Word 2000 fails to start

[StuK]

Hi, I have a Windows XP system with Office 2000 Professional installed.
Until recently this has been working fine.

The problem is that Word 2000 will not startup. It tries to, but we are
just left with the splash screen and not a lot else.

I have tried running Word with the /a switch and it starts OK.

So far I have:
- deleted all .dot's
- checked there are no files in the startup directory
- deleted the data keys from the registry
- changed the default printer to a local generic text printer
- tried to start holding [shift] to prevent macros running
- checked for COM addins

The problem persists. I only have a problem with Word - the rest of Office
seems OK.

I have removed and reinstalled Office but the problem stayed. Also I
updated Office with SR1, SP2 and SP3 just to make sure.

I cannot think of any significant change/event that might have coincided
with the start of this problem.

Anyone got any thoughts before I throw this thing out of a window?

Cheers

Stu

 

[Herb Tyson [MVP]]

When you say you deleted "all .dot" files... are you sure you actually
deleted Normal.dot, and if so, that it's the Normal.dot that Word uses? You
might need to tell Windows Explorer to display hidden/system files to
actually see it when you search for it. You can discover the default
location for it by starting Word (use the /a switch), then choose Tools -
Options - File Locations and checking the User templates _and_ the Workgroup
templates locations. Again, Normal.dot might be hidden.

If starting with /a works, then the problem invariably is one of the
following:

1. Corrupted registry entries.

2. Corrupted normal.dot.

3. Interfering or corrupted add-in.

4. Virus.

If deleting the Data key didn't work, you might become a little more
aggressive by deleting both the Data key _and_ the Options key. Also... make
sure you're zapping the right one(s):


HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Word\Data

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Word\Options

If worse comes to worse... try creating a new Windows user login ID and see
if Word starts okay as a new user. I've had to resort to this to solve
problems a few times. Granted, it's not a wonderful solution, but it might
just edge out tossing the beast out the window (if you do that, make sure to
shout "Heads up!" so as not to hurt any innocent bystanders).