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Fix: The Presentation Cannot be Opened [Antivirus error]
Try to include PowerPoint in the exclusion list of your antivirus
8 min. read
Updated onOctober 4, 2023
updated onOctober 4, 2023
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Have you ever toiled away on a presentation, perhaps for a new project idea or for pitching your services to a prospect, and then the morning of the big day comes, and it just won’t open?
This can be really devastating, especially if the night before, the presentation worked just fine, and you probably even rehearsed, timed it, and your workmates gave it a thumbs up.
Sometimes, the antivirus is preventing PowerPoint from opening the presentations, and you get an error message sayingYour antivirus software has blocked the file you were trying to open, Then you go blank and don’t understand why this would happen.
This happens when your antivirus program and its signature files are out of date, thus preventing or blocking files from opening, including your presentations.
The error message is sent back for three reasons: incompatibility issues between your antivirus and Office, the file may be infected with a virus that your antivirus could not remove, or the file is damaged.
So, it’s important to treat the file with caution, or the file you’re trying to open is damaged.
When you get the PowerPoint antivirus error, there are some quick-fix solutions to help you restore it, as well as fix the problems based on the error message, and get back to your presentation in good time.
What can I do if the antivirus is blocking PowerPoint?
1. App PowerPoint to the antivirus exclusion list
If you have installed a third-party antivirus, go to its settings and find the exclusion option. All antiviruses have it.
2. Uninstall and reinstall the antivirus program
Sometimes it helps to uninstall your antivirus and reinstall the correct version for the Windows 10 operating system. Try this and see if it fixes the antivirus-blocking PowerPoint problem, or try the next solution.
Antivirus vendors periodically provide updated virus signature files downloadable from the internet.
If your antivirus is outdated or needs an update, connect to the Internet and download the latest updates available from your antivirus software vendor.
You can also purchase a new antivirus program altogether.
We want to recommend our list of thebest antivirusesthat will keep your PC safe without having any compatibility problems with Windows or any other programs.
3. Recover your files if infected or damage
Symptoms of a damaged file give back errors when trying to open the presentation such as:
There are several ways to determine whether your presentation is damaged, including opening the file on another computer. If the same behavior occurs, try creating a new file and see if it persists.
4. Try a temporary file version of the presentation
When you edit a PowerPoint presentation, the program creates a temporary version or copy of the file, namedPPT####.tmp(#### represents a random four-digit number).
If you find several corresponding files, try opening each to see if one is the temporary copy of your presentation.
When issues arise with your presentation, the temporary file remains in the saved file location.
This temporary version or copy of the presentation may be in the same folder as the original presentation, or in thetemporary files folder.
If there are no temporary files or copies of your presentation, or you can’t open them, try using PowerPoint Viewer as described in the next solution.
5. Use PowerPoint for web
This is a solution that worked for a few users but it’s not guaranteed to work if your presentation is too damaged. It doesn’t hurt to give it a try though.
6. Make a copy of the damaged presentation
If the file cannot be copied, it may be damaged, or resides in a damaged part of the hard disk (see solution 2). If you can copy the file, try opening it in PowerPoint.
7. Run Scandisk on your hard drive
Scandisk may verify that your presentation is cross-linked and then repair the presentation, but this doesn’t guarantee PowerPoint will read it.
8. Perform a clean boot and install/reinstall the antivirus
You will have a clean boot environment after all these steps are carefully followed, after which you can try and check if you can perform a system restore.
After performing the clean boot, perform the next step.
While your computer is in a clean boot environment, try to install or uninstall the program (antivirus), or an update of it, which you had tried before clean boot but failed.
If successful, the issue has been resolved. But, if it fails, then the antivirus blocking PowerPoint issue isn’t caused by an app or service interference.
If you could not run PowerPoint before the clean boot, try and run it again while in clean boot environment. If it runs correctly or your presentation opens, then the issue is caused by an app or service interference.
If you manage to boot in Safe Mode, perform a clean boot to eliminate any software conflicts that may be causing the antivirus blocking system restore problem in Windows 10.
Performing a clean boot for your computer reduces software-related conflicts that can bring up the root causes of the problem.
These conflicts can be caused by applications and services that start running in the background when you start Windows normally.
Follow the next procedure described below to fix an error or problem after a clean boot.
9. Troubleshoot the Powerpoint blockage
If the problem persists, repeat the above steps but this time clear the lower half of the boxes in the Service list you selected before.
If the problem goes away, repeat the above steps but only select the upper half of the boxes that are unchecked, and repeat the steps until you have selected all boxes.
Suppose the antivirus blocking PowerPoint problem persists when only one service is selected from the Service list. In that case, that is the service causing the problem, after which you can contact the program manufacturer to see if this can be resolved.
Alternatively, run System Configuration utility then click to clear the checkbox for the problem item. Reset the computer to start normally after clean boot process
10. Reset your PC
Follow the steps above to reset your PC and restart it properly. Check if your presentation works now.
Did any solutions here help you fix the Presentation cannot be opened issue caused by your antivirus? Let us know in the comments section below.
More about the topics:antivirus,Powerpoint guides
Milan Stanojevic
Windows Toubleshooting Expert
Milan has been enthusiastic about technology ever since his childhood days, and this led him to take interest in all PC-related technologies. He’s a PC enthusiast and he spends most of his time learning about computers and technology.
Before joining WindowsReport, he worked as a front-end web developer. Now, he’s one of the Troubleshooting experts in our worldwide team, specializing in Windows errors & software issues.
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Milan Stanojevic
Windows Toubleshooting Expert
Before joining WindowsReport, he worked as a front-end web developer. Now, he’s specialized in Windows errors & software issues.
