Excel trys to open files on start up

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pkerr

I have a user that on start Excel random files are sttempted to be opend.
Gif's. pdfs, Word, etc.
I looked for Personal.xls and it doesn't seem to be there. I tried
uninstall and repair with no luck.
Could it be a virus?
Fixes?
Thanks
 
D

Dave Peterson

I'd look here first:

Tools|Options|General tab
If the user has any entry in the:
"At startup, open all files in:" box, then have them clear that box (don't
delete the files.)

This is the xl2002+ wording.

In xl2k and before, it was something like:
Alternate Startup File location
 
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pkerr

Thanks.. but the problem I have is that it just tries to open file after
file. I get an error message say O.K. and then more files are opened. I
never have a chance to get to a menu.
 
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Dave Peterson

If you know the name of the folder, you can (temporarily) rename that folder to
something else.

Then open excel and clean up that entry.

Then rename that folder back to what it should be.

If you don't know the name, you can make a change to the registry:

If you're comfortable changing the registry...

Windows start button|Run|Regedit

Traverse to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Excel\Options
under: AltStartup

And delete that key.

(11.0 means xl2003, 10.0 means xl2002, etc)

But be careful. Since you're working in the registry, you may want to back
it up before you do any changes. (You don't get a confirmation prompt when
you make changes here!)
 
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Gord Dibben

If you cannot get to that dialog box because of all the files opening you can
delete the path in the Registry.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\microsoft\office\11.0\excel\options

On right-hand side there is a key named: AltStartup

Delete that entire key.

Note: this is a simple change and should not affect anything else but for
precaution, make sure you create a system restore point prior to making any
changes.


Gord Dibben MS Excel MVP
 
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pkerr

Thanks one and all!!
Problem solved... partially due to operator error. BUT you guys got me
looking at the problem from a different "angle" as well.
Thanks again.
 
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Gord Dibben

Thanks for the feedabck.

Gord

Thanks one and all!!
Problem solved... partially due to operator error. BUT you guys got me
looking at the problem from a different "angle" as well.
Thanks again.

Gord Dibben said:
If you cannot get to that dialog box because of all the files opening you can
delete the path in the Registry.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\microsoft\office\11.0\excel\options

On right-hand side there is a key named: AltStartup

Delete that entire key.

Note: this is a simple change and should not affect anything else but for
precaution, make sure you create a system restore point prior to making any
changes.


Gord Dibben MS Excel MVP
Click to expand...

Gord Dibben MS Excel MVP
Click to expand...
 
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