Word 2013 Can't Open Files on Flash Drive

Word 2013 won't open office documents when they're on a flash drive. But If I copy them to my hard drive they open fine. Any documents I place on the flash drive have the same problem.

This also happens with PowerPoint and Excel documents, so I'm thinking it's an Office issue.

And in Office 2010 on a different laptop, it's the exact same issue. And with 5 different flash drives. So I have no idea what's causing it.

This is the splash screen

First it says "Starting..." then it says "Contacting [file path]" and the loading dots keep moving and it never opens. It's the same with PowerPoint and Excel.

Any ideas?

Answer
Answer
Perhaps Word is protecting you from yourself: one of the top causes of document corruption is working on a document from a removable drive. Instead, copy the document to the hard drive, work on it there, then copy it back to the flash drive.
Microsoft MVP (Word) since 1999
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://ssbarnhill.com
http://wordfaqs.ssbarnhill.com
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Last updated January 20, 2024 Views 2,398 Applies to: