Group objects

Grouping of objects is a common cause of mis-matched xml tag errors and I always recommend that compiling of such images\objects is best done outside of Word, or in a separated document, and then a screenshot is made that can then be inserted into the document with layout set so that it is "in-line with text".

Which version of Word are you running? Here, I am not seeing a problem grouping more than five objects in version 2509 (Microsoft subscription, running under Windows 11). 

If you have Word for Windows, you could try starting Word in application Safe mode and see if that works around the problem (temporarily, for the session running in Safe mode). For more information, have a look at https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/open-office-apps-in-safe-mode-on-a-windows-pc-dedf944a-5f4b-4afb-a453-528af4f7ac72 .

Thank you. I will try all your suggestions.

What is the difference between grouping inside and outside of a table?

That kind of crash in Word usually points to how the program handles shapes and graphics on your new laptop rather than a real file issue. When you group many objects, Word relies on your computer’s graphics system, and hardware acceleration can sometimes make it unstable. Try going to File → Options → Advanced → Display, then check “Disable hardware graphics acceleration.” Restart Word afterward, this often fixes the problem. Also, avoid grouping inside tables if possible; instead, group everything on the page first, then move the grouped object into the table. If your shapes were copied from other programs like PowerPoint, converting them to simple Word drawing objects or pictures before grouping can also help. Finally, make sure your Office and graphics drivers are fully updated. Turning off GPU acceleration usually solves most of these grouping crashes on newer hardware.

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