The first step is to save the document under a new file name (even just adding 02 to the file name, for example, saves it as a new document). If everything goes pear-shaped, at least you’ll have your original (though unstable) document to go back to. Make a copy of the document! Only try the steps below on a copy of the document. NOTE: If you can’t even open the document, try some of the suggestions and links in this blog post: Before you start Trying to figure out why it’s happening is probably impossible, so let’s look at my suggested hierarchy of things to try, starting with a gentle nudge and working up to a sledge hammer approach. So if your Word documents are crashing regularly, you need to take steps to see if you can get the document stable again.
When I look at some of these documents, I’m surprised that Word remains as stable as it does!
Microsoft has definitely improved the stability of software like Word over the years.