OldNormal.dot Only Worked Once

S

Steve

Beth, I hesitated to put your name in the header but hope you read this since
you know the background. And obviously know Word. I searched on Normal.dot
but did not recognize anything posting I could use.

I also tried 'start','run','winword /a' and that no longer opens WORD.

This is where Normal.dot is located on my system.
C:\Documents and Settings\Steve\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates


Word will not open. I get the small Word Blue Logo screen and it hangs
there. On my previous post it was suggested I find were my templates where
and change Normal.dot to OLdNormal.dot.

I did that and Word opened fine.

But it will only open once. It creates a new Normal.dot and then will not
start up.
If I keep renaming Normal.dot it will open once.

Any help most appreciated.
Thank you
 
B

Beth Melton

I'm guessing this is the same Steve who previously posted about having
problems locating Normal.dot? I just want to make sure since your
previous details are important too. :)

First, it doesn't make sense that you are unable to start Word using
the /a switch, which bypasses your Normal.dot, but renaming it will
allow Word to start. (I'm making a mental note of this - it could be
important later.)

Generally, if after recreating Normal.dot and it ends up corrupt
again, there are two likely causes: an add-in or corruption in your
Registry. Let's start with the Registry first.

- Go to Start/Run and run: Regedit
- Once in the Registry navigate to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Word\Data
- Right-click the key and select Rename
- Change the name from Data to OldData
- Leave the Registry open
- Locate Normal.dot and rename it to OldNormal.dot
- Try starting Word

If Word starts then you can delete the OldData key as a new one will
be created. If it doesn't start then leave the key for now so we know
we have it ruled out.

If the above doesn't work then are you able to start Word in Windows
Safe Mode?

Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/
 
S

Steve

Beth,

Yes, it is the same Steve (Steve Martin) that you helped late last week. I
only tried WORD once after you taught me on the first posting how to change
Normal.dot to OldNormal.dot. That is why I reported the probelm as A-okay.
The problem as previously stated in second posting is it only works once
then you have to re-name Normal.dot again.

I went in and did the 'regedit' as described (changing 'Data' to OldData')
then I went and renamed 'Normal' to 'Old6Normal'. Opened WORD and it opened
successfully. Closed it and it would not start up. Tried winword.exe /a and
it also would not start WORD.

'Restarted' in 'Safe Mode' WORD worked on multiple tries and so did
winword.exe /a.
Then 'Restarted' regularly and WORD will not start-up. winword.exe /a also
will not start up WORD. There is now 'Data' and 'OldData' in the register as
you said because of the multiple starts of WORD in 'Safe Mode'.

I appreciate your help as always.
 
S

Steve

Beth,

Re-read your post and you said something about add-ins. Don't know what
that is exactly, but I downloaded a demo piece of Software about two weeks
ago and I remember the instructions had me change some setting in WORD. I
think 'security' to 'low'. I can not be certain. Anyway didn't like the
package so I uninstalled it. I know WORD worked while this package was
loaded, but can't remember if WORD not starting, happened at excatly when I
un-installed the demo S/W.

This may only serve to confuse you since I don't remember exactly what they
had me do and I don't know what an 'add-ins' is. But, I thought I better
mention this. I can tell you this Word was opening slower and slower some
time before I installed this demo S/W.

When it opens now it is like lighting fast.
 
B

Beth Melton

If Word runs fine in Windows Safe Mode then the likely causes are your
printer driver or graphics driver. Obtain updates for both from the
manufacturer's web site.

If that doesn't work then we'll tackle the add-in possibility you
noted in your other post. Typically if the problem is caused by an
add-in then Word will start successfully using the /a switch as
add-ins are also bypassed in this mode. But since Word doesn't start
using the /a switch it suggests an installation issue. However it runs
correctly in Windows Safe Mode so that suggests a driver issue which
is the next item to rule out. :)

Also, do you happen to have a network printer driver installed? If so,
are you connected to the network? What printer do you have?

Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/
 
S

Steve

Beth,
Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to this issue. I thought I had
checked the box to be notified if someone responded. It finally had enough
sense to check directly on the discussion site.
It appears to have been printer driver for my HP 5510. I am hard wired into
it, but uninstalling, getting latest driver and re-installing seems to have
Word working fine. HP loads up about 100MB of stuff on your system so I
never know what they are running in the background.

Again thanks for your help.
 
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