This is a very old thread, yet even so the year is 2025 and here I sit having encountered and resolved the exact same issue yesterday.
I assume the bug may have been fixed then unfixed in a recent update, but it happened twice in 2024 so there you go. The bug still exists.
Exact same conditions and outcomes as “makreel” from the original post. I found this thread by chance after turning to google in desperation when my dissertation froze, and I write this for any tired postgrads who, like me, spent 4 hours writing in hyper focus and not in a position to do it all again as the deadline advances without mercy.
I was able to solve the problem and save my word doc. So listen up, because I felt so smart I went ahead and made an account for this site and waited a whole day for approval to share the solution. (Even though the deadline draws closer even still, typing this swallowed an hour but still worth it)
The setup
So the problem triggered for me when my endnote program was closed and I deleted a paragraph that contained some references. (That is also what caused it in 2024, I recall)
Usually when this is done the endnote extension within word wants to update the reference list, yet since the program itself is closed everything goes wrong and the doc gets stuck. The bug cause therefore has nothing to do with any “corrupted” references or whatnot, but is by it’s nature a communication error. I imagine the “word extension” script is stuck in a loop as it awaits a reply from the desktop based endnote proper that will never come.
When this happened in 2024 the word doc went “white” and a “not responding” text appeared, with the windows “wait, something must be done first” chime noise playing whenever I clicked. This time (2025) however the doc remained to appear “normal” yet was unresponsive and the chime noise would play and make sound whenever I would try to click, type, or save.
It was stuck and although it never said “word is unresponsive”, it was stuck. I could do nothing and could not save. ctrl+alt+delete showed no discernible program I could end in order to close the extension.
I suspect my solution will work for most cases like this, where it gets stuck when altering references while endnote is closed owing to the word-extension trying to do something it could not complete.
The solution
Open the endnote program on your desktop pc, ensure the correct library list is loaded so that the same references are displayed that you were using in your “stuck” word doc.
Then, open a NEW blank word doc.
Note: You can do this without the frozen extension, just right click in a folder or on the desktop somewhere, click “new”, then word doc. In my case I just opened word again from my search bar by opening a second instance of the word program itself.
From this new doc, use the word-based endnote extension to add a citation from the same library as your other “stuck” doc.
The script will trigger, and in my case a window popped up on my “stuck” doc that said “updating references”. The green loading bar filled to completion yet remained stuck once being “complete”.
After waiting 5 seconds for it to complete and realizing it wouldn’t, I then clicked “cancel”
This “unfroze” the first doc, allowing me to save my work and run to my fiancée in a state of unbridled joy and celebration.
You can go ahead and sigh in relief now. Disaster averted. You can delete the “new” word doc or keep it as a memento for that one time you almost lost 4 hours of crucial work. your choice.
With love from South Africa
