I too have recently begun experiencing this. There must be a dozen
threads on the topic and none ever list a final resolution, they just
seem to die out.
Interesting, because the problem results in a huge time waste and work
inefficiency. In hopes of someone finally offering a real solution here
are the symptoms I am seeing.
+ XP SP3
+ Not seen on Office XP, but showed up with Office 2007
+ Seemed to coincide with a hard drive upgrade - 120GB to 250GB. Used
Acronis to do this. Upgraded to Office 2007 at the same time, so not
sure which it might be, but primary suspect is Office.
+ Seen when you double click a Word or Excel file to open. While
waiting the app you are in (Explorer, Outlook, etc.) is usless. Shows
not responding if you try to close.
+ Will always open if you wait long enough.
+ If you open the app first and open the file from within the app,
opens right away.
+ Worse when I am attached to my work network, even if accessed files
are not on the network. This seems like a huge hint! I have
disconnected all non-accessible mounts. That cleared up a side problem
of how quickly you could drill down through directories.
+ Worse when I first power up from a shutdown. Seems to improve as the
day goes on. Almost like the problem is related to search paths and it
learns or gets smarter as time passes, but shut down and you are back at
square one.
+ Off network, cannot say problem totally goes away, but much less
frequent.
+ Side issue is that even when Excel sheets open the Excel app, the
workbook does not open until the app is minimized and the maximised.
Thats what I know. I hope it clicks with someone and we can identify
the cause. THX