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features, right-click Microsoft 365 Apps, and select Change > Online Repair.
• Why: Fixes corrupted Office files. Requires internet and may take 20+ mins. No VM restart needed.

 3, Create a New User Profile

• Action:
  Create a test user account on the VM (via Computer Management > Local Users and Groups).
  Log in with the new account and launch Excel.
• Goal: Isolate profile corruption. If Excel works, migrate data/settings from the old profile.

 4. Disable Hardware Acceleration (Registry)

• Action:
  Close Excel, press Win + R, type regedit, and navigate to:
  HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Excel\Options
  Create a new DWORD (32-bit) named DisableHardwareAcceleration and set its value to 1.
• Goal: Bypass GPU-related crashes (common in VMs with generic drivers).

  5. Reset Excel Settings via Registry

• Action:
  Backup the registry first (File > Export). Delete these keys:
• HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Excel
• HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\Excel (if exists)
  Restart Excel.
• Goal: Clear lingering corrupted settings not resolved by prior steps.

 6. Block All Add-ins Temporarily

• Action:
  Navigate to Excel’s startup folder:
  %appdata%\Microsoft\Excel\XLSTART and C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\XLSTART.
  Rename XLSTART to XLSTART.old (this blocks global templates).
• Goal: Rule out add-ins/macros (even if none are present, residual files might exist).

  7. Update VM and Office

• Action:
• Install latest Windows updates (Settings > Update & Security).
• Update Office via File > Account > Update Options > Update Now (if accessible).
  If File tab is unclickable, use:
  "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\excel.exe" /update in Command Prompt.
• Goal: Patch known Office/VM driver bugs.

 8.  Check VM Resources

• Action:
  Open Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) while Excel is running. Monitor:
• CPU/Memory usage (spikes indicate resource exhaustion).
• Disk queue length (high values suggest storage bottlenecks).
• Goal: Rule out VM resource starvation (common in underprovisioned VMs).

  9. Reinstall Office (Last Resort)

• Action:
  Fully uninstall Office via Control Panel > Programs, then manually delete residual folders:
• %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Office
• %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Office
  Reinstall Office using the Office Deployment Tool with a fresh config file.
• Goal: Eliminate deep installation corruption.

Key Notes

• VM-Specific Issues: Ensure VM tools (e.g., VMware Tools, Hyper-V Integration Services) are updated. Outdated tools cause display/driver conflicts.
• 32-bit Excel: On a 64-bit OS, 32-bit Excel may struggle with large files. Test with 64-bit Excel if possible.
• Downtime: Steps 1–5 require no VM restart. Steps 6–9 may need brief restarts but can often be done without downtime.

If the issue persists after these steps, share the Event Viewer error details and Excel version (File > Account > About Excel) for further diagnosis.

For these steps, various AIs were consulted in order to provide the most accurate answer possible.

My answers are voluntary and without guarantee!

Hope this will help you.