error with Normal file

[Marta]

When I try to open up Word I get the following error:

"The Office Open XML file Normal cannot be opened because there are problems
with the contents." [No error detail available]

I click OK and then am told

"Word found unreadable content in Normal. Do you want to recover the
contents of this document? If you trust the source of this document, click
Yes."

And whether I click Yes or No, I get the first error again, after which the
document finally opens. However, even then Word crashes within 2-3 minutes.

Any suggestions on how to fix this?

 

[Herb Tyson [MVP]]

It sounds like you're using Word 2007 and Normal.dotm has become corrupted.
This is where a number of user customizations are stored. If you haven't
done any or much customizing (styles, assigning keystrokes, macros), the fix
is easy--the usual solution is to delete Normal.dotm, and Word will
automatically create a new one.

To find Normal.dotm, make sure Word is closed and use Windows Explorer to
find it. It's sometimes stored in a hidden folder, so you will possibly need
to set Windows Explorer to show hidden/system folders.