MS Word 2002 - Tool bar drop-down not showing up

[xxarabesquexx]

I have MS office 2002 programs on my laptop (Windows Vista) and for some
reason, whenever I go to click something on the menu bar - for instance File,
Edit, or View - the drop-down won't show up. All I get is a vague outline of
the right-hand side of the drop down. Same with text color, font style, etc.

I can still use it, sort of; if I know that the Save As option is n number
of spaces down when I click File, I can use the down-arrow key to move that
many spaces. The thing is, I don't have all that memorized, and I really want
to fix this. It's on all the Windows programs on my laptop.

The same thing also happens when I right-click anywhere on a document, and
for the Recent Items option on the Start menu.

I've tried restarting and scanning multiple times, and I'm not sure what
else to do. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

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

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Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[xxarabesquexx]

Thanks for the link, Suzanne.

I followed the instructions regarding the registry carefully, but
unfortunately nothing changed; the drop-down menu issues persists. I'll have
another go at it tomorrow.

In the meantime, do you have any other suggestions? Thank you.

 

[Graham Mayor]

This sounds more like a display driver issue. See if there is a display
driver update available.

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Graham Mayor - Word MVP


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[xxarabesquexx]

Thanks Graham.

I apologize, but where would I check for a display driver update?

 

[Graham Mayor]

If you check Windows Control Panel > System > Hardware > Device Manager >
Display Adapters (location may differ with operating system version). The
name of your display Adapter will be listed. Search at Google for the latest
update from the manufacturer's web site. Download, then from the same
dialog, right click and update driver (or if the driver is supplied as an
executable file, simply run the exe file)

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Graham Mayor - Word MVP


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[xxarabesquexx]

Thanks, Graham. I've checked a few times, and my device driver is up-to-date
already. Nothing seems to be working.

I wanted to save this as a last resort, but would uninstalling then
reinstalling the Office programs be a good solution? Or, (and I really don't
want to have to do this, as I like the older version) would upgrading to
Office 07 be a solution?

Thank you.

 

[Graham Mayor]

I doubt that re-installing would make any difference.
I still suspect the problem is associated with the display adapter. What
screen resolution do you have configured? (Right click the desktop >
properties > settings) Set color quality to 'Highest'. You may also be able
to reduce the hardware acceleration.
If that doesn't fix it - see
http://www.gmayor.com/what_to_do_when_word_crashes.htm then
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/AppErrors/ProblemsStartingWord.htm or
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/921541 with particular emphasis on the
normal template and the data key in the registry.

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Graham Mayor - Word MVP


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