Word 2003 closes slowly on Windows 7 laptop

[dan2229]

Recently I have been noticing Word 2003 closing very slowly. Excel does not seem to be effected.

I have noticed several times a message appears: "Changes have been made that effect the global template, Normal. Do You want to save those changes?"

I have tried pressing the Yes button, the No button, and the Cancel button, but nothing seems to make a difference. The message appears sporatically.

When closing a Word document on my HP desktop, the window collapses immediately. However, on my laptop, when I press the X or Exit menu, the saved document sits for 7 to 8 seconds before the document closes, then another 4-5 seconds before the program closes.

Any ideas?

Daniel

 

[genomon]

If you are using 64-bit Win7 try troubleshooting compatibility.

An làmb a bheir, ‘s i a gheibh.

 

[dan2229]

Sorry to take so long. Had to spend a while in the hospital. Not fun.

Did the updates and the compatibilty. Word is still very slow to close, but getting used to it.

I did discover the only time I get the "Changes have been made that effect the global template, Normal. Do You want to save those changes?" is when I access Outlook without being connected to the Internet. Then when I close Outlook, I got that message.

That crazy message usually put me in a closed loop that I could not get out of.

So, I have gotten used to Word closing slowly and don't access Outlook without being connected.

Thanks,

Daniel

 

[tf1]

There are several causes of 'saving normal' and it is usually down to a rogue add-in or incompatible macro.

You can test for this by starting Word in Safe Mode. From Start Run (Winkey+R), type in

winword /a

and press Enter. Word will open to a fresh blank document in its default install condition bypassing all add-ins, macros, templates and other customisations. Now close Word. Does it close quickly now?

If it is OK closing from Safe Mode, you need to check your add-ins and macros disabling them to see which is the culprit.


Regards: Terry

 

[dan2229]

Terry,

Tried that and got into a huge Word loop that would not let go me go. The message was basically the same, although, this time Microsoft wanted to send an error message first.

I tried to use all of the buttons hoping that one of them would correct the problem, but alas, it is still really slow.

I guess I will get used to it.

Thanks,

Daniel

 

[xlhelp]

The problems can be many. From "Prompt to save Normal template" being selected to corrupt Normal.dot; corrupt printer driver; normal.dot being in a different location than when the original doc was created; file being too large; antivirus interfering; looking for network drives when none are available etc.

You will find lots of help here

Canadian eh! Check out the new social forum Tek-Tips in Canada.
I should live a long time - I eat a lot of preservatives.

 

[stentorian]

I also had a very slow microsoft word and when i changed my antivirus, it operates much more faster.

 

[tf1]

Are you sure that you started Word correctly in Safe Mode (note the gap before the /a in winword /a)?

When you start in Safe Mode, there is effectively no normal.dot because Word has bypassed it. And Word will only save to normal IF there has been changes made that require saving to normal. If all you have done is open in Safe Mode and IMMEDIATELY close Word, nothing has been done that requires saving.

So I suggest that first you start Office Setup (from the Control Panel, Add/Remove programs) and choose the REPAIR option.

If is still goes into the loop, check the printer driver and AV. Check that you have the latest version of the printer driver and then delete and reinstall the printer. With the AV, make sure that if there is an Office Plug-in option in the AV settings to disable it.



Regards: Terry