Open File Dialoge not working, and other problems

B

Barry Watzman

My system has developed a number of problems in the past 3 weeks. I've
done extensive virus and spyware scans, and find no infection or malware
of any kind. Everything is fully updated (XP Pro and Office 2003). As
far as I know the system is clean, but ....

Here are the problems:

1. The open file dialogue no longer works in any Microsoft Office
applications. Attempting to use it (File/Open) hangs the office
application and I have to shut it down. I can open any file I want by
double-clicking it in explorer or my computer, and the application works
fine. But if I do File/Open, the cursor changes to an hourglass, the
dialogue box never comes up and the only thing I can do is shut down the
office application. (The computer and other apps do not hang).

2. IE is also broken. No matter what URL I put in, I get "done"
immediately and nothing ever happens. I'm browsing with Netscape. I
was, however, able to use Windows update.

3. If I open a blank document in Word, the cursor is positioned at the
very, very top of the page, as if top margin = zero. But if I do a
"view heater/footer" and then close the header/footer dialogue, the
cursor is in it's proper position based on the margin settings.

I'm suspicious that these may be related. Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks,
Barry Watzman
(e-mail address removed)
 
B

Barry Watzman

That is not my problem. Word itself opens just fine. It is DOCUMENTS
that I am unable to open. But documents open fine if I find the
document and double click on it; the problem is limited to the "File /
Open" function, and it effects all Microsoft Office components (word,
excel, powerpoint).
 
D

Dawn Crosier

I'll research the problem. We have machines here which just got an IE
update and they are having the same problems.

--
Dawn Crosier
Microsoft MVP
"Education Lasts a Lifetime"

This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies and
questions to the newsgroup so that others can learn as well.
 
D

Dawn Crosier

Users are reporting that uninstalling KB908531 solves the problem.
Microsoft is working on it.

--
Dawn Crosier
Microsoft MVP
"Education Lasts a Lifetime"

This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies and
questions to the newsgroup so that others can learn as well.
 
B

Barry Watzman

Dawn.

It is very clear to me that a recent MS update "broke" something. Go
back, you will see that there are multiple threads started by different
people with this problem, and now you post that you yourself are seeing
it on some of your own machines.

As you know, I'm sure, there was a "mega update" on Tuesday (April 11th,
"patch Tuesday"), and something appears to have slipped through the cracks.

Please keep me posted, and when you find a fix, please send it to me by
E-Mail (Watzman@neo.rr.com)

Also note from my post, this is NOT THE ONLY PROBLEM. IE itself also
doesn't work.

Thanks
Barry Watzman
(e-mail address removed)
 
T

Tom [Pepper] Willett

Have you checked "Show Updates" at the top?

Tom
| Ok, how do I do that? It's not listed in the add/remove software list.
|
|
| Dawn Crosier wrote:
|
| > Users are reporting that uninstalling KB908531 solves the problem.
| > Microsoft is working on it.
| >
 
B

Barry Watzman

Ok, to remove it:

Control Panel / Add or Remove Programs, then [very important] check the
box at the top labeled "show updates", scroll down to find "Security
Update for Windows XP (KB908531)", select it and remove it.

It will not show up unless the "show updates" box is checked.

And yes, removing it did indeed fix the problems with both IE and with
all of the Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
 

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