Again-Still-Random Non-display of slides in PPT 2003

[Paul Simmon]

To further clarify my experience with PPT 2003 randomly not showing
slides in a presentation that was previously working under PowePoint
XP/2002 and XP Home.

I have received comments that I should get the latest video drivers
from the vendor. I have done that with the same results of randomly
not shown slides that are in the presentation. As I read the newsgroup
messages, I noticed that the problem is being experienced on a number
of computers having different video cards. So far I count three -
ATI, my PNY GeForce 5200 Ultra, and one other unspecified.

I just came across a Microsoft Knowledge Base article (Q327809) that
referenced Intel Hyperthreading on P4 and the possibility of failure
in some applications that implement HT functionality due to corrupted
addresses.

As a test, I ran the same presentation and others that are failing on
my HT enabled desktop on my 6 month old COMPAQ ZD7058CL laptop with
2.8 GHz P4 and no HT fitted out with XP Pro and Office 2003. ALl the
patches and updates to XP and Office have been applied to both
machines. The screen settings are also identical. The PowerPoints all
ran without any problem. There has to be something more here than the
video drivers. If it is only the video diver, then, at least three
video card manufactures have got it wrong in the exact same way using
the latest driver or an earlier one. (Unless the spec from Intel or
Microsoft was wrong.)

Is it possible that Microsoft did something in its Office 2003
implementation of HT that the video cards do not like? Or is it
possible that there is a problem in the interface between XP Pro and
Office 2003?

Is there any way to have Microsoft look into this problem?

Any thoughts are appreciated.

 

[AmyM]

Hi Paul,

I responded to your earlier post today but will post it here too:

I think this may be a migration issue from presentations created in PPT2000 (or prior) to PPT 2003. I ran across this a few weeks ago. Client had a presentation created in PPT2000. When it was loaded onto 2 different machines running PPT 2003, we had some blank slides (I do not know if these were "random" or not; did not investigate this). When it was opened on a machine running PPT2002 (XP), it was fine. We SAVED IT in PPT XP, then loaded it onto the 2003 machines and the presentation then had no blank slides. Strange, but saving it in XP fixed it. I don't know if I would spend a lot of time on video card issues. Sounds like PPT2003 needs work.

Hope this helps.

AmyM

 

[John Langhans [MSFT]]

[CRITICAL UPDATE - Anyone using Office 2003 should install the critical
update as soon as possible. From PowerPoint, choose "Help -> Check for
Updates".]
[TOP ISSUE - Are you having difficulty opening presentations in PowerPoint
that you just created (you can save, but not open)? -
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=329820]

Hello Amy,

The specific problem that you describe is one that is addressed with the
Office 2003 Critical Update.

John Langhans
Microsoft Corporation
Supportability Program Manager
Microsoft Office PowerPoint for Windows
Microsoft Office Picture Manager for Windows

For FAQ's, highlights and top issues, visit the Microsoft PowerPoint
support center at: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=ppt
Search the Microsoft Knowledge Base at:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbhowto

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
Use of any included script samples are subject to the terms specified at
http://www.microsoft.com/info/cpyright.htm

 

[AmyM]

Hi John,

Do you know the date of the critical update? It looks like users here as of the end of April (see posting by "Tom" 4/30) were still having problems. I can't test or look through an update history here as I don't have access to an Office 2003 machine right now.
Thanks.

 

[Sonia]

The critical update (KB828041) was published 11/4/03. People report the
problem because they don't check for updates. You can do that by opening
PowerPoint and going to Help > Check for Updates. It's a good thing to do
on a weekly or monthly basis. I see that there are a few security patches
that I still haven't applied, so I'm off to do that now.
--
Sonia, MS PowerPoint MVP Team
Autorun CD software, templates, and tutorials
http://www.soniacoleman.com/

Hi John,

Do you know the date of the critical update? It looks like users here as

of the end of April (see posting by "Tom" 4/30) were still having problems.
I can't test or look through an update history here as I don't have access
to an Office 2003 machine right now.

Thanks.

[CRITICAL UPDATE - Anyone using Office 2003 should install the critical
update as soon as possible. From PowerPoint, choose "Help -> Check for
Updates".]
[TOP ISSUE - Are you having difficulty opening presentations in PowerPoint
that you just created (you can save, but not open)? -
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=329820]

Hello Amy,

The specific problem that you describe is one that is addressed with the
Office 2003 Critical Update.

John Langhans
Microsoft Corporation
Supportability Program Manager
Microsoft Office PowerPoint for Windows
Microsoft Office Picture Manager for Windows

For FAQ's, highlights and top issues, visit the Microsoft PowerPoint
support center at: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=ppt
Search the Microsoft Knowledge Base at:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbhowto

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
Use of any included script samples are subject to the terms specified at
http://www.microsoft.com/info/cpyright.htm

 

[AmyM]

Thanks Sonia. I always do my updates by going to Microsoft's web site & checking for Office updates. Are there different results between this method and the method you describe below? My clients assured me that their computers were fully updated with the latest 2003 patches at the beginning of June.

The critical update (KB828041) was published 11/4/03. People report the
problem because they don't check for updates. You can do that by opening
PowerPoint and going to Help > Check for Updates. It's a good thing to do
on a weekly or monthly basis. I see that there are a few security patches
that I still haven't applied, so I'm off to do that now.
--
Sonia, MS PowerPoint MVP Team
Autorun CD software, templates, and tutorials
http://www.soniacoleman.com/

Hi John,

Do you know the date of the critical update? It looks like users here as

of the end of April (see posting by "Tom" 4/30) were still having problems.
I can't test or look through an update history here as I don't have access
to an Office 2003 machine right now.

Thanks.

[CRITICAL UPDATE - Anyone using Office 2003 should install the critical
update as soon as possible. From PowerPoint, choose "Help -> Check for
Updates".]
[TOP ISSUE - Are you having difficulty opening presentations in PowerPoint
that you just created (you can save, but not open)? -
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=329820]

Hello Amy,

The specific problem that you describe is one that is addressed with the
Office 2003 Critical Update.

John Langhans
Microsoft Corporation
Supportability Program Manager
Microsoft Office PowerPoint for Windows
Microsoft Office Picture Manager for Windows

For FAQ's, highlights and top issues, visit the Microsoft PowerPoint
support center at: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=ppt
Search the Microsoft Knowledge Base at:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbhowto

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
Use of any included script samples are subject to the terms specified at
http://www.microsoft.com/info/cpyright.htm

 

[Sonia]

I can't say because I do both. That's because I have four versions of
PowerPoint installed on this system. I would trust the Help > Check for
Updates method though. It's integral to Office 2003 and Microsoft is trying
to make Office Online the single interface point for customers and all
things "Office".

It could be that your clients assume that when they run Windows Update that
all things Microsoft get updated.

Thanks Sonia. I always do my updates by going to Microsoft's web site &

checking for Office updates. Are there different results between this method
and the method you describe below? My clients assured me that their
computers were fully updated with the latest 2003 patches at the beginning
of June.

The critical update (KB828041) was published 11/4/03. People report the
problem because they don't check for updates. You can do that by opening
PowerPoint and going to Help > Check for Updates. It's a good thing to do
on a weekly or monthly basis. I see that there are a few security patches
that I still haven't applied, so I'm off to do that now.
--
Sonia, MS PowerPoint MVP Team
Autorun CD software, templates, and tutorials
http://www.soniacoleman.com/

Hi John,

Do you know the date of the critical update? It looks like users here

as
of the end of April (see posting by "Tom" 4/30) were still having problems.
I can't test or look through an update history here as I don't have access
to an Office 2003 machine right now.

Thanks.

:

[CRITICAL UPDATE - Anyone using Office 2003 should install the critical
update as soon as possible. From PowerPoint, choose "Help -> Check for
Updates".]
[TOP ISSUE - Are you having difficulty opening presentations in PowerPoint
that you just created (you can save, but not open)? -
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=329820]

Hello Amy,

The specific problem that you describe is one that is addressed with the
Office 2003 Critical Update.

John Langhans
Microsoft Corporation
Supportability Program Manager
Microsoft Office PowerPoint for Windows
Microsoft Office Picture Manager for Windows

For FAQ's, highlights and top issues, visit the Microsoft PowerPoint
support center at: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=ppt
Search the Microsoft Knowledge Base at:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbhowto

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
Use of any included script samples are subject to the terms specified at
http://www.microsoft.com/info/cpyright.htm

 

[Paul Simmon]

I went to the PowerPoint 2003 Update site last week and applied all
updates that were listed. I just went back to the PowerPoint Update
link and received the message that I do not need any updates. My
PowerPoints still fail.

Are there any other suggestions?

 

[Paul Simmon]

I visited the PowerPoint - Help - Check for Updates page last week and
applied everything that was there. My PPTs still fail. I have saved
and resaved existing PPT presentations under PPT 2003 and they still
fail. I have disabled the Norton Anti Virue Offfice plug in and they
still fail. How can I determine if I have the referenced Critical
Update installed on my desktop?

I have tried everything mentioned so far with no success. Is anyone
having success in presenting a PPT presentation created under PPT XP?
I have random failures even when I create presentations entirely under
PPT 2003.

Yet these presentations run on my laptop with XP Pro and Offfice 2003,
the same updates, but no HT.

Again, thanks for your comments. Keep 'em comming.

 

[AmyM]

Did you try opening and saving it from PowerPoint XP/2002, then transfering the file onto the 2003 machine? I would imagine you may lose any 2003-specific functionality, but it may be a work-around for you. Let us know.

Amy

 

[Paul Simmon]

All my presentations were previously saved using PPT XP/2002 with
all the published Office patches for that product. Upon opening the
2002/XP file with PPT 2003, I get the random non-display problem. I
then saved the presentation under PPT 2003 and re-opened it with the
same problem.

I then transferred the presentation to my then XP Pro/Office XP laptop
and
it played properly. I have since upgraded my laptop to Office 2003
with all the published updates including the previously mentioned
"critical" update and the presentation runs fine on my laptop.
My desktop already has this update.

Again, I am back to my original question. What is the difference in
my two computers? Yes, they have diffferent video cards the laptop
has a NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5600 and my desktop has a NVIDIA GeForce
FX 5200 Ultra. I reloaded the latest NVIDIA driver from the PNY site
onto my desktop and the dropped slide problem is still with me.

If it is the video driver, I wonder how COMPAQ got it right and PNY
did not?

Once again, I am looking outside the video box. What else is different
between the two machines? One has HT and the other does not-a
possibility. Both are on XP Pro and Office 2003 Pro with all the
published patches from Microsoft's support sites for the OS and
Office.The laptop is assembled by COMPAQ,
the desktop is homebuilt with an Intel D875PBZ motherboard, 1 GB RAM,
the latest Intel BIOS updates, and the NVIDIA 5200 card.

I checked the video driver stats on the two computers with the
following version levels reported:
The desktop 5200 is at level 5.6.7.2 dated 03/24/2004 and
the laptop 5600 is at level 5.4.0.1 dated 02/03/2004.

Note that the earlier update works and the later one does not.
If the video driver is responsible for the problem, it would seem to
me that the older driver would have the problem.

Your comments are appreciated. Thanks.

 

[AmyM]

Hi Paul,
Here are a few things you may want to look at:

Have you determined that the graphics dropping out are truly "random"? Do different slides drop out upon opening the presentation, or are they always the same slides? If the offending slides are always the same, you may want to determine what those slides have in common-a graphic element, the same slide layout, a font. Also, look to see if anything on these slides lies outside of the slide borders.
I would play around with the video driver settings on the offending machine (it sounds like you have already done this, but sometimes an obscure setting that you wouldn't think of to change will make a difference).
Try applying the latest patches to your Anti-virus software. Not just updating the virus definition tables, but the actual software (these patches usually are included in your automatic updates). I have seen this cure problems on machines running Norton.
That's all I can think of to do. Good luck. You've convinced me to stick with XP for now!
Amy

 

[Paul Simmon]

The slides are dropped randomly. If I play the presentation three
times, different slides will drop each time. Ones that failed the
first time show up the second time.

I have tried all kinds of combinations as well as single changes in my
video settings. I have not stumbled across any combination that shows
all the slides.

BTW, my presentations play fine on my desktop when I use the
PowerPoint 2003 player. How about that? A question for someone at
Microsoft: What is the difference in the way the PPT 2003 player gets
the next slide vs. the way PowerPoint 2003 itself does it?

Ahh, perhaps another clue.

Do you have any contacts at Microsoft that might be receptive to
checking into this PowerPoint problem? Is there some way to open a log
on the PowerPoint execution to track what is going on when a slide
does not play?

Thanks for your response and comments. At least I know that I am doing
the standard things to identify the problem that the experts would do.
Thanks again for you help.

 

[Paul Simmon]

My mistake. I did download the latest GeForce driver from NVIDIA ( ver
5.6.7.2 dated 03-24-2004). That is the driver I am running now and I
still have dropped slides. I have all the latest Symantec/Norton
updates posted to anti-Virus, Systemworks, and Internet Security. I
also have the Office add-in disabled.

I experimented some more this morning with video driver settings using
the NVIDIA Desktop Manager with no success. I still have dropped
slides.

Have your heard from anyone else about the ability of PPTviewer 2003
to play existing presentations without dropping slides?

 

[Sonia]

Are you using any transition effects in these presentations. If so, which
ones? Or are you using random transitions?
--
Sonia, MS PowerPoint MVP Team
Autorun CD software, templates, and tutorials
http://www.soniacoleman.com/

My mistake. I did download the latest GeForce driver from NVIDIA ( ver
5.6.7.2 dated 03-24-2004). That is the driver I am running now and I
still have dropped slides. I have all the latest Symantec/Norton
updates posted to anti-Virus, Systemworks, and Internet Security. I
also have the Office add-in disabled.

I experimented some more this morning with video driver settings using
the NVIDIA Desktop Manager with no success. I still have dropped
slides.

Have your heard from anyone else about the ability of PPTviewer 2003
to play existing presentations without dropping slides?

your NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra. When I went to PNY's site, I could only
find drivers for the Quadro. This may be the same comprehensive driver from
NVIDIA's site, but it looks like an OEM version for the Quadro. You may want
to try downloading & installing the driver from NVIDIA's site. Your card
doesn't require an OEM driver.Do different slides drop out upon opening the presentation, or are they
always the same slides? If the offending slides are always the same, you may
want to determine what those slides have in common-a graphic element, the
same slide layout, a font. Also, look to see if anything on these slides
lies outside of the slide borders.machine (it sounds like you have already done this, but sometimes an obscure
setting that you wouldn't think of to change will make a difference).updating the virus definition tables, but the actual software (these patches
usually are included in your automatic updates). I have seen this cure
problems on machines running Norton.transfering the file onto the 2003 machine? I would imagine you may lose any
2003-specific functionality, but it may be a work-around for you. Let us
know.

 

[TAJ Simmons]

What is the content on the 'dropped slides'

Is it pictures/scans/bitmaps/ole objects?

If so...how many pixels?

Cheers
TAJ Simmons
microsoft powerpoint mvp

awesome - powerpoint backgrounds,
free powerpoint templates, tutorials, hints and tips etc
http://www.powerpointbackgrounds.com

 

[Paul Simmon]

The pictures are all jpgs. The jpgs are typically 800 x 600 pixels in
size. The source of the jpgs is either digital camera tiff or jpg
formats or scanned 4" x 6" photos. The picture can cover from 50 to
100% of the PPT slide rectangle. I have a pure black background and no
transitions. The pictures normally have a 4 second timer on them.
However, I have experienced non-display on slided with timings of more
than 4 seconds.

 

[TAJ Simmons]

scanned 4" x 6" photos
Are these 800x600 also?

Just a thought.

TAJ

 

[Paul Simmon]

They may be. I use the Image Importer Wizard to place most of my
pictures into a presentation. I have also tested both a clean PPT 2003
created from scratch with IIW and another presentation created only
with manual insertions and both fail with random slide non-displays. I
have switched the slide background from pure black to pure white and
still have failures under both backgrounds.

My last question is still open. What is thej difference between how
PPTViewer 2003 and PPTget the next slide? I do not have the dropped
slides when I play the presentation with the 2003 PPTViewer.

 

[TAJ Simmons]

Paul,

approx how many pictures in one presentation?

TAJ