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CommonMan's avatar
CommonMan
Copper Contributor
Aug 08, 2025

Excel will not start. Stuck at ATPVBAEN.xlam 100%

Hi everyone,

As the title suggests, I have noticed that excel does not start on my PC anymore, and it hangs at 


I can get it to start ONLY in safe mode, where, even when deactivating all add-ins, I can never start it normally.

Furthermore, when following through to the Excel Add-In folder, I see nothing there. There is also a ghost open-solver add-in which has been "deleted" many times but keeps coming back.

This is after 2 clean installs and nuking the folders in Program Files, and a full online repair.

I'm at my wits' end. 

Any help?

Thanks

excel
office 365

2 Replies

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  • Medaliilop's avatar
    Medaliilop
    Iron Contributor
    Aug 14, 2025

    Since the ghost add-in keeps coming back, it may be embedded in a hidden template or a malicious macro:
    * Disable macros entirely.
    * Scan all open workbooks for suspicious macros.

  • Patrick2788's avatar
    Patrick2788
    Silver Contributor
    Aug 11, 2025

    I would try defaulting the registry key at:
    Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Excel

     

    Close Excel completely

    Right click | Excel | Export - save a backup of the key

    Right click | Delete

    Open Excel to test

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