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After installing new MS365 w/Copilot, Excel hangs when Font Color option opens

Richard Levesque 0 Reputation points
2026-05-22T17:28:22.5366667+00:00

I installed the new version of MS365 a few days ago. AND again today!

I reinstalled MS365 because every time I bring up Excel's Font Color, the screen freezes. It does not let me do anything except exit the app.

This happens on both my PCs: MS Surf3 laptop and Dell OptiPlex tower.

See screen pic. If I go to something else - but not Excel - MS365 works fine. Other things like Edge, Chrome, Outlook also work fine.

What is going on?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For home | Windows

3 answers

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  1. Richard Levesque 0 Reputation points
    2026-05-28T18:39:09.6566667+00:00

    I'm sorry for not getting back to you sooner!

    I'll try the REPAIR fix and let you know.

    I also have another issue with Excel which may be related to this Font Color issue.

    I'm encountering a problem doing Cut & Paste in the 2 same workbooks. I highlight a few lines, copy them and do a paste a few rows down. The time glass icon comes up and hangs for anything from 1 to 2 mins to 10 mins then the screen goes blank and then just fails completely.

    I went to Task Manager and found that Excel was showing up to 20 functions going on for a simple cut & paste.

    See the screen pics attaches showing this.

    Could this be associated with the Font Color issue?

    ALSO, I received a letter from my bank and a company called Sefas Innovations, Inc. stating my PCs were hacked and they found this on 4/22/26. They claim my finances were not affected but stated that some information "was exposed in this incident." See the letters attached. FYI, there is nothing here that is personal or private information.

    What caught my attention was the date this was found: 4-22-26, which is around the time I started having these Excel issues. My concern may be unfounded, but could this be something from being hacked?

    BTW, I did a complete rebuild from scratch of one of the 2 worksheets that was having these issues and removed a lot of Conditional Formatting, Colors, etc. and eliminated some rather spread out and complicated formulae - and it is working fine. If the REPAIR doesn't work, I guess I'll have to do this for the 2nd doc.

    Thanks for taking your time to help me!

    Just noticed, I couldn't attach the letter from the bank about the hack, (file to big) but what I stated above should do. If you have any questions, please let me know.

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  2. Norah-L 6,685 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-05-24T07:14:29.66+00:00

    Hello Richard Levesque

    I’m here to continue following up on your additional concerns.

    From what you described, after installing the new Microsoft 365 with Copilot version, Excel freezes whenever you open the Font Color option even after reinstalling Microsoft 365, and the same issue happens on both of your PCs.

    I checked the add-ins in safe mode and the Font Color option works perfectly. There were no Add-Ins activated. I triggered each add-in in the COM Add-Ins selection screen (see pic) and none of them caused the freeze.

    Since the Font Color option works correctly in Excel Safe Mode, this suggests the issue may be related to something Excel loads in normal mode, not necessarily only COM Add-ins. Safe Mode can also bypass Excel startup items, customized toolbars/settings or configuration files.

    Do I need to do the Repair a Microsoft 365 application as my next step?

    I think running Repair Microsoft 365 is a good next step. Please follow Step 4 in the AI answer to perform the repair, then restart Excel and check whether the Font Color option still causes the freeze.

    Regarding “other software” in the clean boot step, it does not only mean newly installed apps. It can include background services, antivirus/security tools, printer utilities, graphics/display tools, sync tools, or anything that may have updated automatically. If Repair does not help, a clean boot is useful to check whether one of those background services is conflicting with Excel.

    Hope this could help clarify things. Please feel free to post back and let me know how it goes on your side, I’ll be happy to support you further if needed!

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  3. AI answer

    2026-05-22T17:28:37.09+00:00

    Excel freezing when opening the Font Color menu is consistent with general “Excel not responding / hangs / freezes” behavior and should be troubleshot using the standard Excel stability steps.

    Follow these actions in order:

    1. Install the latest Office and Windows updates
    • Make sure Microsoft 365 and Windows are fully updated, as updates often replace problematic components and fix crashes.
    • Follow the steps in How to update Microsoft 365 or Office for Windows referenced from the Excel troubleshooting article.
    1. Start Excel in Safe Mode and check add-ins
    • Run Excel in safe mode to see if an add-in or extension is causing the freeze:
      • Press Windows key + R.
      • Type Excel /safe and select OK.
    • If Excel does not freeze when opening Font Color in safe mode, disable add-ins:
      1. In Excel, select File > Options > Add-ins.
      2. In Manage, choose COM Add-ins and select Go.
      3. Clear all check boxes, select OK, then close and restart Excel normally.
      4. Test Font Color. If it works, re-enable add-ins one by one, restarting Excel each time, until the freezing returns. The last enabled add-in is the likely cause.
    • If COM add-ins are not the cause, repeat the process for Excel add-ins as described in the same article.
    1. Check for conflicts from other software (clean boot)
    • Background applications, utilities, or drivers can conflict with Excel’s UI (including color pickers and rendering).
    • Perform a selective startup (clean boot) to identify conflicts:
      • Use System Configuration as described in Run Selective Startup using System Configuration for the Windows version in use.
      • With non‑Microsoft services and startup apps disabled, test Excel and the Font Color menu.
      • If the issue disappears, re‑enable items gradually to find the conflicting program.
    1. Repair Microsoft 365
    • If the problem persists on both devices, repair the Office installation:
      • Use Repair a Microsoft 365 application to run a repair of Office.
      • If a quick repair does not help, run an Online Repair (this reinstalls Office components and often resolves UI freezes).
    1. Check environmental factors
    • File location: Test with a simple local workbook (e.g., saved on Desktop) to rule out network or SharePoint/OneDrive latency.
    • Memory and drivers: Large workbooks, limited RAM, or problematic video/printer drivers can cause freezes when Excel renders UI elements like color menus.
      • Test with a different default printer (e.g., Microsoft XPS Document Writer).
      • Ensure video drivers are current; if needed, test with a basic display driver.
    1. If still freezing
    • If Excel continues to hang after these steps on both PCs, the issue is likely environmental (drivers, third‑party software) or a specific regression.
    • At that point, use the Guided support link in the Excel article or contact Microsoft Support for deeper, guided troubleshooting.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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