How to fix Microsoft Office error code 147-0 in Windows

Error 147-0 appears when Word, Excel, Outlook or another Office app refuses to open because Office believes an update, install or removal is still in progress. Restart the PC first. If the message stays, end the stuck Office processes and run Online Repair.

Facts checked on 15 October 2026. Steps written for Windows 11 (25H2 and 26H2) and Windows 10 22H2.

What Microsoft Office error code 147-0 means

Office installs and updates itself through Click-to-Run, a service that changes Office files in the background. While it works, Office will not let its apps open, so they do not use files that are being replaced. Error 147-0 is that lock: Office found an update, install or removal marked as running and refused to start.

The problem is that the lock stays when the job behind it is stuck or was cut off. Readers on Microsoft's forum describe the same error after restarting for two and three days in a row. The message text tells you exactly that, so read it as "an Office change never finished", not as a broken PC.

Why error 147-0 appears, from most to least common

Every cause below leaves Office in the same state: it thinks it is still changing itself. Find the row that matches what happened on your PC and start with its fix.

How to fix Microsoft Office error code 147-0

Fixes 1 and 2 clear the stuck update and solve most cases without changing anything. Fix 3 is Microsoft's repair. Fixes 4 and 5 are for a repair that will not run. Fix 6 replaces Office completely.

Fix 1. Let the update finish, then restart the PC properly

5 to 15 minutesLow riskYou see 147-0 for the first time, often right after Office or Windows installed updates.

The error says an update is in progress, and sometimes it really is. A real restart closes every Office process and lets Click-to-Run finish or drop the job. On Windows 11 and 10, Shut down with Fast Startup keeps part of the old session, while Restart always starts clean.

1. Close every Office app, including Outlook and Teams if they are open.
2. If you see an Office update window or the Updating Office, please wait a moment window, leave it alone until it closes.
3. Open Start, select the power button and choose Restart. Do not use Shut down.
4. After you sign in, wait 3 to 5 minutes before you open any Office app, so a pending update can finish in the background.
5. Open Word or Excel once. If you see the updating window again, let it run without closing it.

Fix 2. End the stuck Office update processes in Task Manager

5 minutesLow riskThe error survives one or more restarts, sometimes for days.

A Microsoft Community moderator answering this exact error suggests opening Task Manager, ending the background processes that are still running, and only then repairing Office. A hung Office update process keeps the lock in place for as long as it runs.

1. Close all Office apps and save your work in other programs.
2. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager on the Processes page.
3. Look under Apps and Background processes for entries whose names start with Microsoft Office, Microsoft 365, Word, Excel, Outlook or Microsoft Office Click-to-Run.
4. Select each Office entry and choose End task. If Windows refuses for one of them, leave it.
5. Wait one minute, then open Word or Excel.

Step by step, with pictures: Close a frozen app (Task Manager, Force Quit)

Fix 3. Repair Office with Online Repair

20 to 40 minutesLow riskNo Office process is stuck, but 147-0 stays. This is the main fix when Fixes 1 and 2 did not help.

An update that stopped halfway leaves a mix of old and new Office files. Microsoft recommends Online Repair for Click-to-Run installs "to make sure everything gets fixed"; Quick Repair only finds and replaces damaged files. The repair also ends the half-done update.

1. Check that the PC is online, close all Office apps and repeat Fix 2 if Office processes are running.
2. Right-click Start and select Installed apps (Windows 10: Apps and Features).
3. Find your Microsoft 365 or Microsoft Office entry, select the three dots next to it and choose Modify. Select Yes if Windows asks.
4. In How would you like to repair your Microsoft 365 and Office programs?, choose Online Repair and select Repair.
5. Wait until it finishes, then restart the PC and open the Office app.

The repair covers the whole Office suite, even if only one app fails. Full steps for both Windows versions: How to repair Microsoft 365 or Office

Fix 4. Restart the Microsoft Office Click-to-Run Service

5 minutesLow riskThe repair window does not open, closes at once, or a cleanup tool changed your services.

Click-to-Run runs every Office update, install and repair. If its service is stuck, disabled or stopped, the update it started can never end, and repair cannot start either. Restarting it lets Office check its state again.

1. Close all Office apps.
2. Press Win + R, type services.msc and press Enter.
3. Find Microsoft Office Click-to-Run Service and double-click it.
4. If Startup type is Disabled, set it to Automatic and select Apply.
5. If the service runs, select Stop, wait a few seconds and select Start. If it is stopped, select Start. Then select OK.
6. Open the Office app. If it still fails, run Fix 3 now that the service runs.

Step by step, with pictures: Check and restart Windows services

Fix 5. Run the repair from a clean boot when it cannot close programs

20 to 45 minutesLow riskOnline Repair says "We need to close some programs but weren't able to", even after a restart.

Users on Microsoft's forum report this exact repair message with 147-0, and a Microsoft agent asked whether the problem also happens in Safe Mode. A clean boot starts Windows without other programs and services, so nothing holds Office files while the repair replaces them.

1. Start Windows in a clean boot, with only Microsoft services running: How to perform a clean boot in Windows
2. After the restart, check Task Manager once more and end any Office entries (Fix 2).
3. Run Online Repair again from Installed apps (Fix 3).
4. When the repair finishes, open Word or Excel to test it.
5. Undo the clean boot as the procedure describes and restart normally.

Fix 6. Uninstall Office completely and install the latest version

30 to 60 minutesLow riskOnline Repair failed, the Click-to-Run service is missing, or 147-0 comes back after every repair.

When the update state itself is broken, only a clean install resets it. The Microsoft moderator's last step for 147-0 is the uninstall tool from Microsoft's Uninstall Office from a PC page, then the latest Office from the Microsoft 365 portal.

1. Check that Office is listed on the Microsoft account that bought it, or find your product key, before you remove anything.
2. Right-click Start, select Installed apps, open the three dots next to Microsoft 365 (Office) and choose Uninstall.
3. If the normal uninstall fails, open Microsoft's support page Uninstall Office from a PC and run the uninstall tool it offers.
4. Restart the PC.
5. Sign in at microsoft365.com with the account that owns Office and install it again. Open Word and sign in.

If Office error 147-0 is still there

When all six fixes failed, collect these facts before you contact Microsoft support or your IT team. They show whether the problem is the Office update, another program or the PC.

If the message changes to "Something went wrong" with a code such as 0x2-0x0, Office files are missing rather than locked. See our guide to Microsoft Office error code 0x2-0x0.

How to avoid error 147-0 next time

The error starts when an Office update is cut off, so prevention is about letting updates end.

Frequently asked questions

What is error code 147-0 in Office 365?

It is Office telling you it cannot open because it is busy updating, adding or removing programs. The full message reads "We couldn't open Office because we're updating, adding or removing programs. Please try later". It applies to Microsoft 365, formerly Office 365, and to Office 2016 to 2024 installed with Click-to-Run. In most cases the update behind it is stuck, not running, so a restart and Online Repair fix it.

How long should I wait before I try again?

A real Office update usually finishes within a few minutes after a restart. If the error is still there after you restarted the PC and waited a few minutes, waiting longer rarely helps. A reader on Microsoft's forum saw the error for three days in a row. At that point the update is stuck, and you should end the Office processes (Fix 2) and run Online Repair (Fix 3).

Why do I get error 147-0 in Outlook only?

Outlook, Word and Excel share the same Click-to-Run install, so the lock normally blocks every Office app. If only Outlook shows it, the other apps may simply not have been opened yet. Close Outlook, end any Office entries in Task Manager, and restart. If Outlook still fails while Word opens, run Online Repair, which repairs the whole suite, Outlook included.

Will repairing or reinstalling Office delete my documents or emails?

No. Online Repair and a reinstall replace Office program files only. Documents in Documents, Desktop or OneDrive stay where they are. Email in Microsoft 365, Outlook.com or another server account comes back when you sign in again. Local Outlook data files also stay on the disk. You may need to sign in to Office again, and some app settings can be reset.

Does running Office as administrator fix error 147-0?

Not in the sources we read. The error is a lock set by an unfinished Office update, not a permission problem, and Microsoft's moderators do not suggest it. Running Word as administrator does not end the update behind the lock. Restart the PC, end the Office processes and repair Office instead. The old version of this page listed it first; we dropped it.

Does a Windows update fix error 147-0?

Not directly. The lock belongs to Office's own update system, which runs apart from Windows Update. Restarting after a Windows update can help, because the restart also ends a stuck Office job. Installing more Windows updates while Office is stuck adds nothing. Keep Windows up to date for other reasons, but use Fixes 1 to 3 for this error.

Repair says "We need to close some programs but weren't able to". What now?

An Office process or another program is holding files that the repair must replace. Restart the PC, open Task Manager and end every Office entry (Fix 2), then run Online Repair again. If the same message returns, start Windows in a clean boot and repair from there (Fix 5). As a last step, uninstall Office and install it again (Fix 6).

Is error 147-0 the same as the Unable to start Microsoft 365 and Office error?

Yes. "Unable to start Office" is the title of the window, and newer Office builds use the product name Microsoft 365 and Office in it. The text under it about updating, adding or removing programs and the code 147-0 are the same, and so are the fixes. Searches for "error 147" or "147 0" usually mean this window too.

I searched for error 147 in a game. Is this page for me?

No. This page is about error 147-0 in Microsoft Office on Windows. Games and other programs use their own numbering, and a game's error 147 has nothing to do with Office updates. Search for the game's name together with the code, or check the game publisher's support pages. If Office is what fails on your PC, start with Fix 1 above.