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Good day

I am experiencing issues with Microsoft Excel 2013 32- bit running on Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit.
Whenever I start Excel or switch to it from another program the following error message pops up:

"An unexpected error occured:
Object reference not set to an instance of an object"

To the best of my knowledge, this started after a failed export of a Sage Pastel's Intelligence Center report.

Please advise on how to address this.

Many thanks

Etienne

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Dani AI

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Brief expert summary: the exact phrase "Object reference not set to an instance of an object" is the standard .NET NullReferenceException text. In Excel it most often shows up when a third‑party COM/.NET add‑in or a startup automation fails while Excel is loading. Given reported a failed Sage Pastel Intelligence Center export and correctly suggested add‑ins, the practical steps below focus on safely finding and removing the offending add‑in and recovering a working Excel.

  • Start Excel in Safe Mode (hold Ctrl while launching or run excel.exe /safe). If the error does not occur, an add‑in or startup file is the likely cause.
  • Disable add‑ins from File > Options > Add‑Ins. Use the Manage dropdown to check both COM Add‑ins and Excel Add‑ins and uncheck everything, then restart Excel. If that fixes it, re‑enable add‑ins incrementally (or use a binary search: enable half, test, repeat) to isolate the culprit.
  • Check startup folders for leftover add‑ins: %appdata%\Microsoft\Excel\XLSTART and (for Office 2013 32‑bit on x64) C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office15\XLSTART. Move suspicious .xla/.xlam/.xll files out of those folders.
  • If the suspect add‑in is from Sage (or another vendor), repair or reinstall that product. If problems persist, run Office Repair via Programs and Features.
  • Inspect Event Viewer (Windows Logs -> Application) for .NET or Excel error entries at the time of the failure; they often name the failing COM DLL.
  • Advanced: if required, check registry entries under HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\Excel\Addins and HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Office\Excel\Addins (back up registry first).

Notes and cautions: do not edit the registry or delete program files without a backup. Also confirm add‑in bitness matches Excel (32‑bit Excel cannot load 64‑bit add‑ins). Reinstalling the offending add‑in or removing its startup file usually resolves this error.

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Member Avatar for Etienne_1

It was indeed an add in causing the issue.
Many thanks

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