MS Word has encountered a problem and needs to close

M

martylef

Whenever I open word, I get the error message, "MS Word
for Windows has encountered a problem and needs to
close." It then asks me if I want to send an error report
and the program closes. I tried rebooting several times
and have uninstalled and reinstalled the program. Any
suggestions??
 
R

Ront6134

Hi Suzanne
I came to this site because I like "martylef" <[email protected]> get the SAME error msg. and your solution WORKED! I did a 'Search on Normal.dot' and three files with that name appeared. One was a 'pointer' file, that pointed to another Normal.dot in the same folder. I rename per your instructions, double clicked on a 'Word file' and WALLA Word came up. Not happy about it happening in 1st place which leaves with the nightmare that "If it can happen Once, Muphy's Law says it will happen Again eight months down the line and I will be wondering HOW DID I FIX THAT PROBLEM."

Often wondered is it harder to trouble shoot a trouble the first time, or, try to remember how you fixed it the 1st time

Well Thank You "Suzanne S. Barnhill

Ront613


----- Suzanne S. Barnhill wrote: ----

See http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/AppErrors/ProbsOpeningWord.htm, which als
applies to problems closing Word

-
Suzanne S. Barnhil
Microsoft MVP (Word
Words into Typ
Fairhope, Alabama US
Word MVP FAQ site: http://www.word.mvps.or
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup s
all may benefit

news:[email protected]..
 
S

Suzanne S. Barnhill

I agree that remembering how you fixed a problem the last time is difficult,
especially if you tried a lot of things before you found one that worked.
One practice that really helps is to get into the habit of documenting your
troubleshooting (and in fact everything you do that affects your computer).
For example, when you install new software or hardware, record in your
online log the date you installed it, any special information that was
needed, any problems with the installation, etc. Do the same when you apply
updates and patches. When you have a problem with software or hardware,
record the things you tried and especially what solved the problem.

This is helpful in two ways: If you solve a problem, you have a record of
the solution. If you can't solve it, you can provide information on what
you've already tried that didn't work, which can often help a more
knowledgeable user narrow down the cause of the problem. It can also be very
helpful to have a record of anything that's changed on the computer (such as
the installation of new software) that might have caused the problem
(consider the number of problems caused by conflicts between the Norton
Office Plug-in and various updates for Word!).



Ront6134 said:
Hi Suzanne,
I came to this site because I like "martylef" <[email protected]> get the
Click to expand...
SAME error msg. and your solution WORKED! I did a 'Search on Normal.dot'
and three files with that name appeared. One was a 'pointer' file, that
pointed to another Normal.dot in the same folder. I rename per your
instructions, double clicked on a 'Word file' and WALLA Word came up. Not
happy about it happening in 1st place which leaves with the nightmare that
"If it can happen Once, Muphy's Law says it will happen Again eight months
down the line and I will be wondering HOW DID I FIX THAT PROBLEM."
Often wondered is it harder to trouble shoot a trouble the first time, or,
Click to expand...
try to remember how you fixed it the 1st time.
 
J

Jonathan Osborn

I had the same problem as martylef encountering an error message when working with the Word document with the options Send error Report or Don't Send. Either way it will close the Word and lose all changes. I went to the website and tried to locate Normal.dot file but threre is no Normal.dot file can be found. None of the dot files are in the Word StartUp path. I am at lost what to do next to get my Word working again. Please advise. Thanks!

Jonatha

----- Suzanne S. Barnhill wrote: ----

I agree that remembering how you fixed a problem the last time is difficult
especially if you tried a lot of things before you found one that worked
One practice that really helps is to get into the habit of documenting you
troubleshooting (and in fact everything you do that affects your computer)
For example, when you install new software or hardware, record in you
online log the date you installed it, any special information that wa
needed, any problems with the installation, etc. Do the same when you appl
updates and patches. When you have a problem with software or hardware
record the things you tried and especially what solved the problem

This is helpful in two ways: If you solve a problem, you have a record o
the solution. If you can't solve it, you can provide information on wha
you've already tried that didn't work, which can often help a mor
knowledgeable user narrow down the cause of the problem. It can also be ver
helpful to have a record of anything that's changed on the computer (such a
the installation of new software) that might have caused the proble
(consider the number of problems caused by conflicts between the Norto
Office Plug-in and various updates for Word!)

-
Suzanne S. Barnhil
Microsoft MVP (Word
Words into Typ
Fairhope, Alabama US
Word MVP FAQ site: http://www.word.mvps.or
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup s
all may benefit

Ront6134 said:
Hi Suzanne
I came to this site because I like "martylef" <[email protected]> get th
Click to expand...
SAME error msg. and your solution WORKED! I did a 'Search on Normal.dot
and three files with that name appeared. One was a 'pointer' file, tha
pointed to another Normal.dot in the same folder. I rename per you
instructions, double clicked on a 'Word file' and WALLA Word came up. No
happy about it happening in 1st place which leaves with the nightmare tha
"If it can happen Once, Muphy's Law says it will happen Again eight month
down the line and I will be wondering HOW DID I FIX THAT PROBLEM.
 
S

Suzanne S. Barnhill

You also need to see
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/AppErrors/ProbsOpeningWord.htm. Normal.dot is not
something you find online; it's on your own computer, but if you have
Windows XP, it's in a Hidden folder, so you have to set Windows Explorer to
show hidden files and folders before you can find it.



Jonathan Osborn said:
I had the same problem as martylef encountering an error message when
Click to expand...
working with the Word document with the options Send error Report or Don't
Send. Either way it will close the Word and lose all changes. I went to the
website and tried to locate Normal.dot file but threre is no Normal.dot file
can be found. None of the dot files are in the Word StartUp path. I am at
lost what to do next to get my Word working again. Please advise. Thanks!!
 
J

Jonathan Osborn

Thanks for the reply. I should have said that I followed the instructions on the website Suzzane provided and searched Normal.dot on my computer with Window Explorer (checked show hidden files and folders). Yet, I could not locate Normal.dot file on my computer. Besides, I had a similar problem when working with Excel - error message came up and closed Excel w/o saving my work. I had W32.Mydoom.A@mm virus attack last week and downloaded removal tool from Symantec to remove it - the tool could not remove it but quarantined the virus. May be the virus is still acting in someway to cause my problem or it is caused by other problem? Anyway, need helps!

Thanks
Jonatha
 
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