Latest on Word 2003 Crashing Display.

[Paul Beier]

Hi all,

just though I would renew the post in the hope of refreshing people's
memory. Very interesting though that another user with similar specs to my
system has just started experiencing the same problem. I have recently
posted the following on "Experts Exchange" but so far no help.

Hello Expert(s),

I am trying this as a last resort as I did not wish to spend any more money.
Have already paid Microsoft support who have been persistent in their
attempts to help but so far have not been able to since contacting them about
six weeks ago.

Can I begin by saying I found it very difficult to navigate this site to the
point of actually posting this query. I am here now so I guess it doesn't
matter.

I have a challenging problem which appears to be a similar one to one
already posted. I subscribed in the hope of actually seeing a solution.
Unfortunately, the experts have suggested solutions which I have already
tried but no success. The problem was "Word crashes Windows XP". I have
also tried the support forums in Microsoft without success. No-one can give
me an answer short of a complete hardware rebuild.

Here's the history:

I have built an upgraded computer with the following components. This was a
first attempt so I thought about hardware reseating etc. - no problems there.

ASUS K8VSE Deluxe MOBO
512 Mb DDR400 Ram
AMD 3000+ CPU
Seagate 160 Gb SATA HDD
Seagate 80 Gb IDE HDD
GeCube 9600XT VIVO Graphics
Winfast TV 2000 Expert Tuner Card
LG DVD-RAM
LG DVD-ROM
Windows XP Pro SP1 Original Purchased Disk.
Office Pro 2003 Original Disk
Windows XP SP2 (from an original disk - not downloaded)
Free Zonealarm Firewall (latest version)
Latest NOD32 AV program
Latest BIOS and drivers downloaded with AV switched OFF.

I am into video editing and 3D gaming hence the moderate specs.

I boot from the SATA (which has ten partitions) and use the IDE drive as a
backup. The Windows partition size is 8Gb.

To prevent posting solutions I have already tried, I will detail what my
system can and can't do as well as what steps I have already done without
success. I am a fairly competent with computers and can modify the registry
with success.

The system will:

Run all Office applications I use frequently (I am a secondary teacher) -
Excel, Publisher and Powerpoint. It will run them without crashing everyday
- all the time.
Run all video editing software, photo-editing software everyday - all the
time.
Run all 3D games and childrens games everyday - all the time.
Run all peripherals (scanner, removable drives, cameras, printer) with
relevant software everyday - all the time.
Surf the internet (with a broadband connection) everyday - all the time.
Capture TV programs to HDD using the TV tuner, every.......

Get the picture?

The system will NOT:

successfully run Word 2003 for more than 15 minutes. The problem is that
each time I use Word, it will cause the screen to go black from between 0 to
15 minutes use. It randomly crashes the screen from immediately opening a
pre-existing document to typing a new document randomly up to around 15
mintues into using Word. Turning the screen on and off results in a grid
pattern suggesting the screen is not receiving a signal from the computer. I
must reboot to use the computer, resulting in disk checking etc - pain in the
proverbial.... The problem has occurred since using the new computer.

In short, the computer works perfectly for all other applications except
Word. This has been extremely frustrating given the amount of documents our
family produces.

The monitor I use was from an older P3 computer which ran Office 2003 just
fine...perhaps I should go back there...

I have tried:

1) Reformatting both Drives and reinstalling everything, downloading updates
(inculding latest Word 2003 SP1 update) with and without AV turned off.
2) Running OS from both drives
3) Running applications with and without installing SP2 (from both drives).
4) Reseating Hardware.
5) Repairing Office 2003
6) Completely uninstalling Office (have software that will supposedly do
this) and reinstalling Office applications with advanced options - moving to
other drives etc (with appropriate registry changes - "Old office" etc)
7) Normal.dot template changes in Word
8) Changing default printers.
9) Checking Word in safe mode - this is interesting, while the screen
doesn't go black - other gliches occur such as:
- screen freezes (loss of keyboard and mouse functions)
- blue "ghosting" of the black font - a faded blue copy of each letter
appears behind the black font. At times the black
font will stop typing and the blue font will start. During this time,
if I scroll the screen, the blue font moves behind the
black while the black remains stationary. It then reverts to the black
font, pushing the blue font ahead of the black.
- When scrolling, the edge of the page starts to go "chunky" and blue.
Other Office applications work fine in safe
mode.
10) Using my previous versions of Windows XP and Office XP (original disks).

All these permutations have taken considerable time and effort, as you can
imagine. I repeat, none of them have been successful.

Hope anyone can help,

blessings,

Paul

 

[Beth Melton]

Sounds like a display issue. You noted you tried running Word in Safe
Mode. Was this Word Safe Mode or Windows Safe Mode? If the former then
see if the error occurs in Windows Safe Mode. If it doesn't then the
issue points to your graphics driver and/or settings.

--
Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/

 

[Paul Beier]

Hi Beth,

thanks for your reply. Word crashes my screen both in Windows AND Word safe
mode.

regards,

Paul

 

[TF]

Paul

My bet is the graphics card. Word places far greater 2D demands on the
graphics card than virtually any other application until you reach for the
latest graphics intensive games. Even then, they normally hammer the 3D
graphics rather than 2D.

Have you downloaded a hardware test utility such as SiSoft Sandra? If you go
to one of the major download sites (www.download.com), you can download a
Freeware version of SiSoft Sandra. This will let you intensely test all of
your hardware.

Another option is to see if you can borrow a known good graphics card from
someone to test.

I'd also recommend making sure that Printer and Graphics drivers are the
latest available from the Manufacturer's support sites.






: Hi Beth,
:
: thanks for your reply. Word crashes my screen both in Windows AND Word
safe
: mode.
:
: regards,
:
: Paul
:
:
: "Beth Melton" wrote:
:
: > Sounds like a display issue. You noted you tried running Word in Safe
: > Mode. Was this Word Safe Mode or Windows Safe Mode? If the former then
: > see if the error occurs in Windows Safe Mode. If it doesn't then the
: > issue points to your graphics driver and/or settings.
: >
: > --
: > Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
: > assistance by email can not be acknowledged.
: >
: > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
: > Beth Melton
: > Microsoft Office MVP
: >
: > Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
: > TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
: > MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/
: >
: >
: > : > >
: > > The system will NOT:
: > >
: > > successfully run Word 2003 for more than 15 minutes. The problem is
: > > that
: > > each time I use Word, it will cause the screen to go black from
: > > between 0 to
: > > 15 minutes use. It randomly crashes the screen from immediately
: > > opening a
: > > pre-existing document to typing a new document randomly up to around
: > > 15
: > > mintues into using Word. Turning the screen on and off results in a
: > > grid
: > > pattern suggesting the screen is not receiving a signal from the
: > > computer. I
: > > must reboot to use the computer, resulting in disk checking etc -
: > > pain in the
: > > proverbial.... The problem has occurred since using the new
: > > computer.
: > >
: > > In short, the computer works perfectly for all other applications
: > > except
: > > Word. This has been extremely frustrating given the amount of
: > > documents our
: > > family produces.
: > >
: > > The monitor I use was from an older P3 computer which ran Office
: > > 2003 just
: > > fine...perhaps I should go back there...
: > >
: > > I have tried:
: > >
: > > 1) Reformatting both Drives and reinstalling everything, downloading
: > > updates
: > > (inculding latest Word 2003 SP1 update) with and without AV turned
: > > off.
: > > 2) Running OS from both drives
: > > 3) Running applications with and without installing SP2 (from both
: > > drives).
: > > 4) Reseating Hardware.
: > > 5) Repairing Office 2003
: > > 6) Completely uninstalling Office (have software that will
: > > supposedly do
: > > this) and reinstalling Office applications with advanced options -
: > > moving to
: > > other drives etc (with appropriate registry changes - "Old office"
: > > etc)
: > > 7) Normal.dot template changes in Word
: > > 8) Changing default printers.
: > > 9) Checking Word in safe mode - this is interesting, while the
: > > screen
: > > doesn't go black - other gliches occur such as:
: > > - screen freezes (loss of keyboard and mouse functions)
: > > - blue "ghosting" of the black font - a faded blue copy of each
: > > letter
: > > appears behind the black font. At times the black
: > > font will stop typing and the blue font will start. During this
: > > time,
: > > if I scroll the screen, the blue font moves behind the
: > > black while the black remains stationary. It then reverts to the
: > > black
: > > font, pushing the blue font ahead of the black.
: > > - When scrolling, the edge of the page starts to go "chunky" and
: > > blue.
: > > Other Office applications work fine in safe
: > > mode.
: > > 10) Using my previous versions of Windows XP and Office XP (original
: > > disks).
: > >
: > > All these permutations have taken considerable time and effort, as
: > > you can
: > > imagine. I repeat, none of them have been successful.
: > >
: > > Hope anyone can help,
: > >
: > > blessings,
: > >
: > > Paul
: >
: >
: >

 

[loretta]

Amen! Been having much of the same problems! Everything runs fine, but Word
freezes everytime you use it. Once it starts freezing, it freezes quicker
each time you restart the computer. Have spent numerous hours and messages
to support and have tried ALL their solutions to no avail. Am also a teacher
and my children need the word processor frequently. Only part-time solution
I have found is to frequently save as I am working on the Word document.
That way when it does freeze, I don't have to start completely from the
beginning. Have been dealing with this problem for over 2yrs. It is
extremely frustrating to type a two page paper and be almost at the end, to
have Word freeze, lose everything and have to start completely again.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

See http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/AppErrors/ProbsOpeningWord.htm

 

[TF]

Update your graphics and printer drivers with the latest downloaded from the
Internet Support site of the vendors. Rename normal.dot as normal.bad and
then test Word again. If it persists, try following the tips at
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/AppErrors/ProbsOpeningWord.htm



: Amen! Been having much of the same problems! Everything runs fine, but
Word
: freezes everytime you use it. Once it starts freezing, it freezes quicker
: each time you restart the computer. Have spent numerous hours and
messages
: to support and have tried ALL their solutions to no avail. Am also a
teacher
: and my children need the word processor frequently. Only part-time
solution
: I have found is to frequently save as I am working on the Word document.
: That way when it does freeze, I don't have to start completely from the
: beginning. Have been dealing with this problem for over 2yrs. It is
: extremely frustrating to type a two page paper and be almost at the end,
to
: have Word freeze, lose everything and have to start completely again.
:
: "Paul Beier" wrote:
:
: > Hi all,
: >
: > just though I would renew the post in the hope of refreshing people's
: > memory. Very interesting though that another user with similar specs to
my
: > system has just started experiencing the same problem. I have recently
: > posted the following on "Experts Exchange" but so far no help.
: >
: > Hello Expert(s),
: >
: > I am trying this as a last resort as I did not wish to spend any more
money.
: > Have already paid Microsoft support who have been persistent in their
: > attempts to help but so far have not been able to since contacting them
about
: > six weeks ago.
: >
: > Can I begin by saying I found it very difficult to navigate this site to
the
: > point of actually posting this query. I am here now so I guess it
doesn't
: > matter.
: >
: > I have a challenging problem which appears to be a similar one to one
: > already posted. I subscribed in the hope of actually seeing a solution.
: > Unfortunately, the experts have suggested solutions which I have already
: > tried but no success. The problem was "Word crashes Windows XP". I
have
: > also tried the support forums in Microsoft without success. No-one can
give
: > me an answer short of a complete hardware rebuild.
: >
: > Here's the history:
: >
: > I have built an upgraded computer with the following components. This
was a
: > first attempt so I thought about hardware reseating etc. - no problems
there.
: >
: > ASUS K8VSE Deluxe MOBO
: > 512 Mb DDR400 Ram
: > AMD 3000+ CPU
: > Seagate 160 Gb SATA HDD
: > Seagate 80 Gb IDE HDD
: > GeCube 9600XT VIVO Graphics
: > Winfast TV 2000 Expert Tuner Card
: > LG DVD-RAM
: > LG DVD-ROM
: > Windows XP Pro SP1 Original Purchased Disk.
: > Office Pro 2003 Original Disk
: > Windows XP SP2 (from an original disk - not downloaded)
: > Free Zonealarm Firewall (latest version)
: > Latest NOD32 AV program
: > Latest BIOS and drivers downloaded with AV switched OFF.
: >
: > I am into video editing and 3D gaming hence the moderate specs.
: >
: > I boot from the SATA (which has ten partitions) and use the IDE drive as
a
: > backup. The Windows partition size is 8Gb.
: >
: > To prevent posting solutions I have already tried, I will detail what my
: > system can and can't do as well as what steps I have already done
without
: > success. I am a fairly competent with computers and can modify the
registry
: > with success.
: >
: > The system will:
: >
: > Run all Office applications I use frequently (I am a secondary
teacher) -
: > Excel, Publisher and Powerpoint. It will run them without crashing
everyday
: > - all the time.
: > Run all video editing software, photo-editing software everyday - all
the
: > time.
: > Run all 3D games and childrens games everyday - all the time.
: > Run all peripherals (scanner, removable drives, cameras, printer) with
: > relevant software everyday - all the time.
: > Surf the internet (with a broadband connection) everyday - all the time.
: > Capture TV programs to HDD using the TV tuner, every.......
: >
: > Get the picture?
: >
: > The system will NOT:
: >
: > successfully run Word 2003 for more than 15 minutes. The problem is
that
: > each time I use Word, it will cause the screen to go black from between
0 to
: > 15 minutes use. It randomly crashes the screen from immediately opening
a
: > pre-existing document to typing a new document randomly up to around 15
: > mintues into using Word. Turning the screen on and off results in a
grid
: > pattern suggesting the screen is not receiving a signal from the
computer. I
: > must reboot to use the computer, resulting in disk checking etc - pain
in the
: > proverbial.... The problem has occurred since using the new computer.
: >
: > In short, the computer works perfectly for all other applications except
: > Word. This has been extremely frustrating given the amount of documents
our
: > family produces.
: >
: > The monitor I use was from an older P3 computer which ran Office 2003
just
: > fine...perhaps I should go back there...
: >
: > I have tried:
: >
: > 1) Reformatting both Drives and reinstalling everything, downloading
updates
: > (inculding latest Word 2003 SP1 update) with and without AV turned off.
: > 2) Running OS from both drives
: > 3) Running applications with and without installing SP2 (from both
drives).
: > 4) Reseating Hardware.
: > 5) Repairing Office 2003
: > 6) Completely uninstalling Office (have software that will supposedly do
: > this) and reinstalling Office applications with advanced options -
moving to
: > other drives etc (with appropriate registry changes - "Old office" etc)
: > 7) Normal.dot template changes in Word
: > 8) Changing default printers.
: > 9) Checking Word in safe mode - this is interesting, while the screen
: > doesn't go black - other gliches occur such as:
: > - screen freezes (loss of keyboard and mouse functions)
: > - blue "ghosting" of the black font - a faded blue copy of each letter
: > appears behind the black font. At times the black
: > font will stop typing and the blue font will start. During this
time,
: > if I scroll the screen, the blue font moves behind the
: > black while the black remains stationary. It then reverts to the
black
: > font, pushing the blue font ahead of the black.
: > - When scrolling, the edge of the page starts to go "chunky" and blue.
: > Other Office applications work fine in safe
: > mode.
: > 10) Using my previous versions of Windows XP and Office XP (original
disks).
: >
: > All these permutations have taken considerable time and effort, as you
can
: > imagine. I repeat, none of them have been successful.
: >
: > Hope anyone can help,
: >
: > blessings,
: >
: > Paul

 

[Paul Beier]

Hi TF,

How is renaming normal.dot as normal.bad different from renaming it as
normal.old which I have already tried without success? I could be mistaken
but the link to word.mvps.org contains solutions which do not apply to this
problem. Thanks for you interest however and I am still waiting for someone
from many different forums to suggest a solution.

Paul

 

[TF]

Paul

I just refreshed by rereading the earlier posts. Normal.old, normal.bad are
much the same as long at the .dot has been removed.

I suggest going right back to scratch to eliminate hardware conflict
problems.

Open up your PC and unplug/remove everything except what is required for a
bootup into Windows. Namely keep just the processor, SATA HDD, graphics
card, memory, keyboard and mouse connected. Make sure that all the fans are
dust-free and operating correctly. Boot into Windows. Initiate a Disk Check
making sure you check both options and then reboot and allow the check to
complete and boot back into Windows. Then run a full Defrag.

With all applications closed, go into your Temp folder (documents &
settings>username>Local settings>temp) and delete everything in there - it
should be completely empty. Go to template folder (documents &
settings>username>applications data>microsoft>template) and make sure that
there are no abandoned temp files in there (probably there is just
normal.dot). Empty your wastebasket. Check the Windows Startup using a
utility such as StartCPL (get it from here:
http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml ) and remove everything from Startup
not required. Disable Anti Virus and Firewall, etc. Now reboot to a minimum
Windows.

Now start Word and hammer it: does it still barf?

Terry



: Hi TF,
:
: How is renaming normal.dot as normal.bad different from renaming it as
: normal.old which I have already tried without success? I could be
mistaken
: but the link to word.mvps.org contains solutions which do not apply to
this
: problem. Thanks for you interest however and I am still waiting for
someone
: from many different forums to suggest a solution.
:
: Paul
:
:

 

[Paul Beier]

Hi to all,

many thanks to all who suggested solutions to my problem but I have found
the solution to my problem myself. I am so glad I did not have to go through
hardware rebuild, reseating, cleaing etc. etc.

I reformatted my IDE hard drive and installed Windows XP SP1 then SP2 then
Office without installing any other drivers or applications. MS support
suggested I do this. Imagine my surprise when Word worked just fine. I then
installed drivers one by one and have discovered the cause: ATI Catalyst
4.11/4.12 drivers. This was my original suspect over two months ago when the
problem started and I first contacted ATI. They assured me then that their
drivers could not be the problem.
Windows SP2 contains Radeon 9600 (version 6.14.10.6462) drivers and Word
2003 functions correctly with these. When I installed the Catalyst 4.12
drivers (version 6.14.10.6497), Word immediately started crashing my system.
To be sure, I rolled back the driver to the previous MS version and found
that Word was now stable. To be doubly sure, I again updated the drivers to
the Catalyst version and Word again became unstable. I again rolled back the
drivers and Word was again stable. One thing to note was that using the MS
drivers, I no longer had access to the advanced "SMARTGART" option in the ATI
control panel. Happy to live without it though.
I then went to my SATA drive where all my applications were installed and
rolled back the driver there to the MS version.
Since then Word has been stable.

I will be contacting ATI again about this issue and informing all forums I
have registered with.

thanks again,

Paul

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Thanks for the feedback, Paul.

 

[TF]

Well I did place my bets on the graphics card in my post 31 December!
Strangely, I am using 6.14.10.6497 on both my Office PC (using an MX440) and
Home PC (using a Radeon 9550) without any such problems though! The DirectX
and OpenGL settings are set to middle (balanced between quality and
performance) and I use DirectX 9c.

Terry Farrell


:
: Hi to all,
:
: many thanks to all who suggested solutions to my problem but I have found
: the solution to my problem myself. I am so glad I did not have to go
through
: hardware rebuild, reseating, cleaing etc. etc.
:
: I reformatted my IDE hard drive and installed Windows XP SP1 then SP2 then
: Office without installing any other drivers or applications. MS support
: suggested I do this. Imagine my surprise when Word worked just fine. I
then
: installed drivers one by one and have discovered the cause: ATI Catalyst
: 4.11/4.12 drivers. This was my original suspect over two months ago when
the
: problem started and I first contacted ATI. They assured me then that
their
: drivers could not be the problem.
: Windows SP2 contains Radeon 9600 (version 6.14.10.6462) drivers and Word
: 2003 functions correctly with these. When I installed the Catalyst 4.12
: drivers (version 6.14.10.6497), Word immediately started crashing my
system.
: To be sure, I rolled back the driver to the previous MS version and found
: that Word was now stable. To be doubly sure, I again updated the drivers
to
: the Catalyst version and Word again became unstable. I again rolled back
the
: drivers and Word was again stable. One thing to note was that using the
MS
: drivers, I no longer had access to the advanced "SMARTGART" option in the
ATI
: control panel. Happy to live without it though.
: I then went to my SATA drive where all my applications were installed and
: rolled back the driver there to the MS version.
: Since then Word has been stable.
:
: I will be contacting ATI again about this issue and informing all forums I
: have registered with.
:
: thanks again,
:
: Paul
:
: "TF" wrote:
:
: > Paul
: >
: > I just refreshed by rereading the earlier posts. Normal.old, normal.bad
are
: > much the same as long at the .dot has been removed.
: >
: > I suggest going right back to scratch to eliminate hardware conflict
: > problems.
: >
: > Open up your PC and unplug/remove everything except what is required for
a
: > bootup into Windows. Namely keep just the processor, SATA HDD, graphics
: > card, memory, keyboard and mouse connected. Make sure that all the fans
are
: > dust-free and operating correctly. Boot into Windows. Initiate a Disk
Check
: > making sure you check both options and then reboot and allow the check
to
: > complete and boot back into Windows. Then run a full Defrag.
: >
: > With all applications closed, go into your Temp folder (documents &
: > settings>username>Local settings>temp) and delete everything in there -
it
: > should be completely empty. Go to template folder (documents &
: > settings>username>applications data>microsoft>template) and make sure
that
: > there are no abandoned temp files in there (probably there is just
: > normal.dot). Empty your wastebasket. Check the Windows Startup using a
: > utility such as StartCPL (get it from here:
: > http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml ) and remove everything from
Startup
: > not required. Disable Anti Virus and Firewall, etc. Now reboot to a
minimum
: > Windows.
: >
: > Now start Word and hammer it: does it still barf?
: >
: > Terry
: >
: >
: >
: > : > : Hi TF,
: > :
: > : How is renaming normal.dot as normal.bad different from renaming it as
: > : normal.old which I have already tried without success? I could be
: > mistaken
: > : but the link to word.mvps.org contains solutions which do not apply to
: > this
: > : problem. Thanks for you interest however and I am still waiting for
: > someone
: > : from many different forums to suggest a solution.
: > :
: > : Paul
: > :
: > :
: >
: >
: >

 

[Paul Beier]

Thanks Terry,

I have also found on other forums, other people have the same combination
of Catalyst 4.12 drivers and Office 2003 without this problem. Guess it
must be my particular combination. The graphics card itself is fine by the
way as evidenced by my system consistently running ALL other software without
this glitch. The problem is in the software conflict between the latest ATI
drivers and Word. I wonder if I can somehow install the MS 2D drivers and
the Catalyst 4.12 3D drivers separately and if this indeed would optimise my
system.

blessings,

Paul

 

[TF]

Paul

Well take it up with ATi as I am sure that they will respond to the problem.
I have always found their support excellent.

Terry


: Thanks Terry,
:
: I have also found on other forums, other people have the same combination
: of Catalyst 4.12 drivers and Office 2003 without this problem. Guess it
: must be my particular combination. The graphics card itself is fine by
the
: way as evidenced by my system consistently running ALL other software
without
: this glitch. The problem is in the software conflict between the latest
ATI
: drivers and Word. I wonder if I can somehow install the MS 2D drivers and
: the Catalyst 4.12 3D drivers separately and if this indeed would optimise
my
: system.
:
: blessings,
:
: Paul
:

 

[Paul Beier]

Hi all,

Thanks to all who have been assisting me with my problem of system crashes
whenever I used Word 2003. As it turned out, a kind person on the VIARENA
forums suggested it may be an IRQ conflict. Upon further investigation
(Device manager – view by resources – IRQs), it was discovered that the
Radeon 9600 card was assigned the same IRQ (16) as the onboard VIA OHCI
Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller. This was a default setting on this ASUS
K8VSEDX Mobo.

On advice, I disabled the Firewire in the BIOS and checked to see that the
graphics card now had its unique IRQ – it did. I updated the drivers to
Catalyst 5.1, rebooted and began to use Word. So far – not a sniff of a
crash. Have been using it off and on all day for up to twenty minutes,
unheard of since building this machine.

I think the problems solved. Thanks again to Cris, Jomo and the many others
for their kind assistance. You guys rock. Long live the VIA ARENA!!