Word memory exception - template issue

[Steve]

I have an application server that is responsible for opening Word or
Excel when a user requests a document. The problem is occasionally the
system gets into this funk where Word crashes immediately when opened.
It gives a memory exception saying it can't read from some memory
location.

If I log on as a different user at the same time as a different
user(through terminal services, we have 2003 Server), Word will open up
just fine. If I log the user out that is running the application
server, the user logs back in and Word works fine.

I have followed the guide at
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/AppErrors/ProbsOpeningWord.htm and it appears
to be a template issue. I have gone to all the locations mentioned and
have removed or renamed templates so they wouldn't be loaded. I
changed the Normal.dot file to be Normal.dot.old or Normal.bak. I
opened the office startup templates and removed PDFMaker.dot. This
helps, as Word crashes less often. Word use to crash at least once a
day, now it is down to about every other day. The user running the
Word has no templates in their startup directory. Is there any other
place I need to look for templates? Running Winword.exe /a allows Word
to open successfully.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Beth Melton]

Have you cleared your temp files recently? If you've been encountering
numerous crashes this can't hurt and it could also clear up the issue.
If Word runs into a rogue temp file then many strange errors can
occur.

Delete all temp (*.tmp) files:
- Exit Word and Outlook if you are using it as your email editor and
reboot your computer if you recently experienced a crash
- Go to Start/Find/Files or Folders (or Start/Search then select Files
or Folders)
- Change "Look in" to reflect the drive/folder to the root of your
Local drive.
- In the Named text box, type *.tmp
- Click the "Find Now" command
- Delete the temp files you find.

*Note that these can be deleted directly from the Find Results.

To group the files for a single deletion:
- Click any file in the list
- Press <Ctrl A> to select all

Should you encounter a "File in use" error, press <Ctrl> and click the
file to deselect it.

As an additional note, the Owner file is another temporary files Word
creates. If you have been experiencing multiple crashes or if Word has
been hanging on you then it is best to search for Owner files
(~$*.do?) and delete those as well. These can cause "file in use" and
"read only" errors.

Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/