Search function results in program freeze: Word2007

[duluth george]

Data: running Word2007 on Windows XP fully up to date through Service Pack 3.
Inspiron 4150 with 512MRAM.

Problem: When using cntrl+F in "Find" mode, the program will go to 100%CPU
and enter into "program not responding" mode. Requires having Word enter
into document recovery and send error report sequence. And then have the
program reboot. Two additional details of the problem: 1) the problem only
exists on larger docx documents. Where I'm experiencing it is in a 360 page
report (~1M docx); and 2) it only happens when the search would require
wrapping from the bottom of the doc to restart the search at the top. It is
this last function that IMO is causing the problem: it doesn't execute the
"start at top" function. At this point it seems to send the program into an
endless loop.

Discussion: I have been having the above described problem with Word2007
since I purchased it several months ago. I have re-installed the program
once, thinking perhaps the problem was a disk error. No luck, the problem
re-occurred as soon as I tested it. Here is how I induce the problem:

As mentioned above, I'm editing a 360 page document. I will be mid-way down
the document and need to search for a text string. If the target text string
is below the search initiation point, the "Find" function works without
error. However, if the target text string is higher up in the document,
which would require the search function to re-initiate the search at the top
of the document, the CPU immediately goes to 100% and spins in perpetuity.
It requires forcing Word2007 to quit.

I have now adopted the routine of starting all text searches from the top of
the document and this has eliminated the program lockups. Oddly, the problem
seems to exist only on a large document. The search function on a small
document of only several pages seems to work without error.

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http://www.microsoft.com/office/com...8&dg=microsoft.public.word.application.errors

 

[Terry Farrell]

Did you mean that you now search from the BOTTOM up and not TOP down? I
thought this bug was cleared by Octobers patches: have you installed all the
latest patches?

 

[duluth george]

Did you mean that you now search from the BOTTOM up and not TOP down? I
thought this bug was cleared by Octobers patches: have you installed all the
latest patches?

--

Thanks for the quick reply Terry. Perhaps you could point me to where I
might find this aforementioned October patch? I have searched MS's website
to no avail.

{and no, I am searching from the top down}

TIA

geo

 

[Terry Farrell]

You need to run Mycroft Update which updates both Windows and Office.
Alternatively, you can launch it from Word Options, Resources, Get Updates.

Terry

 

[Terry Farrell]

Mycroft... where did that come from!

Microsoft, of course.

Terry

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Mycroft... where did that come from!

It might require Sherlock Holmes to figure that one out. <g>

 

[Terry Farrell]

Probably a moriarty moment then...

Terry

It might require Sherlock Holmes to figure that one out. <g>

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

 

[duluth george]

Regarding the updating of Word 2007:

You need to run MicroSoft Update which updates both Windows and Office.
Alternatively, you can launch it from Word Options, Resources, Get Updates.

Terry

Terry - I have auto update, but just as an insurance I ran MS Update, both
from the MS website (using Silverlight) and also from Word's intrinsic
updater. No luck. Apparently I am completely up to date with patches. I
had hoped something had slipped through the cracks.

I'm wondering if there is some configuration file or something that does NOT
get updated when I re-installed Word2007. Regardless, it is extremely
annoying to have this large document repeatedly lock up Word 2007. Again, it
does this whenever I perform a text search, and when the search hits the
bottom of the document, instead of prompting "Text not found, continue
searching from the beginning of the document?", going into an endless loop
and locking up the CPU.

If I'm the only one having this problem, it must not be a program bug, but
either some Word2007 config file, or possibly a problem with the docx file
itself. I've tried to address the latter by copying the docx file to a
separate drive (to create a clean write of it), deleting my hard drive
version, and then re-copying back over to the hard drive. No luck, it still
does it.

Anybody out there have a suggestion as to how I can trouble shoot this?

TIA

geo

 

[Bob Buckland ?:-\)]

Hi George,

The change for the Find function in Word 2007 was updated in a hotfix. That fix may or may not have already been rolled up into one
of the updates that is on the MS Update checker. The hotfix is available via
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/955587?FR=1

To stop the loop the Esc key often takes you out of it, not always immediately.

==========
Regarding the updating of Word 2007:

You need to run MicroSoft Update which updates both Windows and Office.
Alternatively, you can launch it from Word Options, Resources, Get Updates.

Terry

Terry - I have auto update, but just as an insurance I ran MS Update, both
from the MS website (using Silverlight) and also from Word's intrinsic
updater. No luck. Apparently I am completely up to date with patches. I
had hoped something had slipped through the cracks.

I'm wondering if there is some configuration file or something that does NOT
get updated when I re-installed Word2007. Regardless, it is extremely
annoying to have this large document repeatedly lock up Word 2007. Again, it
does this whenever I perform a text search, and when the search hits the
bottom of the document, instead of prompting "Text not found, continue
searching from the beginning of the document?", going into an endless loop
and locking up the CPU.

If I'm the only one having this problem, it must not be a program bug, but
either some Word2007 config file, or possibly a problem with the docx file
itself. I've tried to address the latter by copying the docx file to a
separate drive (to create a clean write of it), deleting my hard drive
version, and then re-copying back over to the hard drive. No luck, it still
does it.

Anybody out there have a suggestion as to how I can trouble shoot this?

TIA

geo >>
--

Bob Buckland ?
MS Office System Products MVP

*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*

 

[Terry Farrell]

As Bob suggests, I suspect that the hot fix wasn't incorporated in the last
Office patch after all. Let us know how you get on with the hot fix.

Terry

 

[duluth george]

<<As Bob suggests, I suspect that the hot fix wasn't incorporated in the last
Office patch after all. Let us know how you get on with the hot fix.>>

Success on all fronts! The problem is solved. I was able to download and
install the hot fix. Then I tested it and it has solved the problem. Thanks
to all for your help.
------------------------------------------
And for the rest of the story.....

Here's what I think happened. I purchased an upgrade to Word 2007 from
BestBuy a couple months ago. The price was right, and it was probably due to
the item having sat on the shelf for a long time -- and undoubtably was old
enough to not have the hot patch incorporated into its native programming.
After I installed it, I went to MS and downloaded all updates, but for some
reason, there must be a gap between the current downloads and that hot patch
fix. Ergo, my copy required a separate, distinct download for that fix.

For anyone else reading this with the same problem, the hot patch download
and install is not elegant. I was able to locate the download site easily,
but when I downloaded it, it does not default to your desktop. It downloads
it to C:|, which for some reason makes the install file invisible in Windows
Explorer. It does auto extract from zip to exe, but I had to search on the
KB955587 number to re-locate it. Only when you double click on the file will
it go through its install routine. After that, all is well. I immediately
deleted the install file to clean things up and make sure I didn't have to go
back and search to find the dang thing again.

 

[Terry Farrell]

I'm pleased the hot fix has resolved the bug for you.

By coincidence, there's a pile of new updates for both Windows and Office at
Windows Update released just a couple of hours ago.

Terry

 

[Bob Buckland ?:-\)]

Hi George,

Office 2000 was the last version of Office where Microsoft would periodically update the disks/CDs that were in the product box with
a Service Release. Today, there are no long Service Releases (replacement CD products with updates) just Service Packs (patches),
so whatever the first Office release is, that's the one that stays in all of the boxes for that model run. All of the other updates
have to be either downloaded or ordered online or by phone in 'patch' CDs and downloads.

Hotfixes/QFEs are preliminary updates that may still be revised once they have been incorporated into a later Service Pack.

If you download you would generally have the choice of the download to location, and the extract can depend on the zip/compress
software package you're using and what your Environment variables (such as your 'Temp' file location are set to for your PC.
Generally, downloading to a 'downloads' folder you create is usually a better choice than to the 'desktop'.


========
<<And for the rest of the story.....

Here's what I think happened. I purchased an upgrade to Word 2007 from
BestBuy a couple months ago. The price was right, and it was probably due to
the item having sat on the shelf for a long time -- and undoubtably was old
enough to not have the hot patch incorporated into its native programming.
After I installed it, I went to MS and downloaded all updates, but for some
reason, there must be a gap between the current downloads and that hot patch
fix. Ergo, my copy required a separate, distinct download for that fix.

For anyone else reading this with the same problem, the hot patch download
and install is not elegant. I was able to locate the download site easily,
but when I downloaded it, it does not default to your desktop. It downloads
it to C:|, which for some reason makes the install file invisible in Windows
Explorer. It does auto extract from zip to exe, but I had to search on the
KB955587 number to re-locate it. Only when you double click on the file will
it go through its install routine. After that, all is well. I immediately
deleted the install file to clean things up and make sure I didn't have to go
back and search to find the dang thing again. <<
--

Bob Buckland ?
MS Office System Products MVP

*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*

 

[Klaus Linke]

Hotfixes/QFEs are preliminary updates that may still be revised once

they have been incorporated into a later Service Pack. [...]

The specific hotfix (kb955587) needs to be ordered by phone, it seems.
I did so today, because Find/Replace was pretty much unusable with some
Arabic text I had to edit. Seems to work fine now... <fingers crossed>

Klaus