Word opening issues

[CBT]

When I try to open word it gives me a 'working with out word work file and memory is nearly full. save your work' then it tries to open a 'document elements.docx' and then it hangs and nothing can be done... ?????

 

[CyberTaz]

Do you really expect a meaningful reply with nothing more to go on?

What version of Word - including update level? (Sounds like 2008, but would
like to have confirmation.)
If new 2008 installation how did you install? Was it a full installation or
an upgrade?
Was there a previous version? Did you remove or keep it?
Have you repaired permissions since installing?
Have you tried Restarting the Mac?
Is this a direct launch of the program or when double-clicking a file icon?
If a file icon, Where is the file stored?
What type of Mac - How much RAM - What's the HD condition?

Give us something to work with & I'm sure someone will be able to provide a
solution

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[John McGhie]

You're out of memory or disk space.

If you provide the detail Bob asked for, we may be able to be more helpful.

When I try to open word it gives me a 'working with out word work file and
memory is nearly full. save your work' then it tries to open a 'document
elements.docx' and then it hangs and nothing can be done... ?????

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Sydney, Australia. S33°53'34.20 E151°14'54.50
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[jwng]

I am having this problem and I'd be happy to give you all of this
information as far as my system is concerned:

1) I had Office 2004 Student & Teacher Edition. I upgraded to 2008
standard (standard upgrade installation -- didn't change any
defaults).
2) I removed all previous versions & transfered my Entourage profile
to the new version.
3) I repaired permissions -- no effect, still get the error.
4) I restarted my Mac -- no effect, still get the error.
5) This happens when I click the Word icon in the dock. It also
happens when I click on a Word (.doc) document.
6) This is a MacBook (newest version -- 2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo). OS
10.5.1. 4GB RAM. Nothing (except finder) running when I try to
launch Word 2008 and get this error, so clearly my memory isn't really
full. HD = 120GB total, ~70GB free.

Thanks,
--John Gould
Nashville, TN

 

[Daiya Mitchell]

Someone reporting the EXACT SAME error message as quoted below, using
Word 2008, said that running Repair Permissions (in the system Disk
Utility) fixed it.

 

[dow]

Someone reporting the EXACT SAME error message as quoted below, using
Word 2008, said that running Repair Permissions (in the system Disk
Utility) fixed it.

I've suddenly started getting similar error-messages:
"Word could not create the work file. Check the amount of space on
your startup disk" then
"You are working without a Word work file, and memory is nearly full.
Save your work. "
NOT helped by repairing permissions.

More details:
Word 2004 v11.3.8 on G4 MDD (with loads of spare RAM and HD space)
Problem only affects one user account. Started after running Office
11.40 updater and Apple Security Updater 2008-001PPC.
NOT helped by deleting Normal template, by removing Microsoft folder
from prefs, or deleting com.microsoft.word.plist.
Oddly, it takes about 30 secs for the error-messages to appear; and
once they do, the Preferences menu-item is greyed out. I can however
access it in the delay before the error-messages appear.

 

[John McGhie]

You have to keep the various versions of Word separate ‹ that's why we keep
asking for the version of Word and the operating system and the CPU type.
They're all different.

You have picked up a solution designed for Word 2008. It will have little
or no effect on Word 2004.

In your case, I think that the user account does not have the authority to
create the temporary working files Word requires to run.

It may be a lot quicker to re-create that User ID than to work out "why".

Hope this helps

I've suddenly started getting similar error-messages:
"Word could not create the work file. Check the amount of space on
your startup disk" then
"You are working without a Word work file, and memory is nearly full.
Save your work. "
NOT helped by repairing permissions.

More details:
Word 2004 v11.3.8 on G4 MDD (with loads of spare RAM and HD space)
Problem only affects one user account. Started after running Office
11.40 updater and Apple Security Updater 2008-001PPC.
NOT helped by deleting Normal template, by removing Microsoft folder
from prefs, or deleting com.microsoft.word.plist.
Oddly, it takes about 30 secs for the error-messages to appear; and
once they do, the Preferences menu-item is greyed out. I can however
access it in the delay before the error-messages appear.

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Sydney, Australia. S33°53'34.20 E151°14'54.50

 

[dow]

You have to keep the various versions of Word separate ‹ that's why we keep
asking for the version of Word and the operating system and the CPU type.
They're all different.

You have picked up a solution designed for Word 2008. It will have little
or no effect on Word 2004.

In your case, I think that the user account does not have the authority to
create the temporary working files Word requires to run.

It may be a lot quicker to re-create that User ID than to work out "why".

Hope this helps





--
Don't wait for your answer, click here:http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltdhttp://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Sydney, Australia. S33°53'34.20 E151°14'54.50

Many thanks for your reply. For several reasons, I would prefer not to
have to re-create User account (I store it on an external drive, so
takes more fiddling etc).

Can you suggest any other strategies I could try first? (eg Re-
install?). I'm running OS 10.4.11.

 

[John McGhie]

No. If you know what you are doing in Unix, this is relatively easy to fix
by "taking ownership" of the folders concerned using chown.

I'm sorry, *I* have never bothered to learn how. I know I should, but...

If it was on the boot drive, repair permissions would fix it.

Hopefully, one of the Unix jockeys will come across this post and tell us
how. Or you could ask in the Apple forum.

Sorry

Many thanks for your reply. For several reasons, I would prefer not to
have to re-create User account (I store it on an external drive, so
takes more fiddling etc).

Can you suggest any other strategies I could try first? (eg Re-
install?). I'm running OS 10.4.11.

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Sydney, Australia. S33°53'34.20 E151°14'54.50

 

[Phillip Jones]

There is a *neat utility* called AppleJack. install it. Then after
installed restart and go into single user mode (Command-S). then you can
repair Drive and repair permissions and other stuff that disk Utility
only its a much deeper fix. just follow the numbers.

and if you want to fix certain items on User Partitions just type y
when asked hit return the type in the user as this example
/Users/johnsmith then hit return it will fix cache files and repair
remove bad preference files depending upon number chosen.

In other words you can do UNIX Repair items without knowing the all the
UNIX stuff and it does it safely.

No. If you know what you are doing in Unix, this is relatively easy tofix
by "taking ownership" of the folders concerned using chown.

I'm sorry, *I* have never bothered to learn how. I know I should, but...

If it was on the boot drive, repair permissions would fix it.

Hopefully, one of the Unix jockeys will come across this post and tell us
how. Or you could ask in the Apple forum.

Sorry

--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Phillip M. Jones, CET |LIFE MEMBER: VPEA ETA-I, NESDA, ISCET, Sterling
616 Liberty Street |Who's Who. PHONE:276-632-5045, FAX:276-632-0868
Martinsville Va 24112 |[email protected], ICQ11269732, AIM pjonescet
------------------------------------------------------------------------

If it's "fixed", don't "break it"!

mailto[email protected]

<http://www.kimbanet.com/~pjones/default.htm>
<http://www.kimbanet.com/~pjones/90th_Birthday/index.htm>
<http://www.kimbanet.com/~pjones/Fulcher/default.html>
<http://www.kimbanet.com/~pjones/Harris/default.htm>
<http://www.kimbanet.com/~pjones/Jones/default.htm>

<http://www.vpea.org>

 

[Phillip Jones]

Oh by the way:

Once you get in single User type *applejack* after command prompt and
hit return.

Then follow my directions below. was a little too fast typing
instructions. sorry. :-(

There is a *neat utility* called *AppleJack*. install it. Then after
installed restart and go into single user mode (Command-S). then you can
repair Drive and repair permissions and other stuff that disk Utility
only its a much deeper fix. just follow the numbers.

and if you want to fix certain items on User Partitions just type y
when asked hit return the type in the user as this example
/Users/johnsmith then hit return it will fix cache files and repair
remove bad preference files depending upon number chosen.

In other words you can do UNIX Repair items without knowing the all the
UNIX stuff and it does it safely.

--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Phillip M. Jones, CET |LIFE MEMBER: VPEA ETA-I, NESDA, ISCET, Sterling
616 Liberty Street |Who's Who. PHONE:276-632-5045, FAX:276-632-0868
Martinsville Va 24112 |[email protected], ICQ11269732, AIM pjonescet
------------------------------------------------------------------------

If it's "fixed", don't "break it"!

mailto[email protected]

<http://www.kimbanet.com/~pjones/default.htm>
<http://www.kimbanet.com/~pjones/90th_Birthday/index.htm>
<http://www.kimbanet.com/~pjones/Fulcher/default.html>
<http://www.kimbanet.com/~pjones/Harris/default.htm>
<http://www.kimbanet.com/~pjones/Jones/default.htm>

<http://www.vpea.org>

 

[dow]

There is a *neat utility* called AppleJack. install it. Then after
installed restart and go into single user mode (Command-S). then you can
repair Drive and repair permissions and other stuff that disk Utility
only its a much deeper fix. just follow the numbers.

and if you want to fix certain items on User Partitions just type y
when asked hit return the type in the user as this example
/Users/johnsmith then hit return it will fix cache files and repair
remove bad preference files depending upon number chosen.

In other words you can do UNIX Repair items without knowing the all the
UNIX stuff and it does it safely.








--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Phillip M. Jones, CET |LIFE MEMBER: VPEA ETA-I, NESDA, ISCET, Sterling
616 Liberty Street |Who's Who. PHONE:276-632-5045, FAX:276-632-0868
Martinsville Va 24112 |[email protected], ICQ11269732, AIM pjonescet
------------------------------------------------------------------------

If it's "fixed", don't "break it"!

mailto[email protected]

<http://www.kimbanet.com/~pjones/default.htm>
<http://www.kimbanet.com/~pjones/90th_Birthday/index.htm>
<http://www.kimbanet.com/~pjones/Fulcher/default.html>
<http://www.kimbanet.com/~pjones/Harris/default.htm>
<http://www.kimbanet.com/~pjones/Jones/default.htm>

<http://www.vpea.org>

Bingo! Fantastic advice - AppleJack cured the problem. Thank you John
and Phillip.

In summary, since running AppleJack, Word 2004 is now behaving
perfectly, and is no longer saying “Word could not create the work
file. Check the amount of space on your startup disk, then “You are
working without a Word work file, and memory is nearly full. Save your
work.“

My only remaining niggle: I have not ide what went wrong in the first
plce, or why...

 

[Phillip Jones]

Bingo! Fantastic advice - AppleJack cured the problem. Thank you John
and Phillip.

In summary, since running AppleJack, Word 2004 is now behaving
perfectly, and is no longer saying “Word could not create the work
file. Check the amount of space on your startup disk, then “You are
working without a Word work file, and memory is nearly full. Save your
work.“

My only remaining niggle: I have not ide what went wrong in the first
place, or why...

Its possible it was a permission problem but then again all of those
Virtual memory cache files take up lots of space.

One thing to remember using Single User mode and applejack when
repairing permissions. Its equivalent to sticking your system CD in and
running disk Utilities. it does a far deeper repair than using disk
Utilities while running the system.

--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Phillip M. Jones, CET |LIFE MEMBER: VPEA ETA-I, NESDA, ISCET, Sterling
616 Liberty Street |Who's Who. PHONE:276-632-5045, FAX:276-632-0868
Martinsville Va 24112 |[email protected], ICQ11269732, AIM pjonescet
------------------------------------------------------------------------

If it's "fixed", don't "break it"!

mailto[email protected]

<http://www.kimbanet.com/~pjones/default.htm>
<http://www.kimbanet.com/~pjones/90th_Birthday/index.htm>
<http://www.kimbanet.com/~pjones/Fulcher/default.html>
<http://www.kimbanet.com/~pjones/Harris/default.htm>
<http://www.kimbanet.com/~pjones/Jones/default.htm>

<http://www.vpea.org>

 

[John McGhie]

Well done Phillip!

Thank you very much for that. You nailed it

Cheers

Its possible it was a permission problem but then again all of those
Virtual memory cache files take up lots of space.

One thing to remember using Single User mode and applejack when
repairing permissions. Its equivalent to sticking your system CD in and
running disk Utilities. it does a far deeper repair than using disk
Utilities while running the system.

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Nhulunbuy, Northern Territory, Australia