A recent Microsoft update KB3114717 is causing Microsoft Office 2013 versions of Word , Excel and Outlook to freeze or run slowly for Windows computer users. Microsoft has now pulled this update so your computer may not have received it.

If you have Office 2013 and are experiencing problems such as significant slowness or unresponsiveness using Word, Excel and/or Outlook, the fix for now is to uninstall the update. You can safely remove the update.

Instructions to check for and as needed remove the update:

  1. Click the Windows Start button, lower left corner of your computer screen.
  2. Type run and hit the Enter key on your keyboard.
  3. Type Appwiz.cpl then click OK. 
  4. In the left menu, select View installed updates.
  5. In the top right corner of the screen where it says Search Installed Updates type KB3114717 and hit the Enter key on your keyboard to search for the problematic update.
  6. If any results return (note that there may be 2 instances of the update), click one instance of the update at a time to select it then click Uninstall.
    Uninstall all instances of the update that are listed.
  7. If the search returns the result "No items match your search." you do not have the problematic update and your computer may have another issue instead. In that case, please contact the IT Help Desk at # 2526 or email askit@amherst.edu to have us investigate the issue.