Word choking, taking high CPU percentages

[Paul B]

Hi folks,

I hadn't noticed this problem until a few weeks ago, and I wish I
could remember what changed. But now Word '03 seems to have an
insatiable need for CPU resources.

I'm running a very adequate machine - 3gh processor, 1G RAM,
plenty of hard drive, Win XP, system-run swap file.

Now when I call anything but simple macros, I can count on the
CPU being pegged at 100% for a minute or two (curiously, while
Word is useless at this time, I can open and run other apps such
as this newsreader). On more simple macros, such as one that
fires a SmartTag, pulling in and formatting data from the Logos
Bible application, or one that refreshes the ToC on a not very
large file, there will be a hang of about 20 secs.

And if i load a really large file - say Les Mis.txt, which weighs
in at 3M, just sitting there Word will use up to 90% of CPU
resources. If I minimize the app and W-A-I-T, that eventually
will recede.

And if I try to execute a pretty simple macro on this large file,
or try a Find and Replace, I can go prepare breakfast while Word
deals with it.

Word always did a bit of choking on large files, but not this
much. And I never had macro sluggishness/stalling before. The
only other program that is hogging resources at this time is
Firefox, at about 16%, which shouldn't be critical. Any ideas on
this would be much appreciated.

Paul

 

[Paul B]

I should add that while the choking is happening, the system
still has some 400M of free RAM, and the Page File is at about
550M, which isn't high.

p.

 

[Terry Farrell]

What happens if you start Word in diagnostics safe mode? From Start, Run
(Winkey+R), type in

winword /a

and press enter. Open a large document and see how Word performs now. Please
let us know the result for further advice.

 

[Paul B]

It sure runs a *whole* lot faster that way. 1300 pages, and I can
zip around like it's 30. I can't test the macros, as evidently
they're unavailable in this mode, but I think if they were
usable, and the problem didn't originate in themselves, the
problem wouldn't exist.

So does this mean that my normal.dot, at 231k, is choking Word?

Thanks for your input.
p.

 

[Terry Farrell]

Word Safe Mode starts Word in its default install condition: it bypasses all
customisations, macros, templates (including normal), Comm add-ins, third
party add-ins, etc.

So that leaves you know that Word itself is OK but needing to find the
culprit slowing it down. I suggest testing in the following order.

Rename normal.dot as normal.bad.
With all applications closed, go to your temp folder and make sure it is
empty: delete everything that has been abandoned there.
Check that your printer driver is up to date and then delete and reinstall
the printer.
Check what macros are listed under the Macros command: if any are labeled
AUTOxxxx, then disable them.
Finally check the third party add-ins by disabling them all. If that
resolves the problem, enable them one at a time to find the culprit.

See how to find add-ins

http://www.word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customization/CheckIfAddinsInstalled.htm

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA011514521033.aspx

 

[Paul B]

I just ran a couple more tests. One at a time, I exported and
deleted the normal.dot macros and custom toolbar. I saw no
appreciable speed up. The only things left untested in
normal.dot, which is a very new file, are some menu and context
menu customization, all of which would seem to be very minor.

p.

 

[Terry Farrell]

Resent as posts being lost.

Terry Farrell

Word Safe Mode starts Word in its default install condition: it bypasses
all customisations, macros, templates (including normal), Comm add-ins,
third party add-ins, etc.

So that leaves you know that Word itself is OK but needing to find the
culprit slowing it down. I suggest testing in the following order.

Rename normal.dot as normal.bad.
With all applications closed, go to your temp folder and make sure it is
empty: delete everything that has been abandoned there.
Check that your printer driver is up to date and then delete and reinstall
the printer.
Check what macros are listed under the Macros command: if any are labeled
AUTOxxxx, then disable them.
Finally check the third party add-ins by disabling them all. If that
resolves the problem, enable them one at a time to find the culprit.

See how to find add-ins

http://www.word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customization/CheckIfAddinsInstalled.htm

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA011514521033.aspx

 

[Paul B]

Hmmm. Thanks very much for those tips. I wonder what the printer
driver might have to do with this. That's a connection I never
would have suspected. IIRC, I did update the HP driver around the
time the problem made its appearance. I'll work on this and get
back.

p.

 

[Terry Farrell]

Word is a 'page layout' processor and needs to know the parameters of the
printer (via the driver) to calculate how to lay out the page so that it
matches the printer output. Every printer is slightly different from
another - even different OS drivers for the same printer often give
slightly different results. SO if the driver is partially corrupt or is
incompatible in any way, it can have horrible effects in Word. The easiest
way to eliminate the printer is to install one of the Windows printer
drivers such as Generic Text driver and set that as the Windows default for
testing with Word.

Terry

 

[Paul B]

Very interesting. I took the HP printer off line and its firmware
out of Startup, and haven't seen a difference, but beyond that
haven't gotten to the probing yet. Will get back soon.

Thanks,
p.

 

[Paul B]

Terry, sorry for the delay, I've been working on this as time
affords, while trying to understand the problem in my mind. The
more I thought about it, the more I believed there was a systemic
problem at work. I was getting delayed URL calls, for instance,
between Thunderbird and Firefox, and there were other snags.

I just reinstalled the HP printer, this time using the much
lighter corporate driver. I *think* the problem is resolved. No
choke between TB and FF, and Word is behaving much spiffier. One
file took a bit of time to macro-generate a ToC, but that ToC is
a good seven pages long, so that's pretty understandable. I tried
a "fixmail" macro on a huge file, and while it did take some
time, Word digested it without problem.

So, I'll keep on watching it but I think it's now up to standard.

Thanks much for your help.

BW,
p.

 

[Guest]

That sounds more promising. I think a 7 page ToC would take some time to
build: that's heluva ToC!

Terry