Word 2007 extremely slow to load templates within the Startup fold

[Eduardo]

Environment: Windows Vista, Desktops & Laptops, Office Professional Plus 2007.
Problem: Within the last week, we had several instances reported in which
Word takes approximately 2-3 minutes to open and load all of our templates
located within the Startup folder. Another sympton is, when double-clicking a
file and Word is not running, this error shows: "Windows cannot find C:\
(doc) Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again".
Trobleshooting performed:
-recreated Normal.dotm
-started word in /a & /s, application opens fine
-removed templates from startup folder, application opens fine
-reloaded all templates from our distribution server, problem reoccurs
-repaired the Office suite from control panel (trying to avoid a full
reinstallation)
-deleted the registry's Word data key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft
Office\Office12\Word\Data
-recreated the Word12.pip file on roaming profile: C:\Users\[User
Name]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Office.
-Tried enabling/disabling the 'Run as Administrator' box under Properties
and Compatibility for the Word executable file winword.exe at C:\Program
Files\Microsoft Office\Office12.
-Disabled the DDE check for the Word application: deleted the
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Word.Document.8\shell\Open\ddeexec key and set value of the
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Word.Document.8\shell\Open\command key to: "C:\Program
Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\WINWORD.EXE" /n "%1"

So far, 2 out of 4 cases seemed to be resolved by some of the steps above,
but the remaining 2, the issue still occurs if using an account with no
administrator rights.
NOTE: previously to the troubleshooting the problem occurred for all
accounts, even administrators. Also note that adding a normal user account to
the admin group does not alleviate the problem, somehow only the original
admin accounts work fine now on these 2 computers. Any suggestion of anything
else we can try?

 

[Terry Farrell]

What happens if you log in a different user on one of the problem
workstations. This sounds like corrupted profiles.

 

[Eduardo]

Thanks for the reply. I already tried creating new Windows profiles and same
problematic behavior, including profiles for new administrator accounts. The
problem is only not happening for the original 2 admin accounts I used when
performing the troubleshooting steps, since some of the steps required admin
rights on the system.

What happens if you log in a different user on one of the problem
workstations. This sounds like corrupted profiles.

--
Terry Farrell - MSWord MVP

Environment: Windows Vista, Desktops & Laptops, Office Professional Plus
2007.
Problem: Within the last week, we had several instances reported in which
Word takes approximately 2-3 minutes to open and load all of our templates
located within the Startup folder. Another sympton is, when
double-clicking a
file and Word is not running, this error shows: "Windows cannot find C:\
(doc) Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again".
Trobleshooting performed:
-recreated Normal.dotm
-started word in /a & /s, application opens fine
-removed templates from startup folder, application opens fine
-reloaded all templates from our distribution server, problem reoccurs
-repaired the Office suite from control panel (trying to avoid a full
reinstallation)
-deleted the registry's Word data key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft
Office\Office12\Word\Data
-recreated the Word12.pip file on roaming profile: C:\Users\[User
Name]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Office.
-Tried enabling/disabling the 'Run as Administrator' box under Properties
and Compatibility for the Word executable file winword.exe at C:\Program
Files\Microsoft Office\Office12.
-Disabled the DDE check for the Word application: deleted the
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Word.Document.8\shell\Open\ddeexec key and set value of
the
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Word.Document.8\shell\Open\command key to: "C:\Program
Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\WINWORD.EXE" /n "%1"

So far, 2 out of 4 cases seemed to be resolved by some of the steps above,
but the remaining 2, the issue still occurs if using an account with no
administrator rights.
NOTE: previously to the troubleshooting the problem occurred for all
accounts, even administrators. Also note that adding a normal user account
to
the admin group does not alleviate the problem, somehow only the original
admin accounts work fine now on these 2 computers. Any suggestion of
anything
else we can try?

.

 

[Terry Farrell]

That's going to be a tricky problem to find. If the admin accounts are fine,
it has to be something wrong in the profiles; something that is being
duplicated when making the new profiles. Is the Startup folder on the server
or do all the users have their own local Startup folder? I'm beginning to
think they maybe the Anti Virus may be involved. Do the problem WSs have
exactly the same version and updates applied?

Terry

 

[Eduardo]

Also, I completely uninstalled/reinstalled the Office Suite from one of the
computers, and nothing changed. Same scenario still occurring.

What happens if you log in a different user on one of the problem
workstations. This sounds like corrupted profiles.

--
Terry Farrell - MSWord MVP

Environment: Windows Vista, Desktops & Laptops, Office Professional Plus
2007.
Problem: Within the last week, we had several instances reported in which
Word takes approximately 2-3 minutes to open and load all of our templates
located within the Startup folder. Another sympton is, when
double-clicking a
file and Word is not running, this error shows: "Windows cannot find C:\
(doc) Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again".
Trobleshooting performed:
-recreated Normal.dotm
-started word in /a & /s, application opens fine
-removed templates from startup folder, application opens fine
-reloaded all templates from our distribution server, problem reoccurs
-repaired the Office suite from control panel (trying to avoid a full
reinstallation)
-deleted the registry's Word data key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft
Office\Office12\Word\Data
-recreated the Word12.pip file on roaming profile: C:\Users\[User
Name]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Office.
-Tried enabling/disabling the 'Run as Administrator' box under Properties
and Compatibility for the Word executable file winword.exe at C:\Program
Files\Microsoft Office\Office12.
-Disabled the DDE check for the Word application: deleted the
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Word.Document.8\shell\Open\ddeexec key and set value of
the
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Word.Document.8\shell\Open\command key to: "C:\Program
Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\WINWORD.EXE" /n "%1"

So far, 2 out of 4 cases seemed to be resolved by some of the steps above,
but the remaining 2, the issue still occurs if using an account with no
administrator rights.
NOTE: previously to the troubleshooting the problem occurred for all
accounts, even administrators. Also note that adding a normal user account
to
the admin group does not alleviate the problem, somehow only the original
admin accounts work fine now on these 2 computers. Any suggestion of
anything
else we can try?

.

 

[Eduardo]

The startup folder is locally on each machine, the server only pushes the
templates to the respective folders. As far as I can tell, the computers have
the same updates as every other system (so far, only 4 wks out of 3500 have
shown the issue), but because of previous past experiences, I'm afraid more
issues will rise soon.
The antivirus is a possibility, I'm currently coordinating with the
department in charge of the security software and will ask them to check
those systems, but as far as I can tell, nothing differs between the
non-functioning wks and the rest.

 

[Terry Farrell]

Uninstalling and reinstalling rarely help as all user templates, macros,
customisation, security settings and third party add-ins are not affected.
So unless it is a corrupt Office file, it doesn't help.

In fact, because Word starts properly when you use the /a switch, it
actually proves that Word is fine and it is something external to Word that
is causing the problem. Are you convinced it is the loading of the Startup
folder causing the delay. Very often, slow launch is because Word is having
difficulty with finding the printer or in particular the local printer
driver. Make sure that you have the latest printer driver, then on one of
the problem WSs, delete and reinstall the printer.

Terry

Also, I completely uninstalled/reinstalled the Office Suite from one of
the
computers, and nothing changed. Same scenario still occurring.

What happens if you log in a different user on one of the problem
workstations. This sounds like corrupted profiles.

--
Terry Farrell - MSWord MVP

Environment: Windows Vista, Desktops & Laptops, Office Professional
Plus
2007.
Problem: Within the last week, we had several instances reported in
which
Word takes approximately 2-3 minutes to open and load all of our
templates
located within the Startup folder. Another sympton is, when
double-clicking a
file and Word is not running, this error shows: "Windows cannot find
C:\
(doc) Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again".
Trobleshooting performed:
-recreated Normal.dotm
-started word in /a & /s, application opens fine
-removed templates from startup folder, application opens fine
-reloaded all templates from our distribution server, problem reoccurs
-repaired the Office suite from control panel (trying to avoid a full
reinstallation)
-deleted the registry's Word data key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft
Office\Office12\Word\Data
-recreated the Word12.pip file on roaming profile: C:\Users\[User
Name]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Office.
-Tried enabling/disabling the 'Run as Administrator' box under
Properties
and Compatibility for the Word executable file winword.exe at
C:\Program
Files\Microsoft Office\Office12.
-Disabled the DDE check for the Word application: deleted the
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Word.Document.8\shell\Open\ddeexec key and set value
of
the
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Word.Document.8\shell\Open\command key to:
"C:\Program
Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\WINWORD.EXE" /n "%1"

So far, 2 out of 4 cases seemed to be resolved by some of the steps
above,
but the remaining 2, the issue still occurs if using an account with no
administrator rights.
NOTE: previously to the troubleshooting the problem occurred for all
accounts, even administrators. Also note that adding a normal user
account
to
the admin group does not alleviate the problem, somehow only the
original
admin accounts work fine now on these 2 computers. Any suggestion of
anything
else we can try?

.

 

[Eduardo]

Hi Terry, I completely removed all the printers and problem remains. I've
done some research based on the 2 symptons: slow loading of the templates and
the error when double-clicking on files to open, but nothing has worked yet.
The security team, couldn't find anything unusual either with the anti virus.
Any other suggestion?

Uninstalling and reinstalling rarely help as all user templates, macros,
customisation, security settings and third party add-ins are not affected.
So unless it is a corrupt Office file, it doesn't help.

In fact, because Word starts properly when you use the /a switch, it
actually proves that Word is fine and it is something external to Word that
is causing the problem. Are you convinced it is the loading of the Startup
folder causing the delay. Very often, slow launch is because Word is having
difficulty with finding the printer or in particular the local printer
driver. Make sure that you have the latest printer driver, then on one of
the problem WSs, delete and reinstall the printer.

Terry

Also, I completely uninstalled/reinstalled the Office Suite from one of
the
computers, and nothing changed. Same scenario still occurring.

What happens if you log in a different user on one of the problem
workstations. This sounds like corrupted profiles.

--
Terry Farrell - MSWord MVP

Environment: Windows Vista, Desktops & Laptops, Office Professional
Plus
2007.
Problem: Within the last week, we had several instances reported in
which
Word takes approximately 2-3 minutes to open and load all of our
templates
located within the Startup folder. Another sympton is, when
double-clicking a
file and Word is not running, this error shows: "Windows cannot find
C:\
(doc) Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again".
Trobleshooting performed:
-recreated Normal.dotm
-started word in /a & /s, application opens fine
-removed templates from startup folder, application opens fine
-reloaded all templates from our distribution server, problem reoccurs
-repaired the Office suite from control panel (trying to avoid a full
reinstallation)
-deleted the registry's Word data key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft
Office\Office12\Word\Data
-recreated the Word12.pip file on roaming profile: C:\Users\[User
Name]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Office.
-Tried enabling/disabling the 'Run as Administrator' box under
Properties
and Compatibility for the Word executable file winword.exe at
C:\Program
Files\Microsoft Office\Office12.
-Disabled the DDE check for the Word application: deleted the
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Word.Document.8\shell\Open\ddeexec key and set value
of
the
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Word.Document.8\shell\Open\command key to:
"C:\Program
Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\WINWORD.EXE" /n "%1"

So far, 2 out of 4 cases seemed to be resolved by some of the steps
above,
but the remaining 2, the issue still occurs if using an account with no
administrator rights.
NOTE: previously to the troubleshooting the problem occurred for all
accounts, even administrators. Also note that adding a normal user
account
to
the admin group does not alleviate the problem, somehow only the
original
admin accounts work fine now on these 2 computers. Any suggestion of
anything
else we can try?

.

.

 

[Terry Farrell]

You need to install at least one printer and set as the Windows default.
Word must see a locally installed printer driver to work correctly.

If this still runs slowly, does taking all templates out of the Start-up
folder definitely resolve the problem?

Terry

Hi Terry, I completely removed all the printers and problem remains. I've
done some research based on the 2 symptons: slow loading of the templates
and
the error when double-clicking on files to open, but nothing has worked
yet.
The security team, couldn't find anything unusual either with the anti
virus.
Any other suggestion?

Uninstalling and reinstalling rarely help as all user templates, macros,
customisation, security settings and third party add-ins are not
affected.
So unless it is a corrupt Office file, it doesn't help.

In fact, because Word starts properly when you use the /a switch, it
actually proves that Word is fine and it is something external to Word
that
is causing the problem. Are you convinced it is the loading of the
Startup
folder causing the delay. Very often, slow launch is because Word is
having
difficulty with finding the printer or in particular the local printer
driver. Make sure that you have the latest printer driver, then on one of
the problem WSs, delete and reinstall the printer.

Terry

Also, I completely uninstalled/reinstalled the Office Suite from one of
the
computers, and nothing changed. Same scenario still occurring.

:

What happens if you log in a different user on one of the problem
workstations. This sounds like corrupted profiles.

--
Terry Farrell - MSWord MVP

Environment: Windows Vista, Desktops & Laptops, Office Professional
Plus
2007.
Problem: Within the last week, we had several instances reported in
which
Word takes approximately 2-3 minutes to open and load all of our
templates
located within the Startup folder. Another sympton is, when
double-clicking a
file and Word is not running, this error shows: "Windows cannot find
C:\
(doc) Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again".
Trobleshooting performed:
-recreated Normal.dotm
-started word in /a & /s, application opens fine
-removed templates from startup folder, application opens fine
-reloaded all templates from our distribution server, problem
reoccurs
-repaired the Office suite from control panel (trying to avoid a
full
reinstallation)
-deleted the registry's Word data key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft
Office\Office12\Word\Data
-recreated the Word12.pip file on roaming profile: C:\Users\[User
Name]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Office.
-Tried enabling/disabling the 'Run as Administrator' box under
Properties
and Compatibility for the Word executable file winword.exe at
C:\Program
Files\Microsoft Office\Office12.
-Disabled the DDE check for the Word application: deleted the
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Word.Document.8\shell\Open\ddeexec key and set
value
of
the
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Word.Document.8\shell\Open\command key to:
"C:\Program
Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\WINWORD.EXE" /n "%1"

So far, 2 out of 4 cases seemed to be resolved by some of the steps
above,
but the remaining 2, the issue still occurs if using an account with
no
administrator rights.
NOTE: previously to the troubleshooting the problem occurred for all
accounts, even administrators. Also note that adding a normal user
account
to
the admin group does not alleviate the problem, somehow only the
original
admin accounts work fine now on these 2 computers. Any suggestion of
anything
else we can try?

.

.

 

[Eduardo]

I did try adding at least a printer, including the office image writer, no
improvement.
And yes, if the STARTUP folder within the Office12 directory is empty, Word
opens immediately, the error when double-clicking files stops showing and
documents open fine too (even if Word is not running).
I have also tried replacing those templates several times, from both the
server and from functioning computers (to discard corruptions with them) but
issue remains.

You need to install at least one printer and set as the Windows default.
Word must see a locally installed printer driver to work correctly.

If this still runs slowly, does taking all templates out of the Start-up
folder definitely resolve the problem?

Terry

Hi Terry, I completely removed all the printers and problem remains. I've
done some research based on the 2 symptons: slow loading of the templates
and
the error when double-clicking on files to open, but nothing has worked
yet.
The security team, couldn't find anything unusual either with the anti
virus.
Any other suggestion?

Uninstalling and reinstalling rarely help as all user templates, macros,
customisation, security settings and third party add-ins are not
affected.
So unless it is a corrupt Office file, it doesn't help.

In fact, because Word starts properly when you use the /a switch, it
actually proves that Word is fine and it is something external to Word
that
is causing the problem. Are you convinced it is the loading of the
Startup
folder causing the delay. Very often, slow launch is because Word is
having
difficulty with finding the printer or in particular the local printer
driver. Make sure that you have the latest printer driver, then on one of
the problem WSs, delete and reinstall the printer.

Terry

Also, I completely uninstalled/reinstalled the Office Suite from one of
the
computers, and nothing changed. Same scenario still occurring.

:

What happens if you log in a different user on one of the problem
workstations. This sounds like corrupted profiles.

--
Terry Farrell - MSWord MVP

Environment: Windows Vista, Desktops & Laptops, Office Professional
Plus
2007.
Problem: Within the last week, we had several instances reported in
which
Word takes approximately 2-3 minutes to open and load all of our
templates
located within the Startup folder. Another sympton is, when
double-clicking a
file and Word is not running, this error shows: "Windows cannot find
C:\
(doc) Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again".
Trobleshooting performed:
-recreated Normal.dotm
-started word in /a & /s, application opens fine
-removed templates from startup folder, application opens fine
-reloaded all templates from our distribution server, problem
reoccurs
-repaired the Office suite from control panel (trying to avoid a
full
reinstallation)
-deleted the registry's Word data key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft
Office\Office12\Word\Data
-recreated the Word12.pip file on roaming profile: C:\Users\[User
Name]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Office.
-Tried enabling/disabling the 'Run as Administrator' box under
Properties
and Compatibility for the Word executable file winword.exe at
C:\Program
Files\Microsoft Office\Office12.
-Disabled the DDE check for the Word application: deleted the
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Word.Document.8\shell\Open\ddeexec key and set
value
of
the
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Word.Document.8\shell\Open\command key to:
"C:\Program
Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\WINWORD.EXE" /n "%1"

So far, 2 out of 4 cases seemed to be resolved by some of the steps
above,
but the remaining 2, the issue still occurs if using an account with
no
administrator rights.
NOTE: previously to the troubleshooting the problem occurred for all
accounts, even administrators. Also note that adding a normal user
account
to
the admin group does not alleviate the problem, somehow only the
original
admin accounts work fine now on these 2 computers. Any suggestion of
anything
else we can try?

.

.

.

 

[Terry Farrell]

Create a Startup folder in the User's local Documents folder. Copy in all
the Startup templates. Edit the Word File Locations settings to point to the
new Startup location. Now restart Word and see if it starts properly.

Terry

 

[Eduardo]

Hi Terry, per your advice, I moved the templates to the
"C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Word\STARTUP" folder and
everything loaded fine, no more errors or slowness. But if I move them back
to the "...Office12\STARTUP" folder, problem returns.
I checked permissions on the "...Office12\STARTUP" folder and couldn't find
anything unusual. I even tried recreating it and/or changing properties, but
no luck. Any more thoughts?

 

[Terry Farrell]

Well that was just a test out of desperation: I'm not sure quite what to
make of the result! It does suggest a permissions problem or a corrupt
profile, but previous tests seem to deny that.

How are the users' roaming Startup folders set up to keep up to date with
the server? Could Word be trying to load the Startup templates whilst the
templates in the Startup folder are still being loaded from the server?

Terry