MS Word (Vista) with corrupted template that isn't fixed with dele

[cpanm]

I'm having problems getting MS Word to work properly...currently Word opens
with messages that "Word automatically saved changes to the Normal document
template. Do you want to load it?" When I say "no" Word opens, and you can
type, but you can NOT select text or edit that text.

I believe this all started when I received an email from a very reputable
sender...their Word document didn't appear to have a header space...I played
around a little bit to show the header space (unsuccessfully), and when I
went to close the document, it showed the "Word automatically saved changes
to the Normal document template. Do you want to load it?" and it is possible
that I said "yes" at that time. Then I received messages saying "MS Word has
stopped working...checking for a solution. MS Word has stopped working, will
close and we'll notify you if a solution is available." No further
information of solutions...just the same problems over and over again.

Since then we repeatedly tried deleting the latest normal.dot file, and it
didn't work. We also tried uninstalling MS Word and reinstalling it...didn't
work. Also note, that MS Word does work in the accounts of other users in
the family, but not in our primary family account...and we tried copying
those normal.dot files into the account of the corrupted normal.dot files and
that didn't work either.

Please help!!! This is very frustrating!! Thank you much!

 

[Graham Mayor]

See http://www.gmayor.com/what_to_do_when_word_crashes.htm then
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/AppErrors/ProblemsStartingWord.htm. with
particular emphasis on the normal template which could be corrupt.
The header space issue is addressed at http://www.gmayor.com/white_space.htm

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Graham Mayor - Word MVP


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[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Well, the header issue could have been solved with a simple click or
double-click, depending on your version (see
http://sbarnhill.mvps.org/WordFAQs/WhiteSpace.htm). As for the message, you
might see http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA011514521033.aspx
or “You are prompted to save the changes to the Normal.dot global template
every time that you quit Word†at
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=291352, though neither of these quite
matches your situation.

A reply to a similar question from Bob Buckland asks:
Are you sharing a Normal.dot among multiple users? Each user should have
their own Normal template.
Are you using Word 2000 installed locally or set to 'run from network
server' from a shared program location?
Have you checked that all *.tmp and ~$*.* files on the server/hard drive
have been cleared out?
Have you granted permissions for file deletion?
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;244728&sd=tech

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