Excel startup problem. Possible problem with stdole32.tlb

[Walter Briscoe]

I apologise if this issue is not topical here.
My main use of Excel is to program in it.

I run Excel 2003 on Vista SP2.
In the last few days, I have noticed that opening a .xls file by double-
clicking an Explorer directory entry has become slow.

Since yesterday, it fails catastrophically.

I rebooted to confirm the problem is not transient.

After 60 seconds, I get this message: "Windows cannot find
'FilePath\FileName'. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then
try again."
[Word opening succeeds in 14 seconds for a similar test.]

I googled for this message and was led to <http://support.microsoft.com/
kb/211494>.
As "Tools/Options/General/Ignore other applications" is not checked, the
cause of my problem is something else.

I had this problem some months ago and sorted it by installing another
version of Office.

When I try opening Excel, it also takes 60 seconds to present me with
Book1.

The behavior is also present when I move XLSTART\PERSONAL.XLS.

I decided to look for ideas with google groups
group:microsoft.public.excel* insubject:slow insubjectpen

1) Start\Programs\Accessories\System Tools\Disk Cleanup of Temporary
Files is ineffective.

2) Start/Run Excel /Safe is instant, but VBA Code Cleaner complains "VB
Project Protection enabled". That is probably a success.

3) I was pointed to <http://www.cpearson.com/excel/startuperrors.aspx>
3a) I was advised to do Excel.exe /UnregServer & Excel.exe /RegServer.
RegServer gave "One of your object libraries (stdole32.tlb) is missing
or damaged. Please run Setup to install it.
That is plausible.
3b) I was advised in excel /safe, run help/Detect and repair. That
reported success without affecting the problem.

I decided to do Start/Settings/Control Panel/Programs and
Features/Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003/Repair. This needs
the CD-ROM. It did not affect the problem.

I decided to do Start/Settings/Control Panel/Programs and
Features/Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003/Change/Reinstall or
Repair/Reinstall Office. It also did not affect the problem.

I decided to uninstall Office and do a complete installation.
Uninstalling went OK.
Installing hit "Error 1303. Setup cannot access the folder C:\Program
Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\EQUATION. Verify that the folder
exists in your system and that you have sufficient permission to update
it."
It exists, but its propertied showed partly read only. I cleared the
check box which did not cure the problem. I got "access is denied".

I failed to acquire ownership of EQUATION which seems to have been
created since I started installation. It had gone when I started Vista
in Safe Mode which did not provide the JFDI (Just Flipping Do It) file
access I was hoping for. I have User Access Control off.

My hypothesis is that I should have rebooted between uninstalling and
reinstalling Office.

A minimal installation worked, but I was left with my 60 second startup
problems.
As it was not obvious to me how to convert to a complete installation, I
removed that installation, rebooted, did a complete installation and
installed SP3 from the net. I still have the 60 second startup problems.

I would appreciate suggestions for a fix and advice on what I need to do
to protect myself against the problem happening again.

 

[Jim Cone]

Are all add-ins unloaded - including those under "Add-Ins" in the VBE?

Two things you haven't mentioned that should be done...
1. Clearing out the Windows Temp folder... Start | Run | %Temp%
2. Deleting the Excel11.xlb file - usually found near (on Windows XP)...
"C:\Documents and Settings\~name\Application Data\Microsoft\Excel"
This file contains your menu/toolbar configuration and is subject to bloat and corruption.
It will/can survive any repair efforts. It is automatically rebuilt (if missing) when Excel
starts.
Only delete this file with Excel closed and all add-ins unloaded.
'---
Jim Cone
Portland, Oregon USA
http://excelusergroup.org/media/
(Formats & Styles xl add-in: lists/removes unused styles & number formats)




"Walter Briscoe" <[email protected]>
wrote in message

I apologise if this issue is not topical here.
My main use of Excel is to program in it.

I run Excel 2003 on Vista SP2.
In the last few days, I have noticed that opening a .xls file by double-
clicking an Explorer directory entry has become slow.

Since yesterday, it fails catastrophically.

I rebooted to confirm the problem is not transient.

After 60 seconds, I get this message: "Windows cannot find
'FilePath\FileName'. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then
try again."
[Word opening succeeds in 14 seconds for a similar test.]

I googled for this message and was led to <http://support.microsoft.com/
kb/211494>.
As "Tools/Options/General/Ignore other applications" is not checked, the
cause of my problem is something else.

I had this problem some months ago and sorted it by installing another
version of Office.

When I try opening Excel, it also takes 60 seconds to present me with
Book1.

The behavior is also present when I move XLSTART\PERSONAL.XLS.

I decided to look for ideas with google groups
group:microsoft.public.excel* insubject:slow insubjectpen

1) Start\Programs\Accessories\System Tools\Disk Cleanup of Temporary
Files is ineffective.

2) Start/Run Excel /Safe is instant, but VBA Code Cleaner complains "VB
Project Protection enabled". That is probably a success.

3) I was pointed to <http://www.cpearson.com/excel/startuperrors.aspx>
3a) I was advised to do Excel.exe /UnregServer & Excel.exe /RegServer.
RegServer gave "One of your object libraries (stdole32.tlb) is missing
or damaged. Please run Setup to install it.
That is plausible.
3b) I was advised in excel /safe, run help/Detect and repair. That
reported success without affecting the problem.

I decided to do Start/Settings/Control Panel/Programs and
Features/Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003/Repair. This needs
the CD-ROM. It did not affect the problem.

I decided to do Start/Settings/Control Panel/Programs and
Features/Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003/Change/Reinstall or
Repair/Reinstall Office. It also did not affect the problem.

I decided to uninstall Office and do a complete installation.
Uninstalling went OK.
Installing hit "Error 1303. Setup cannot access the folder C:\Program
Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\EQUATION. Verify that the folder
exists in your system and that you have sufficient permission to update
it."
It exists, but its propertied showed partly read only. I cleared the
check box which did not cure the problem. I got "access is denied".

I failed to acquire ownership of EQUATION which seems to have been
created since I started installation. It had gone when I started Vista
in Safe Mode which did not provide the JFDI (Just Flipping Do It) file
access I was hoping for. I have User Access Control off.

My hypothesis is that I should have rebooted between uninstalling and
reinstalling Office.

A minimal installation worked, but I was left with my 60 second startup
problems.
As it was not obvious to me how to convert to a complete installation, I
removed that installation, rebooted, did a complete installation and
installed SP3 from the net. I still have the 60 second startup problems.

I would appreciate suggestions for a fix and advice on what I need to do
to protect myself against the problem happening again.

 

[Walter Briscoe]

In message <[email protected]> of Mon, 26 Sep 2011 06:29:52 in
microsoft.public.excel.programming, Jim Cone

Are all add-ins unloaded - including those under "Add-Ins" in the VBE?

Two things you haven't mentioned that should be done...
1. Clearing out the Windows Temp folder... Start | Run | %Temp%

I did that. FXSAPIDebugLogFile.txt was locked against deletion.
Folders VBE and WPDNSE was recreated.
Nothing much happened.

2. Deleting the Excel11.xlb file - usually found near (on Windows XP)...
"C:\Documents and Settings\~name\Application Data\Microsoft\Excel"
This file contains your menu/toolbar configuration and is subject
to bloat and corruption.
It will/can survive any repair efforts. It is automatically
rebuilt (if missing) when Excel
starts.
Only delete this file with Excel closed and all add-ins unloaded.

I take it that "all add-ins unloaded" means that no item in "Tools/Add-
Ins available" is checked.

That made a BIG difference. Startup became a sub-second operation.

However, I still got "Windows cannot find 'FilePath\FileName'. Make sure
you typed the name correctly, and then try again." when I double-click a
..xls file. OTOH, shortcuts work with targets like
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\EXCEL.EXE" foo.xls

I found that "Tools/Options/General/Ignore other applications" was
checked. I unchecked it and my second problem went.

Thanks for your help. I now have a reasonably working installation.

'---
Jim Cone
Portland, Oregon USA
http://excelusergroup.org/media/
(Formats & Styles xl add-in: lists/removes unused styles & number formats)




"Walter Briscoe" <[email protected]>
wrote in message

I apologise if this issue is not topical here.
My main use of Excel is to program in it.

I run Excel 2003 on Vista SP2.
In the last few days, I have noticed that opening a .xls file by double-
clicking an Explorer directory entry has become slow.

Since yesterday, it fails catastrophically.

I rebooted to confirm the problem is not transient.

After 60 seconds, I get this message: "Windows cannot find
'FilePath\FileName'. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then
try again."
[Word opening succeeds in 14 seconds for a similar test.]

I googled for this message and was led to <http://support.microsoft.com/
kb/211494>.
As "Tools/Options/General/Ignore other applications" is not checked, the
cause of my problem is something else.

I had this problem some months ago and sorted it by installing another
version of Office.

When I try opening Excel, it also takes 60 seconds to present me with
Book1.

The behavior is also present when I move XLSTART\PERSONAL.XLS.

I decided to look for ideas with google groups
group:microsoft.public.excel* insubject:slow insubjectpen

1) Start\Programs\Accessories\System Tools\Disk Cleanup of Temporary
Files is ineffective.

2) Start/Run Excel /Safe is instant, but VBA Code Cleaner complains "VB
Project Protection enabled". That is probably a success.

3) I was pointed to <http://www.cpearson.com/excel/startuperrors.aspx>
3a) I was advised to do Excel.exe /UnregServer & Excel.exe /RegServer.
RegServer gave "One of your object libraries (stdole32.tlb) is missing
or damaged. Please run Setup to install it.
That is plausible.
3b) I was advised in excel /safe, run help/Detect and repair. That
reported success without affecting the problem.

I decided to do Start/Settings/Control Panel/Programs and
Features/Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003/Repair. This needs
the CD-ROM. It did not affect the problem.

I decided to do Start/Settings/Control Panel/Programs and
Features/Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003/Change/Reinstall or
Repair/Reinstall Office. It also did not affect the problem.

I decided to uninstall Office and do a complete installation.
Uninstalling went OK.
Installing hit "Error 1303. Setup cannot access the folder C:\Program
Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\EQUATION. Verify that the folder
exists in your system and that you have sufficient permission to update
it."
It exists, but its propertied showed partly read only. I cleared the
check box which did not cure the problem. I got "access is denied".

I failed to acquire ownership of EQUATION which seems to have been
created since I started installation. It had gone when I started Vista
in Safe Mode which did not provide the JFDI (Just Flipping Do It) file
access I was hoping for. I have User Access Control off.

My hypothesis is that I should have rebooted between uninstalling and
reinstalling Office.

A minimal installation worked, but I was left with my 60 second startup
problems.
As it was not obvious to me how to convert to a complete installation, I
removed that installation, rebooted, did a complete installation and
installed SP3 from the net. I still have the 60 second startup problems.

I would appreciate suggestions for a fix and advice on what I need to do
to protect myself against the problem happening again.