Worksheet unexpectedly disappears

[davidl]

Sometimes, as I scroll through a worksheet, it will disappear. I can
usually recover the open worksheet by clicking on "Window / Zoom
Window". Sometimes even that doesn't work and I have to go to another
program, and then return to Excel in order to see the open worksheet.
The problem seems to be associated with any cell containing a formula.
Whether I select a cell containing a formula, or just move the cursor
through it, the worksheet will suddenly disappear. Any thoughts?

 

[CyberTaz]

In order to offere anything other than a guess you'll need to supply more
information:

What version of Excel & Mac OS (including updates)? Describe the Mac you're
using. Do you have any add-ins or other 3rd party software installed that
might be contributing to the behavior? Does this happen with one file in
particular or with *any* Excel file? Is there any type of abnormal behavior
with other programs?

 

[davidl]

MAC OS X v 10.4.8
Excel 2004 for Mac v 11.3

All updates applied.

No add-ins that I am aware of.
No other 3rd party sw that I am aware of.

This happens with any file.

No abnormal behaviour with any other program.

I am a relative newbie with Macs, having only bought the PowerBook G4
in Nov 2005. Prior to that I used DOS and Windows machines since 1981.
I used to think I knew a fair bit about sw, but the Mac remains mostly
a mystery to me.

Thx,
David

 

[CyberTaz]

hi David -

Thanks for the add'l info - that helps narrow things down somewhat Here
are a few thoughts:

PB G4s have a graphics card as opposed to shared RAM, but Im not certain
which model you have. They ranged from 64MB to 128MB & if yours is on the
low end that could be a factor. OS X & most software for it is rather
graphics-intensive.

RAM could still be an issue - If you're just running Excel, 640MB should be
'adequate', but OS X & Excel are both listed as requiring 256MB. If you have
any other software launched you may have very little resources available. Is
it more/less noticeable if nothing other than Excel is running?

It's also possible that the RAM u/g may be the wrong stuff or may possibly
be bad. You can find suggestions on testing it through APPLE Discussions.

How's the free space on your HD? If that's getting tight it could also be a
factor. OS X and *everything* in it require lots of free space for caching.
Lack of same can create a processor bottleneck & more RAM eaten up.

Another possible factor is that the battery or power supply are going up.
Does a wall connection have any bearing on the performance?

Lastly, Excel's preferences "could" be a problem or the files themselves
"could" be somewhat corrupt, but I think these are less likely than
hardware issues.

 

[davidl]

Bob:

Wonderful input. Thank you.

I don't know how to find out how much memory is on the graphics card.
Is there a utility which will tell me that?

What is a "RAM u/g"?

The processor is 1.5 GHz.

There is 1.25 GB of DDR SDRAM.

There is 25 GB of free space on the HD.

Plugged or battery - makes no difference. Excel will usually quit when
I either select or scroll through a cell with a formula in it, or when
I copy a formula to a range of cells. Interesting, though, is that if I
create a new worksheet it will behave for a few minutes, allowing me to
replicate formulas, and moving about through all the cells, and then
suddenly it will start quitting when I copy cells or scroll through a
formula. Wierd.

David

 

[CyberTaz]

Hi David -

Sorry if I caused any confusion, but I evidently had my wires crossed
between yours and a similar post - the other mentioned a recent increase to
640MB. That's why I referred to the RAM upgrade (u/g).

In your case we can rule out the mention of RAM altogether - and most of the
other hardware concerns as well. The one exception is the battery, which
could still be a possible issue if it isn't up to snuff.

Also, your video should not be a problem - I'm sure it is 64MB (12" or
possibly 15" PB, right?), but if you want to check it out you can go to the
Apple Icon>About This Mac, then click the More Info button. That launches
System Profiler which will give you complete info about your system.

I think your situation needs to be attacked from a different direction after
all... so:

Did you update to OS X 10.4.8 using System Update? If so, the first thing I
would try is go to the Apple site, download the Combo Updater for PPC &
apply that. If you previously used the Combo Updater, apply it again. Then
run Disk Utility - Repair Disk Permissions on your hard drive. Restart your
Mac & see if that makes any difference.

If not, shut sown all Office programs, then locate these two files & drag
each one to the desktop.

In the ~/User/library/preferences folder remove:
com.microsoft.Excel.plist

In the ~/User/library/preferences/microsoftfolder remove:
com.microsoft.Excel.prefs.plist

Then launch Excel & see if it behaves in a more orderly fashion.

You might also log in to the Discussions Forum on the Apple web site. There
is a dedicated group for PBs and you may find that there is some sort of a
system update for your PB or perhaps other suggestions from users with
similar problems. You can get there from here:

http://discussions.apple.com/category.jspa?categoryID=120

Let me know how you make out!

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

 

[davidl]

Bob:

Sorry for the delay in responding. I was travelling over the holidays
and only today had a chance to try your suggestions ...... and ....
they seem to have worked.

TaDa !!!

Thx for the hints. You provide an invaluable service.

Kindest regards,
David