Word and Excel now much slower to open

[John Hanley]

I am running Office Home & Student 2007 on Vista. When I first started
using this system, Word or Excel would open very quickly, approx. 3-4
seconds. Lately it is taking 8-12 seconds to open.
Items of interest:
- once Word/Excel is open, invoking subsequent documents is only 1-2
seconds.
- I have 2GB RAM
- I use Norton Antivirus, but have the option to scan Word documents turned
off.
- as far as I know, prefetching is in force.
- I do use indexing, but I always have.
- I am not on a network.
- One thing that has changed for me lately is the addition of a graphics
tablet; however, Word/Excel is slow even with the USB tablet unplugged.

Would appreciate any thoughts on how to troubleshoot this problem. Thanks.

 

[Echo S]

In addition to turning off the option to scan Word documents, I'd make sure
the Norton Office plug-in is completely disabled. Here's some info on doing
that:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/329820/en-us

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
(New!) The PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit http://tinyurl.com/2qzlpl
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/index.html

 

[John Hanley]

Thanks. I had that advice given from someone earlier and have now removed
Norton A/V from my computer in favor of the avast A/V program. The slow
behavior of Word and Excel continues even without Norton.

Also -- more about my use of the word 'slow' -- from the time of double
click or Open command, there is a 5-6 second dead time wait where nothing is
happening, and then the Word program window begins to appear and fills in
the next 3-4 seconds. Does that make it more clear?

In addition to turning off the option to scan Word documents, I'd make
sure the Norton Office plug-in is completely disabled. Here's some info on
doing that:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/329820/en-us

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
(New!) The PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit http://tinyurl.com/2qzlpl
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/index.html

I am running Office Home & Student 2007 on Vista. When I first started
using this system, Word or Excel would open very quickly, approx. 3-4
seconds. Lately it is taking 8-12 seconds to open.
Items of interest:
- once Word/Excel is open, invoking subsequent documents is only 1-2
seconds.
- I have 2GB RAM
- I use Norton Antivirus, but have the option to scan Word documents
turned off.
- as far as I know, prefetching is in force.
- I do use indexing, but I always have.
- I am not on a network.
- One thing that has changed for me lately is the addition of a graphics
tablet; however, Word/Excel is slow even with the USB tablet unplugged.

Would appreciate any thoughts on how to troubleshoot this problem.
Thanks.

 

[Echo S]

Have you run Office diagnostics? Open Word, hit the Office button | Word
Options | Resources | Run Diagnostics. Hopefully that will take care of it.

(Sorry, I didn't mean for you to completely dump Norton!)

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
(New!) The PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit http://tinyurl.com/2qzlpl
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/index.html

Thanks. I had that advice given from someone earlier and have now removed
Norton A/V from my computer in favor of the avast A/V program. The slow
behavior of Word and Excel continues even without Norton.

Also -- more about my use of the word 'slow' -- from the time of double
click or Open command, there is a 5-6 second dead time wait where nothing
is happening, and then the Word program window begins to appear and fills
in the next 3-4 seconds. Does that make it more clear?

In addition to turning off the option to scan Word documents, I'd make
sure the Norton Office plug-in is completely disabled. Here's some info
on doing that:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/329820/en-us

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
(New!) The PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit
http://tinyurl.com/2qzlpl
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/index.html

I am running Office Home & Student 2007 on Vista. When I first started
using this system, Word or Excel would open very quickly, approx. 3-4
seconds. Lately it is taking 8-12 seconds to open.
Items of interest:
- once Word/Excel is open, invoking subsequent documents is only 1-2
seconds.
- I have 2GB RAM
- I use Norton Antivirus, but have the option to scan Word documents
turned off.
- as far as I know, prefetching is in force.
- I do use indexing, but I always have.
- I am not on a network.
- One thing that has changed for me lately is the addition of a graphics
tablet; however, Word/Excel is slow even with the USB tablet unplugged.

Would appreciate any thoughts on how to troubleshoot this problem.
Thanks.

 

[John Hanley]

Echo S -- I ran the Office diagnostics you suggested, but that has not
helped. As to Norton -- by coincidence, my subscription to Norton A/V had
run out this week, and I decided to switch to avast to save a few $, since I
had read good reviews of the free avast A/V. I suppose it still may be
possible that avast is an impediment. However, since I observe that opening
a 2nd word document while the first one is still open goes in 1-2 seconds, I
am thinking that A/V scanning is not what is slowing it down. At the moment
I am still suspecting the presence of my new graphics tablet (even unplugged
from the USB port) is causing the slow down, and will need more sleuthing.
Thanks for your advice.

Have you run Office diagnostics? Open Word, hit the Office button | Word
Options | Resources | Run Diagnostics. Hopefully that will take care of
it.

(Sorry, I didn't mean for you to completely dump Norton!)

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
(New!) The PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit http://tinyurl.com/2qzlpl
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/index.html

Thanks. I had that advice given from someone earlier and have now
removed Norton A/V from my computer in favor of the avast A/V program.
The slow behavior of Word and Excel continues even without Norton.

Also -- more about my use of the word 'slow' -- from the time of double
click or Open command, there is a 5-6 second dead time wait where nothing
is happening, and then the Word program window begins to appear and fills
in the next 3-4 seconds. Does that make it more clear?

In addition to turning off the option to scan Word documents, I'd make
sure the Norton Office plug-in is completely disabled. Here's some info
on doing that:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/329820/en-us

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
(New!) The PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit
http://tinyurl.com/2qzlpl
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/index.html

I am running Office Home & Student 2007 on Vista. When I first started
using this system, Word or Excel would open very quickly, approx. 3-4
seconds. Lately it is taking 8-12 seconds to open.
Items of interest:
- once Word/Excel is open, invoking subsequent documents is only 1-2
seconds.
- I have 2GB RAM
- I use Norton Antivirus, but have the option to scan Word documents
turned off.
- as far as I know, prefetching is in force.
- I do use indexing, but I always have.
- I am not on a network.
- One thing that has changed for me lately is the addition of a
graphics tablet; however, Word/Excel is slow even with the USB tablet
unplugged.

Would appreciate any thoughts on how to troubleshoot this problem.
Thanks.

 

[Echo S]

Thanks for the followup, John. I am out of ideas, and I think you might be
onto something with regard to the tablet. I think there are some tablet
groups -- you might want to ask in one of them and see if anyone has any
tablet-specific suggestions for you.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
(New!) The PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit http://tinyurl.com/2qzlpl
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/index.html

Echo S -- I ran the Office diagnostics you suggested, but that has not
helped. As to Norton -- by coincidence, my subscription to Norton A/V
had run out this week, and I decided to switch to avast to save a few $,
since I had read good reviews of the free avast A/V. I suppose it still
may be possible that avast is an impediment. However, since I observe
that opening a 2nd word document while the first one is still open goes in
1-2 seconds, I am thinking that A/V scanning is not what is slowing it
down. At the moment I am still suspecting the presence of my new graphics
tablet (even unplugged from the USB port) is causing the slow down, and
will need more sleuthing. Thanks for your advice.

Have you run Office diagnostics? Open Word, hit the Office button | Word
Options | Resources | Run Diagnostics. Hopefully that will take care of
it.

(Sorry, I didn't mean for you to completely dump Norton!)

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
(New!) The PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit
http://tinyurl.com/2qzlpl
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/index.html

Thanks. I had that advice given from someone earlier and have now
removed Norton A/V from my computer in favor of the avast A/V program.
The slow behavior of Word and Excel continues even without Norton.

Also -- more about my use of the word 'slow' -- from the time of double
click or Open command, there is a 5-6 second dead time wait where
nothing
is happening, and then the Word program window begins to appear and
fills
in the next 3-4 seconds. Does that make it more clear?

In addition to turning off the option to scan Word documents, I'd make
sure the Norton Office plug-in is completely disabled. Here's some info
on doing that:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/329820/en-us

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
(New!) The PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit
http://tinyurl.com/2qzlpl
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/index.html

I am running Office Home & Student 2007 on Vista. When I first
started
using this system, Word or Excel would open very quickly, approx. 3-4
seconds. Lately it is taking 8-12 seconds to open.
Items of interest:
- once Word/Excel is open, invoking subsequent documents is only 1-2
seconds.
- I have 2GB RAM
- I use Norton Antivirus, but have the option to scan Word documents
turned off.
- as far as I know, prefetching is in force.
- I do use indexing, but I always have.
- I am not on a network.
- One thing that has changed for me lately is the addition of a
graphics tablet; however, Word/Excel is slow even with the USB tablet
unplugged.

Would appreciate any thoughts on how to troubleshoot this problem.
Thanks.

 

[John Hanley]

Echo S - thanks -- and now I have a bit of new information: the slow
behavior occurs when I invoke Word or Excel directly from the desktop, or
from the Recent Items list, or from within a folder. However....if I invoke
Word or Excel from the Start Menu program list it is very fast 1-2
seconds. What would make such a difference? Hopefully not a red herring,
but worthy of further research?

Thanks for the followup, John. I am out of ideas, and I think you might be
onto something with regard to the tablet. I think there are some tablet
groups -- you might want to ask in one of them and see if anyone has any
tablet-specific suggestions for you.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
(New!) The PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit http://tinyurl.com/2qzlpl
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/index.html

Echo S -- I ran the Office diagnostics you suggested, but that has not
helped. As to Norton -- by coincidence, my subscription to Norton A/V
had run out this week, and I decided to switch to avast to save a few $,
since I had read good reviews of the free avast A/V. I suppose it still
may be possible that avast is an impediment. However, since I observe
that opening a 2nd word document while the first one is still open goes
in 1-2 seconds, I am thinking that A/V scanning is not what is slowing it
down. At the moment I am still suspecting the presence of my new
graphics tablet (even unplugged from the USB port) is causing the slow
down, and will need more sleuthing. Thanks for your advice.

Have you run Office diagnostics? Open Word, hit the Office button | Word
Options | Resources | Run Diagnostics. Hopefully that will take care of
it.

(Sorry, I didn't mean for you to completely dump Norton!)

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
(New!) The PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit
http://tinyurl.com/2qzlpl
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/index.html

Thanks. I had that advice given from someone earlier and have now
removed Norton A/V from my computer in favor of the avast A/V program.
The slow behavior of Word and Excel continues even without Norton.

Also -- more about my use of the word 'slow' -- from the time of double
click or Open command, there is a 5-6 second dead time wait where
nothing
is happening, and then the Word program window begins to appear and
fills
in the next 3-4 seconds. Does that make it more clear?

In addition to turning off the option to scan Word documents, I'd make
sure the Norton Office plug-in is completely disabled. Here's some
info
on doing that:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/329820/en-us

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
(New!) The PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit
http://tinyurl.com/2qzlpl
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/index.html

I am running Office Home & Student 2007 on Vista. When I first
started
using this system, Word or Excel would open very quickly, approx. 3-4
seconds. Lately it is taking 8-12 seconds to open.
Items of interest:
- once Word/Excel is open, invoking subsequent documents is only 1-2
seconds.
- I have 2GB RAM
- I use Norton Antivirus, but have the option to scan Word documents
turned off.
- as far as I know, prefetching is in force.
- I do use indexing, but I always have.
- I am not on a network.
- One thing that has changed for me lately is the addition of a
graphics tablet; however, Word/Excel is slow even with the USB tablet
unplugged.

Would appreciate any thoughts on how to troubleshoot this problem.
Thanks.

 

[Echo S]

Hi, John,

I keep forgetting you're not talking about a tablet PC actually, but rather
a graphics tablet -- like a Wacom, right? Could you confirm?

If Word/Excel is slow even with the graphics input table unplugged, I doubt
it's the problem. But you may want to check for updated drivers for it just
in case.

Also, could you confirm what you mean by "invoke Word or Excel directly from
the desktop"? Are you double-clicking a Word or Excel file on the desktop?
Is it a DOC file or a DOCX file?

I think what you're really saying is that, when you use a file to open
Word/Excel (double-click a file on the desktop, choose from the Start |
Recent Items list), the programs open slowly, but when you just open the
program itself from the Start menu, it opens quickly.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
(New!) The PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit http://tinyurl.com/2qzlpl
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/index.html

Echo S - thanks -- and now I have a bit of new information: the slow
behavior occurs when I invoke Word or Excel directly from the desktop, or
from the Recent Items list, or from within a folder. However....if I
invoke
Word or Excel from the Start Menu program list it is very fast 1-2
seconds. What would make such a difference? Hopefully not a red herring,
but worthy of further research?

Thanks for the followup, John. I am out of ideas, and I think you might
be
onto something with regard to the tablet. I think there are some tablet
groups -- you might want to ask in one of them and see if anyone has any
tablet-specific suggestions for you.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
(New!) The PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit
http://tinyurl.com/2qzlpl
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/index.html

Echo S -- I ran the Office diagnostics you suggested, but that has not
helped. As to Norton -- by coincidence, my subscription to Norton A/V
had run out this week, and I decided to switch to avast to save a few $,
since I had read good reviews of the free avast A/V. I suppose it
still
may be possible that avast is an impediment. However, since I observe
that opening a 2nd word document while the first one is still open goes
in 1-2 seconds, I am thinking that A/V scanning is not what is slowing
it
down. At the moment I am still suspecting the presence of my new
graphics tablet (even unplugged from the USB port) is causing the slow
down, and will need more sleuthing. Thanks for your advice.

Have you run Office diagnostics? Open Word, hit the Office button |
Word
Options | Resources | Run Diagnostics. Hopefully that will take care of
it.

(Sorry, I didn't mean for you to completely dump Norton!)

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
(New!) The PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit
http://tinyurl.com/2qzlpl
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/index.html

Thanks. I had that advice given from someone earlier and have now
removed Norton A/V from my computer in favor of the avast A/V program.
The slow behavior of Word and Excel continues even without Norton.

Also -- more about my use of the word 'slow' -- from the time of
double
click or Open command, there is a 5-6 second dead time wait where
nothing
is happening, and then the Word program window begins to appear and
fills
in the next 3-4 seconds. Does that make it more clear?

In addition to turning off the option to scan Word documents, I'd
make
sure the Norton Office plug-in is completely disabled. Here's some
info
on doing that:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/329820/en-us

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
(New!) The PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit
http://tinyurl.com/2qzlpl
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/index.html

I am running Office Home & Student 2007 on Vista. When I first
started
using this system, Word or Excel would open very quickly, approx.
3-4
seconds. Lately it is taking 8-12 seconds to open.
Items of interest:
- once Word/Excel is open, invoking subsequent documents is only 1-2
seconds.
- I have 2GB RAM
- I use Norton Antivirus, but have the option to scan Word documents
turned off.
- as far as I know, prefetching is in force.
- I do use indexing, but I always have.
- I am not on a network.
- One thing that has changed for me lately is the addition of a
graphics tablet; however, Word/Excel is slow even with the USB
tablet
unplugged.

Would appreciate any thoughts on how to troubleshoot this problem.
Thanks.

 

[John Hanley]

Echo S -- Yes, I am using a graphics tablet -- it is an Aiptek Slim USB
Tablet.

You are correct about my use of the word 'invoke' -- when I double click a
Word or Excel *file* on the desktop or choose from the Recent Items list,
they are slow to open. When I just open the *program
8 itself from the Start menu listing or programs it is fast. In fact, I
can open the program from the Quick Launch bar, then Open a file from the
Office Button in less time than opening the same file directly from the
desktop. Also, opening the file from a folder is slow.

Also may be of interest: opening an Adobe Acrobat *file* from the desktop or
recent item list is very fast; it does appear that only the Office files are
slow.

This is a Vista computer, and using Office 2007 for Home and Student, and
all the files are .docx; I also tested directly opening a .doc file and
same slow behavior as .docx.

I think I am agreeing that my graphics table may have naught to do with the
problem.

Hi, John,

I keep forgetting you're not talking about a tablet PC actually, but
rather a graphics tablet -- like a Wacom, right? Could you confirm?

If Word/Excel is slow even with the graphics input table unplugged, I
doubt it's the problem. But you may want to check for updated drivers for
it just in case.

Also, could you confirm what you mean by "invoke Word or Excel directly
from the desktop"? Are you double-clicking a Word or Excel file on the
desktop? Is it a DOC file or a DOCX file?

I think what you're really saying is that, when you use a file to open
Word/Excel (double-click a file on the desktop, choose from the Start |
Recent Items list), the programs open slowly, but when you just open the
program itself from the Start menu, it opens quickly.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
(New!) The PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit http://tinyurl.com/2qzlpl
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/index.html

Echo S - thanks -- and now I have a bit of new information: the slow
behavior occurs when I invoke Word or Excel directly from the desktop, or
from the Recent Items list, or from within a folder. However....if I
invoke
Word or Excel from the Start Menu program list it is very fast 1-2
seconds. What would make such a difference? Hopefully not a red
herring, but worthy of further research?

Thanks for the followup, John. I am out of ideas, and I think you might
be
onto something with regard to the tablet. I think there are some tablet
groups -- you might want to ask in one of them and see if anyone has any
tablet-specific suggestions for you.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
(New!) The PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit
http://tinyurl.com/2qzlpl
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/index.html

Echo S -- I ran the Office diagnostics you suggested, but that has not
helped. As to Norton -- by coincidence, my subscription to Norton A/V
had run out this week, and I decided to switch to avast to save a few
$,
since I had read good reviews of the free avast A/V. I suppose it
still
may be possible that avast is an impediment. However, since I observe
that opening a 2nd word document while the first one is still open goes
in 1-2 seconds, I am thinking that A/V scanning is not what is slowing
it
down. At the moment I am still suspecting the presence of my new
graphics tablet (even unplugged from the USB port) is causing the slow
down, and will need more sleuthing. Thanks for your advice.

Have you run Office diagnostics? Open Word, hit the Office button |
Word
Options | Resources | Run Diagnostics. Hopefully that will take care
of
it.

(Sorry, I didn't mean for you to completely dump Norton!)

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
(New!) The PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit
http://tinyurl.com/2qzlpl
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/index.html

Thanks. I had that advice given from someone earlier and have now
removed Norton A/V from my computer in favor of the avast A/V
program.
The slow behavior of Word and Excel continues even without Norton.

Also -- more about my use of the word 'slow' -- from the time of
double
click or Open command, there is a 5-6 second dead time wait where
nothing
is happening, and then the Word program window begins to appear and
fills
in the next 3-4 seconds. Does that make it more clear?

In addition to turning off the option to scan Word documents, I'd
make
sure the Norton Office plug-in is completely disabled. Here's some
info
on doing that:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/329820/en-us

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
(New!) The PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit
http://tinyurl.com/2qzlpl
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/index.html

I am running Office Home & Student 2007 on Vista. When I first
started
using this system, Word or Excel would open very quickly, approx.
3-4
seconds. Lately it is taking 8-12 seconds to open.
Items of interest:
- once Word/Excel is open, invoking subsequent documents is only
1-2
seconds.
- I have 2GB RAM
- I use Norton Antivirus, but have the option to scan Word
documents
turned off.
- as far as I know, prefetching is in force.
- I do use indexing, but I always have.
- I am not on a network.
- One thing that has changed for me lately is the addition of a
graphics tablet; however, Word/Excel is slow even with the USB
tablet
unplugged.

Would appreciate any thoughts on how to troubleshoot this problem.
Thanks.

 

[garfield-n-odie [MVP]]

You might try adding a shortcut to the Office Startup Assistant to your
Windows startup folder. See http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=826318
"Frequently asked questions about the Office Startup Assistant in the
2007 Office suites and in Office 2003" for more information.

 

[John Hanley]

I reviewed the microsoft article that you referenced. For 2007 Microsoft
Office, it points me to:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12 to find the Osa.exe file.
However, I was unable to find that file in the place they suggest nor did a
search turn up the file. In doing this search, I do have my Folder Options
set to Show hidden files and folders, and Hide protected operating system
files is unchecked, but osa.exe is not found. Perhaps this feature is not
installed on my Office 2007 for Home & Student?

 

[John Hanley]

I reviewed the microsoft article that you referenced. For 2007 Microsoft
Office, it points me to:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12 to find the Osa.exe file.
However, I was unable to find that file in the place they suggest nor did a
search turn up the file. In doing this search, I do have my Folder Options
set to Show hidden files and folders, and Hide protected operating system
files is unchecked, but osa.exe is not found. Perhaps this feature is not
installed on my Office 2007 for Home & Student?

 

[garfield-n-odie [MVP]]

As far as I know, OSA.EXE is installed automatically in all editions. I
don't see where it is an optionally installed feature. But the fact
that you don't have it could be why Office applications suddenly began
to take longer to start up. But running Office Diagnostics should have
replaced the file if you deleted it. If you have the software installed

 

[John Hanley]

I did run the Office Diagnostics, but there was no OSA.EXE after doing so.
No other computer to copy from. Another mystery to ponder.....

 

[Echo S]

Thanks. Honestly, I have no idea at this point -- I'd suspect some kind of
add-in or something that gets invoked when you open files that might not get
initiated by just starting the apps with blank documents. But because it
happens in more than one application, that seems unlikely, and a likelier
culprit is antivirus software and the like.

You might try disabling Avast temporarily and see if that makes any
difference. Also, I think I'd probably look for that Norton "officeav.dll"
and make sure it's not still hanging around. Here's some info on that:

Norton Anti-Virus and Office
http://www.pptfaq.com/FAQ00387.htm

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
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Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/index.html

Echo S -- Yes, I am using a graphics tablet -- it is an Aiptek Slim USB
Tablet.

You are correct about my use of the word 'invoke' -- when I double click a
Word or Excel *file* on the desktop or choose from the Recent Items list,
they are slow to open. When I just open the *program
8 itself from the Start menu listing or programs it is fast. In fact, I
can open the program from the Quick Launch bar, then Open a file from the
Office Button in less time than opening the same file directly from the
desktop. Also, opening the file from a folder is slow.

Also may be of interest: opening an Adobe Acrobat *file* from the desktop
or recent item list is very fast; it does appear that only the Office
files are slow.

This is a Vista computer, and using Office 2007 for Home and Student, and
all the files are .docx; I also tested directly opening a .doc file and
same slow behavior as .docx.

I think I am agreeing that my graphics table may have naught to do with
the problem.

Hi, John,

I keep forgetting you're not talking about a tablet PC actually, but
rather a graphics tablet -- like a Wacom, right? Could you confirm?

If Word/Excel is slow even with the graphics input table unplugged, I
doubt it's the problem. But you may want to check for updated drivers for
it just in case.

Also, could you confirm what you mean by "invoke Word or Excel directly
from the desktop"? Are you double-clicking a Word or Excel file on the
desktop? Is it a DOC file or a DOCX file?

I think what you're really saying is that, when you use a file to open
Word/Excel (double-click a file on the desktop, choose from the Start |
Recent Items list), the programs open slowly, but when you just open the
program itself from the Start menu, it opens quickly.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
(New!) The PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit
http://tinyurl.com/2qzlpl
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/index.html

Echo S - thanks -- and now I have a bit of new information: the slow
behavior occurs when I invoke Word or Excel directly from the desktop,
or
from the Recent Items list, or from within a folder. However....if I
invoke
Word or Excel from the Start Menu program list it is very fast 1-2
seconds. What would make such a difference? Hopefully not a red
herring, but worthy of further research?

Thanks for the followup, John. I am out of ideas, and I think you might
be
onto something with regard to the tablet. I think there are some tablet
groups -- you might want to ask in one of them and see if anyone has
any
tablet-specific suggestions for you.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
(New!) The PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit
http://tinyurl.com/2qzlpl
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/index.html

Echo S -- I ran the Office diagnostics you suggested, but that has not
helped. As to Norton -- by coincidence, my subscription to Norton
A/V
had run out this week, and I decided to switch to avast to save a few
$,
since I had read good reviews of the free avast A/V. I suppose it
still
may be possible that avast is an impediment. However, since I observe
that opening a 2nd word document while the first one is still open
goes
in 1-2 seconds, I am thinking that A/V scanning is not what is slowing
it
down. At the moment I am still suspecting the presence of my new
graphics tablet (even unplugged from the USB port) is causing the slow
down, and will need more sleuthing. Thanks for your advice.

Have you run Office diagnostics? Open Word, hit the Office button |
Word
Options | Resources | Run Diagnostics. Hopefully that will take care
of
it.

(Sorry, I didn't mean for you to completely dump Norton!)

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
(New!) The PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit
http://tinyurl.com/2qzlpl
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/index.html

Thanks. I had that advice given from someone earlier and have now
removed Norton A/V from my computer in favor of the avast A/V
program.
The slow behavior of Word and Excel continues even without Norton.

Also -- more about my use of the word 'slow' -- from the time of
double
click or Open command, there is a 5-6 second dead time wait where
nothing
is happening, and then the Word program window begins to appear and
fills
in the next 3-4 seconds. Does that make it more clear?

In addition to turning off the option to scan Word documents, I'd
make
sure the Norton Office plug-in is completely disabled. Here's some
info
on doing that:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/329820/en-us

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
(New!) The PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit
http://tinyurl.com/2qzlpl
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/index.html

I am running Office Home & Student 2007 on Vista. When I first
started
using this system, Word or Excel would open very quickly, approx.
3-4
seconds. Lately it is taking 8-12 seconds to open.
Items of interest:
- once Word/Excel is open, invoking subsequent documents is only
1-2
seconds.
- I have 2GB RAM
- I use Norton Antivirus, but have the option to scan Word
documents
turned off.
- as far as I know, prefetching is in force.
- I do use indexing, but I always have.
- I am not on a network.
- One thing that has changed for me lately is the addition of a
graphics tablet; however, Word/Excel is slow even with the USB
tablet
unplugged.

Would appreciate any thoughts on how to troubleshoot this problem.
Thanks.