"format placeholder" just stops working

[str-ezfzx]

I've got MS PowerPoint 2002 - SP3. It's worked fine for a few years.

But recently, in the process of building Powerpoint presentations, I noticed
several of the little "format" sub-menus stopped popping up. No explanation.
For example, I would have a textbox that I needed to re-format. I'd select
"format placeholder" and the software would think about it for 2/10ths of a
second and then simply do nothing. For a while, I could close my document
and re-open it, and the menus would work again for a while. But now, they
never work at all.

I haven't tried rebooting yet, because I'm scared of what needing to reboot
might imply. If I have to reboot every 10 minutes to get my software to
work, what's the point? I might as well be running Windows 3.0.

Once they stop working, it doesn't matter what PPT document I have open ...
none work.

Sooner help is better than later help. Thanks.

 

[str-ezfzx]

Yes, it works for a while after I reboot, but that doesn't explain WHY.
Detect and repair was, by the way, inconclusive.

I guess I'm just one of those people that think "reboot" is a stupid answer
to computer problems, as a "resolution" which should have been consigned to
the dark history Windows 98 and before. Sometimes I'm in the middle of
business related activities and stopping everything to reboot is not
convenient.

Not being able to predict how a computer will suddenly become unreliable
makes the whole process of using a computer less than enjoyable. I sit on
pins and needles just waiting for something to fail, saving my files every
few minutes. This isn't the kind of experience I want when I'm using any
tool.