Word Crashes on opening

[Devonshire]

Word 2007 (part of the ultimate suite)
Vista x64
RAM: 16 Gb
Recently updated my mouse and video drivers to the most current.

After I have been using my computer with a variety of apps for a while and
everything apppears to be OK. Then at some random and unpredictable point
when I click on Word to open it, it starts to load and crashes. On the 2nd
or 3rd try it will open and operate as expected without further problems. If
I reboot, then it will be fine for a while.

Other weirdness, perhaps related or not:
I have an App called "Snagit" which is a screen capture program that will
unpredicably and randomly freeze up my computer as I start to do a screeen
capture. In this case I have to push the reset button as the system is
completely locked up. Snagit tech support can't find anything wrong, but
recommended that I update the mouse and video drivers, which I did. The
driver update did not change the random lock-up problem.

Suggestions?

 

[Stefan Blom]

For general troubleshooting, see
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/AppErrors/ProblemsStartingWord.htm.

 

[Devonshire]

Thanks; that looks promising. I will dig into that.

I tried the first fix and now Word snaps on with a satisfying zip that I
haven't seen since I first loaded it.

It is most likely to be due to template corruption. To verify whether this
is the case, start Word without templates and add-ins loaded, to see whether
it still crashes: to do this, click the Start button in the bottom left of
your screen, select Run, and type winword.exe /a. (You may need to specify
the full path although you probably won't.)

Note the space before the forward slash! If you miss out that space, you'll
get an error message such as: “Cannot find the file ‘winword.exe/a’ or one of
its componentsâ€.

The /a switch is intended as a troubleshooting tool only, and you shouldn't
continue to use it to start Word. Any customisations you make while in this
mode will be discarded.

If that fixes it, either your Normal template or one of the files in Word's
Startup path are probably corrupt, so the next steps to try are:

Try renaming your Normal template (with Word and Outlook closed – and if you
have opened a Word document within Internet Explorer, close IE too). Note
that the normal template for Word 2007 is normal.dotx or normal.dotm
For instance, try renaming Normal.dot to Normal.old – and make sure you only
have one Normal.dot file. If you cannot see the file extensions (as in
Normal.dot) see the reference to switching their display on in ii) below.
If that doesn't fix it, try either:

Moving any files that are in Word's Startup path to another folder, or
Renaming any files in Word's Startup path from [filename].dot to
[filename].old.
To find out where Word's Startup folder is, look under Tools + Options +
File Locations in Word

If you cannot see the file extensions (as in [filename].dot), you can switch
their display on in Windows Explorer. To do so, select View + Folder Options
(or Tools + Folder Options, or View + Options, in some versions of Windows);
and on the “View†tab of the dialog, deselect “Hide file extensions for known
file typesâ€.

If in doubt, move the files instead of renaming them.
If it isn't a template corruption, it may be a corrupt registry key – try
deleting the Data Key – follow this link for more details.

 

[Stefan Blom]

You are welcome.

--
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Thanks; that looks promising. I will dig into that.

I tried the first fix and now Word snaps on with a satisfying zip that I
haven't seen since I first loaded it.

It is most likely to be due to template corruption. To verify whether this
is the case, start Word without templates and add-ins loaded, to see
whether
it still crashes: to do this, click the Start button in the bottom left of
your screen, select Run, and type winword.exe /a. (You may need to specify
the full path although you probably won't.)

Note the space before the forward slash! If you miss out that space,
you'll
get an error message such as: "Cannot find the file 'winword.exe/a' or one
of
its components".

The /a switch is intended as a troubleshooting tool only, and you
shouldn't
continue to use it to start Word. Any customisations you make while in
this
mode will be discarded.

If that fixes it, either your Normal template or one of the files in
Word's
Startup path are probably corrupt, so the next steps to try are:

Try renaming your Normal template (with Word and Outlook closed - and if
you
have opened a Word document within Internet Explorer, close IE too). Note
that the normal template for Word 2007 is normal.dotx or normal.dotm
For instance, try renaming Normal.dot to Normal.old - and make sure you
only
have one Normal.dot file. If you cannot see the file extensions (as in
Normal.dot) see the reference to switching their display on in ii) below.
If that doesn't fix it, try either:

Moving any files that are in Word's Startup path to another folder, or
Renaming any files in Word's Startup path from [filename].dot to
[filename].old.
To find out where Word's Startup folder is, look under Tools + Options +
File Locations in Word

If you cannot see the file extensions (as in [filename].dot), you can
switch
their display on in Windows Explorer. To do so, select View + Folder
Options
(or Tools + Folder Options, or View + Options, in some versions of
Windows);
and on the "View" tab of the dialog, deselect "Hide file extensions for
known
file types".

If in doubt, move the files instead of renaming them.
If it isn't a template corruption, it may be a corrupt registry key - try
deleting the Data Key - follow this link for more details.

For general troubleshooting, see
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/AppErrors/ProblemsStartingWord.htm.

 

[Devonshire]

Well, I'm still having a few crashes... I see a dialog box with the
following error message after the crash:

"The system cannot find the file specified"

That was triggered when I clicked on an Outlook 2007 file attachment.

You are welcome.

--
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Thanks; that looks promising. I will dig into that.

I tried the first fix and now Word snaps on with a satisfying zip that I
haven't seen since I first loaded it.

It is most likely to be due to template corruption. To verify whether this
is the case, start Word without templates and add-ins loaded, to see
whether
it still crashes: to do this, click the Start button in the bottom left of
your screen, select Run, and type winword.exe /a. (You may need to specify
the full path although you probably won't.)

Note the space before the forward slash! If you miss out that space,
you'll
get an error message such as: "Cannot find the file 'winword.exe/a' or one
of
its components".

The /a switch is intended as a troubleshooting tool only, and you
shouldn't
continue to use it to start Word. Any customisations you make while in
this
mode will be discarded.

If that fixes it, either your Normal template or one of the files in
Word's
Startup path are probably corrupt, so the next steps to try are:

Try renaming your Normal template (with Word and Outlook closed - and if
you
have opened a Word document within Internet Explorer, close IE too). Note
that the normal template for Word 2007 is normal.dotx or normal.dotm
For instance, try renaming Normal.dot to Normal.old - and make sure you
only
have one Normal.dot file. If you cannot see the file extensions (as in
Normal.dot) see the reference to switching their display on in ii) below.
If that doesn't fix it, try either:

Moving any files that are in Word's Startup path to another folder, or
Renaming any files in Word's Startup path from [filename].dot to
[filename].old.
To find out where Word's Startup folder is, look under Tools + Options +
File Locations in Word

If you cannot see the file extensions (as in [filename].dot), you can
switch
their display on in Windows Explorer. To do so, select View + Folder
Options
(or Tools + Folder Options, or View + Options, in some versions of
Windows);
and on the "View" tab of the dialog, deselect "Hide file extensions for
known
file types".

If in doubt, move the files instead of renaming them.
If it isn't a template corruption, it may be a corrupt registry key - try
deleting the Data Key - follow this link for more details.

For general troubleshooting, see
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/AppErrors/ProblemsStartingWord.htm.

--
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP



Word 2007 (part of the ultimate suite)
Vista x64
RAM: 16 Gb
Recently updated my mouse and video drivers to the most current.

After I have been using my computer with a variety of apps for a while
and
everything apppears to be OK. Then at some random and unpredictable
point
when I click on Word to open it, it starts to load and crashes. On the
2nd
or 3rd try it will open and operate as expected without further
problems.
If
I reboot, then it will be fine for a while.

Other weirdness, perhaps related or not:
I have an App called "Snagit" which is a screen capture program that
will
unpredicably and randomly freeze up my computer as I start to do a
screeen
capture. In this case I have to push the reset button as the system is
completely locked up. Snagit tech support can't find anything wrong,
but
recommended that I update the mouse and video drivers, which I did.
The
driver update did not change the random lock-up problem.

Suggestions?

 

[Stefan Blom]

Sorry, I don't know much about Outlook, but if restarting the system doesn't
help, and you are sure that the file you are trying to open hasn't been
damaged, renaming NormalEmail.dotm may be worth trying (make sure both Word
and Outlook are closed when you do that).

--
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Well, I'm still having a few crashes... I see a dialog box with the
following error message after the crash:

"The system cannot find the file specified"

That was triggered when I clicked on an Outlook 2007 file attachment.

You are welcome.

--
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Thanks; that looks promising. I will dig into that.

I tried the first fix and now Word snaps on with a satisfying zip that
I
haven't seen since I first loaded it.

It is most likely to be due to template corruption. To verify whether
this
is the case, start Word without templates and add-ins loaded, to see
whether
it still crashes: to do this, click the Start button in the bottom left
of
your screen, select Run, and type winword.exe /a. (You may need to
specify
the full path although you probably won't.)

Note the space before the forward slash! If you miss out that space,
you'll
get an error message such as: "Cannot find the file 'winword.exe/a' or
one
of
its components".

The /a switch is intended as a troubleshooting tool only, and you
shouldn't
continue to use it to start Word. Any customisations you make while in
this
mode will be discarded.

If that fixes it, either your Normal template or one of the files in
Word's
Startup path are probably corrupt, so the next steps to try are:

Try renaming your Normal template (with Word and Outlook closed - and
if
you
have opened a Word document within Internet Explorer, close IE too).
Note
that the normal template for Word 2007 is normal.dotx or normal.dotm
For instance, try renaming Normal.dot to Normal.old - and make sure you
only
have one Normal.dot file. If you cannot see the file extensions (as in
Normal.dot) see the reference to switching their display on in ii)
below.
If that doesn't fix it, try either:

Moving any files that are in Word's Startup path to another folder, or
Renaming any files in Word's Startup path from [filename].dot to
[filename].old.
To find out where Word's Startup folder is, look under Tools + Options
+
File Locations in Word

If you cannot see the file extensions (as in [filename].dot), you can
switch
their display on in Windows Explorer. To do so, select View + Folder
Options
(or Tools + Folder Options, or View + Options, in some versions of
Windows);
and on the "View" tab of the dialog, deselect "Hide file extensions for
known
file types".

If in doubt, move the files instead of renaming them.
If it isn't a template corruption, it may be a corrupt registry key -
try
deleting the Data Key - follow this link for more details.


:

For general troubleshooting, see
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/AppErrors/ProblemsStartingWord.htm.

--
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP



Word 2007 (part of the ultimate suite)
Vista x64
RAM: 16 Gb
Recently updated my mouse and video drivers to the most current.

After I have been using my computer with a variety of apps for a
while
and
everything apppears to be OK. Then at some random and unpredictable
point
when I click on Word to open it, it starts to load and crashes. On
the
2nd
or 3rd try it will open and operate as expected without further
problems.
If
I reboot, then it will be fine for a while.

Other weirdness, perhaps related or not:
I have an App called "Snagit" which is a screen capture program that
will
unpredicably and randomly freeze up my computer as I start to do a
screeen
capture. In this case I have to push the reset button as the system
is
completely locked up. Snagit tech support can't find anything
wrong,
but
recommended that I update the mouse and video drivers, which I did.
The
driver update did not change the random lock-up problem.

Suggestions?

 

[Terry Farrell]

Often security settings stop the direct opening of some attachments. Try
saving the attachment to your local HDD and opening it from there.

--
Terry Farrell - MSWord MVP

Well, I'm still having a few crashes... I see a dialog box with the
following error message after the crash:

"The system cannot find the file specified"

That was triggered when I clicked on an Outlook 2007 file attachment.

You are welcome.

--
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Thanks; that looks promising. I will dig into that.

I tried the first fix and now Word snaps on with a satisfying zip that
I
haven't seen since I first loaded it.

It is most likely to be due to template corruption. To verify whether
this
is the case, start Word without templates and add-ins loaded, to see
whether
it still crashes: to do this, click the Start button in the bottom left
of
your screen, select Run, and type winword.exe /a. (You may need to
specify
the full path although you probably won't.)

Note the space before the forward slash! If you miss out that space,
you'll
get an error message such as: "Cannot find the file 'winword.exe/a' or
one
of
its components".

The /a switch is intended as a troubleshooting tool only, and you
shouldn't
continue to use it to start Word. Any customisations you make while in
this
mode will be discarded.

If that fixes it, either your Normal template or one of the files in
Word's
Startup path are probably corrupt, so the next steps to try are:

Try renaming your Normal template (with Word and Outlook closed - and
if
you
have opened a Word document within Internet Explorer, close IE too).
Note
that the normal template for Word 2007 is normal.dotx or normal.dotm
For instance, try renaming Normal.dot to Normal.old - and make sure you
only
have one Normal.dot file. If you cannot see the file extensions (as in
Normal.dot) see the reference to switching their display on in ii)
below.
If that doesn't fix it, try either:

Moving any files that are in Word's Startup path to another folder, or
Renaming any files in Word's Startup path from [filename].dot to
[filename].old.
To find out where Word's Startup folder is, look under Tools + Options
+
File Locations in Word

If you cannot see the file extensions (as in [filename].dot), you can
switch
their display on in Windows Explorer. To do so, select View + Folder
Options
(or Tools + Folder Options, or View + Options, in some versions of
Windows);
and on the "View" tab of the dialog, deselect "Hide file extensions for
known
file types".

If in doubt, move the files instead of renaming them.
If it isn't a template corruption, it may be a corrupt registry key -
try
deleting the Data Key - follow this link for more details.


:

For general troubleshooting, see
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/AppErrors/ProblemsStartingWord.htm.

--
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP



Word 2007 (part of the ultimate suite)
Vista x64
RAM: 16 Gb
Recently updated my mouse and video drivers to the most current.

After I have been using my computer with a variety of apps for a
while
and
everything apppears to be OK. Then at some random and unpredictable
point
when I click on Word to open it, it starts to load and crashes. On
the
2nd
or 3rd try it will open and operate as expected without further
problems.
If
I reboot, then it will be fine for a while.

Other weirdness, perhaps related or not:
I have an App called "Snagit" which is a screen capture program that
will
unpredicably and randomly freeze up my computer as I start to do a
screeen
capture. In this case I have to push the reset button as the system
is
completely locked up. Snagit tech support can't find anything
wrong,
but
recommended that I update the mouse and video drivers, which I did.
The
driver update did not change the random lock-up problem.

Suggestions?