Word 07 crashes at startup

[Lanny]

Doesn't matter if I double click a document, or start the app by itself. It
will load, appear OK, and then, within a few seconds, a box appears stating
"Microsoft Office Word has stopped working", with the usual
options of debug, look for fix, and close.

This happened once before and I just uninstalled/re-installed and it worked
fine for <shrug> several months. This time I used the Microsoft Fix-it
dohickey for
repairing after an update, and then followed that with a manual regedit,
still broke.

I found a few suggestions in this group that I've tried:
1. Launch with "winword.exe /a". Word opens fine, and appears to stay that
way (I've only done a few short sessions lately), but threads suggest that it
isn't good to use "permanently".
2. I followed 2 guides from those threads on "What to do when Word Crashes",
but that didn't help either.
3. Renamed normal.dot. No change.

I can always re-install again, but I would really like to find a real fix if
possible.

Thanks.

 

[Terry Farrell]

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

 

[Lanny]

Hi Terry, that is one of the guides I followed already (suggestion #2). Any
other ideas?

 

[Stefan Blom]

Since running the application with the /a switch works, the problem is
likely to be with the Normal template or with an add-in. You stated that you
have already tried renaming normal.dot--have you also looked for add-ins
that might cause trouble?

 

[Terry Farrell]

Well that it starts in safe mode proves that Word is fine and the problem is
with a third party add-in or corrupt/incompatible printer driver which is
covered by the FAQ.

There's also a possibility of:

--
That may be a symptom of a Word Data Key corruption - usually because Word
has been running when updates are installed.

Symptoms of Data Key corruption may include:

• The mouse does not work when you use Word.
• You cannot open a Word document from the Search window in Windows
Vista.
• You cannot open a Word document from Windows Desktop Search.
• Word crashes when you try to start or exit Word.
• Word crashes when you open the Open dialog box.
• Word crashes when you save a document.
• Word crashes when you close a document.

See MSKB 940791 http://support.microsoft.com/kb/940791 and click on the FIX
button.

Terry Farrell - MSWord MVP

 

[Lanny]

To Terry and Stefan, Thank You.

I finally found it. It was the Office Live add-on. I don't know how I missed
it the first 2-3 times I looked at this stuff, but the 2 of you made me look
again, and harder.

Thank You.

 

[Stefan Blom]

I'm glad you got it sorted, and thank you for the follow-up!