Word startup problem - save as

[thor#]

Hi

I have a problem with word 2002 thats driving me crazy. When I open
word either with or without an existing document I immediately get the
save as dialog box and it won't close. I have to use task manager to
kill it. I can then open it normally. I've scanned for viruses,
uninstalled and reinstalled, including deleting any word and office
folders, uninstalled Norton ( as suggested by one source), used
support.dot, all to no avail, the problem persists.

Where else can I look?

Any help greatly appreciated!

Daryl

 

[Herb Tyson [MVP]]

Try here:

http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/AppErrors/ProbsOpeningWord.htm

Note that removing Word & reinstalling won't fix this kind of problem
because of Word's propensity to save user settings between installs. Since
it's a settings issue, you need a different approach.

 

[thor#]

Hi Herb

Thanks for replying.

Yes, I've tried everything on that page already. Two or three times
actually. I agree it has to be a settings issue but I've looked in
all the places indicated. I used support.dot to delete and rename
everything it covers.

Where else could I look for where this might be coming from?

Just to clarify, after booting the computer, then running Word, the
save as dialog box pops up and can't be closed. It does not do it
when I run winword /a. It DOES do it in safe mode under all users.

If I kill Word with task manager then open it again, it DOESN'T do it.

Thanks again.

Daryl

 

[thor#]

Hi again, Herb

Man, I never even thought to check but it's not just a word problem,
it's doing it with all office apps.

 

[Herb Tyson [MVP]]

Wow. Now, that's a new one on me. That suggests a more fundamental issue.

If I were in your situation, I'd back up my data, reformat my hard drive,
and reinstall everything. Seriously. Particularly if this does this with
every user login on that computer. That suggests that the installation of
Office is badly messed up. I'm assuming you're already tried Help - Detect
and Repair.

If that's not feasible, then I'd remove Office, use the removal wizard (I've
now forgotten which version of Office you're using, but the removal wizard
for Office XP is found here:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA011362891033.aspx), reboot,
and reinstall Office. The reason for the removal wizard is due to Office's
persistence with settings. It's not enough to uninstall.

 

[thor#]

Yes, I've been working on this for two weeks now. Time to wave the
white flag. I'm going to format and start over. I hate admiting
defeat but it's consumed my life long enough!

Thanks for the help!

Daryl

 

[thor#]

Hi again Herb

Just thought I'd let you know what the final outcome of this problem
was. Turns out it never was a software issue. This was on a Toshiba
laptop and the problem was a defective keyboard. The F12 key was
intermiitently connecting or touching, sometimes sticking, and since
F12 is what calls up save as in Office apps, it would immediately open
the dialog. What made it it so difficult to diagnose is that F12 is
not really used by much else and it wasn't apparently affecting.
anything else. Even when it was stuck on, the rest of the keys
continued to work.

But anyway, problem solved!

Thanks again!

Daryl

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Thanks for the feedback. It helps to be reminded that problems can often be
hardware-related.