Knowledge Base

How to troubleshoot problems when you start or work in Word 2003

PSS ID Number: 826840

Article Last Modified on 6/3/2005

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Office Word 2003

Important This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry

SUMMARY

This article discusses how to correct issues in Microsoft Word where the following conditions are true:

The issue is not specific to the document.
You are starting Word or working in Word.

MORE INFORMATION

Start Word by Using the /a Switch

When you start Microsoft Word by using the /a switch, Word temporarily uses the default built-in settings for all options and prevents the loading of add-ins, preferences, customizations, and macros.

Note If you make changes to preferences, customizations, or macros during this session of Word, the changes you make are lost when you quit Word.

Additionally, all Microsoft Office 2003 programs have a Safe Mode startup option.

For additional information about Office Safe Mode, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

291013 About Office Safe Mode in Word

To start Word by using the /a switch, follow these steps:

Click Start, and then click Run.
In the Run dialog box:
- In the Open box, type:
  
  winword.exe /a
  
  -or-
- Follow these steps to locate and select the Winword.exe file:
  1. Click Browse.
  2. Click to select Winword.exe, and then click Open. This step fills in the Open box in the Run dialog box.
    
    Note By default, the Winword.exe file is located in the following folder:
    
    C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office11
  3. In the Open box, move the insertion point to the end of the path.
    
    Note The path of the Winword.exe file in the Run dialog box is enclosed in quotation marks. Move the insertion point to the right of the closing quotation mark.
  4. Type a space, and then type:
    
    /a
    
    The statement in the Open box appears that is similar to the following statement:
    
    "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office11\Winword.exe" /a
Click OK. The Run dialog box closes, and Word starts.

If you resolve the issue when you use the a/ switch to start Word, remove each of the components that are loaded during Word startup. Remove these components one at a time in the order that they appear in Word.

Note Microsoft Product Support Services has a Troubleshoot Utility (included in the Support.dot file) that automates the removal and restoration of the following components that Word Startup loads.

For additional information about Support.dot, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

289506 How to install and use the Support.dot template in Microsoft Word 2002

The following components load during Word startup:

Word auto macros.
Global template (Normal.dot).
Add-ins (WLLs) and Templates in the Word Startup folder and the and Office Startup Folders.
COM add-ins.
Word Data key in the Windows registry.
Word Options key in the Windows registry.

Word Auto Macros

Certain macros, named auto macros, run automatically when Word starts. The following table lists these auto macros. To start Microsoft Word without running the auto macros, hold the SHIFT key while you start Word. To do this, click Start, point to Programs, hold the SHIFT key, and then click Microsoft Word.

Macro	Storage location	When the Macro Runs
AutoExec	In the Normal template or in a global add-in.	When you start Word.
AutoNew	In a template.	When a new document that is based on the template is created.
AutoOpen	In a document or a template.	When a document that is based on the template or that contains the macro is opened.
AutoClose	In a document or a template.	When a document that is based on the template or that contains the macro is closed.
AutoExit	In the Normal template or a global add-in.	When you quit Word.

Word recognizes a macro with a name that begins with "Auto" as a macro that automatically runs when the situation it applies to occurs. To temporarily prevent an auto macro from running, hold the SHIFT key while you do the action that causes the macro to run.

If you resolve the issue when you hold the SHIFT key when you start Word, an auto macro is causing the issue. To prevent this issue, follow these steps:

Start Word.
On the Tools menu, point to Macro, and then click Macros.
In the Macros dialog box, a list of macros may appear. If a listed macro begins with "Auto", you may want to remove the macro.
To remove an auto macro, click to select the macro, and then click Delete.

Note A Word add-in may have added an auto macro. To determine what template contains the auto macro, change the Macros in box to a listed template. After you locate the template that contains the auto macro, you may want to remove that template from your computer. If you remove a template that a Word add-in added, the add-in may not work.

Click Cancel to close the Macros dialog box.
On the File menu, click Exit to close Microsoft Word, and then restart Word.

If the issue is resolved after you restart Word, the auto macro was the problem.

Global Template (Normal.dot)

To prevent the formatting, autotext, and macros that are stored in the global template (Normal.dot) from affecting the behavior of Microsoft Word and documents that you open, rename your global template (Normal.dot). When you do so, you can quickly determine whether the global template is causing the issue.

Important When you rename the Normal.dot template, you reset several options to the default settings, including custom styles, custom toolbars, macros, and AutoText entries. Therefore, Microsoft strongly recommends that you do not delete your Normal.dot file.

Certain configurations may create more than one Normal.dot file. For example, this issue may occur if a computer runs more than one version of Word or if several workstation installations exist on the same computer. In these situations, make sure that you rename the correct copy of Normal.dot.

To rename the Normal.dot file, follow these steps as appropriate for your operating system:

Microsoft Windows 2000:
1. Quit all instances of Word, including Outlook if Word is your e-mail editor.
2. Click Start, point to Search, and then click For Files or Folders.
3. In the Search for files or folders named box, type:
  
  Normal.dot
4. In the Look in box, click your local hard disk (or an alternative user template location if you are running Word from a network server.)
5. Click Search Now to search for the file.
6. For each occurrence of the Normal.dot file that appears in the Search Results dialog box, right-click the file, and then click Rename.
7. Give the file a new name, and then press the ENTER key. For example, type the following name, and then press the ENTER key:
  
  OldNormal.dot
  
  -or-
  
  Normal-1.dot
8. On the File menu, click Close to quit the Search program, and then restart Word.
  
  Note Do not use the /a switch to restart Word.
Microsoft Windows XP:
1. Quit all instances of Word, including Outlook if Word is your e-mail editor.
2. Click Start, and then click Search.
3. Under What do you want to search for, click All files and folders.
4. In the All or part of the file name box, type:
  
  Normal.dot
5. In the Look in box, click your local hard disk (or an alternative user template location if you are running Word from a network server).
6. Click Search.
7. For each occurrence of the Normal.dot file that appears in the Search Results dialog box, right-click the file, and then click Rename.
8. Give the file a new name, and then press the ENTER key. For example, type the following name, and then press the ENTER key:
  
  OldNormal.dot
  
  -or-
  
  Normal-1.dot
9. On the File menu, click Close, and then restart Word.
  
  Note Do not use the /a switch to restart Word.

If you resolve the issue when you rename your global template, the issue is a damaged Normal.dot template. You may have to change several settings to restore your options. If the Normal.dot file that you renamed contains customizations, such as styles, macros, or AutoText entries that cannot be easily re-created, you may be able use the Organizer to copy those customizations from the old Normal.dot file to the new Normal.dot file.

For more information about how to use the Organizer, follow these steps:

Start Word.
Click Microsoft Word Help on the Help menu.
In the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, type:

Organizer
Click Search to view the topics returned.

If you do not resolve the issue, you may want to use your old global template (Normal.dot) instead of the new global template. To use your old Normal.dot template, rename the new Normal.dot template back to Normal.dot.

Add-ins (WLLs) and Templates in the Word Startup Folder and the Office Startup Folder

When you start Word, Word automatically loads templates and add-ins that are located in the Startup folders. Conflicts or problems with add-ins can cause issues in Word. To determine whether an item in a Startup folder is causing the issue, temporarily empty the Startup folder. Word loads items from the Office Startup folder and the Word Startup folder.

To remove items from the Startup folders, follow these steps:

Quit all instances of Word, including Outlook if Word is your e-mail editor.
On your Windows desktop, double-click My Computer, and then locate your Office Startup folder. By default, the folder is at the following location:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office11\Startup
Drag each item from the Startup folder to the desktop. (Or create a folder on your desktop, and then drag each item to this new folder.)

Note To create a new folder on the desktop, right-click a blank area on the desktop, point to New, and then click Folder.
Find the Word Startup folder, and then drag each item from the Startup folder to the desktop. (Or create a folder on your desktop, and then drag each item to this new folder.)

By default, the Word Startup folder is at the following location:

C:\Documents and Settings\user name\Application Data\Microsoft\Word\Startup
Start Word.

After you have removed several items from the Startup folders, and the issue no longer occurs, you can try to isolate the issue. To do so, add the files back to the appropriate Startup folder, one by one. Try to reproduce the issue after you add each item to determine the file that causes the issue.

COM Add-Ins

Programs that interact with Word install COM add-ins. The COM add-ins can be installed in any location. To view the list of installed COM add-ins, follow these steps:

On the Tools menu, click Customize.
Click the Commands tab.
In the Category list, click Tools.
Drag the COM Add-Ins command to a toolbar.
Click Close.
Click the new COM Add-Ins button to view the COM add-ins that are loaded with Word.

If add-ins are listed in the COM Add-Ins dialog box, temporarily turn off each of the add-ins. To do this, click to clear the check box next to each listed COM add-in, and then click OK. When you restart Word, the COM add-ins do not load.

If you resolve the issue after you turn off the COM add-ins, one of the listed COM add-ins may be the cause of the problem. If you have multiple COM add-ins listed, to determine what COM add-in is causing the specific problem, turn the COM add-ins back on, one at a time, and then restart Word.

Word Data Key in the Windows Registry

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

Because most of the frequently used options (click Options on the Tools menu) and some printer information are stored in the Data registry key, you may be able to resolve the issue by deleting the Data key. The next time Word starts, it uses the default settings to rebuild this Data key

Note When you deleting the Data key, you reset several options to the default settings, including the most recently used file list on the File menu and many settings that you customize in the Options dialog boxes.

To delete the Data key, follow these steps:

Quit all Microsoft Office programs.
Click Start, and then click Run.
In the Open box, type:

regedit
Click OK.
Locate the following key in the registry:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Word\Data
Click the Data folder.
On the Registry menu, click Export Registry File, type a file name, and then click Save.
With the Data folder selected, click Delete on the Edit.
Click Yes when you receive the following message:Are you sure you want to delete this key?
On the File menu, click Exit to quit Registry Editor.
Start Microsoft Word.

Note Do not use the /a switch to start Word.

If you resolve the issue, the issue was a damaged Data key. You may have to change several settings to restore your options in Word.

If the issue is not resolved, quit Word, and then add the Data key information back to your Windows registry. To do this, follow these steps:

Locate the Data key that you exported earlier, and then double-click the Data key.
Click Yes when you receive the following message:Are you sure you want to add the information in C:\path\filename.reg to the registry?

An incorrect or a damaged printer driver may be causing the issue.

For additional information about troubleshooting problems caused by an incorrect or damaged printer driver, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

291336 Part 1: How to troubleshoot printing problems in Word

291344 Part 2: How to troubleshoot printing problems in Word

290929 Part 1: Troubleshooting problems when Word has encountered a problem and needs to close

290930 Part 2: Troubleshooting problems when Word has encountered a problem and needs to close

308994 Error message when you try to change printer properties from Office program

Word Options Key in the Windows Registry

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

The Options key stores those options that you set from Word by changing menu options or by running the RegOptions macro. You can edit these options. The option settings fall in two groups: default settings that the computer automatically sets for every Word option during Setup and settings that you can change yourself when you start Word. To change the default settings of any option, you modify the options in Word. To change the settings that are not set by default, you can run the RegOptions macro. Optional settings are not established during Setup. To add them, you can run the RegOptions macro.

To delete the Options key, follow these steps:

Quit all Microsoft Office programs.
Click Start, and then click Run.
In the Open box, type:

regedit
Click OK.
Locate the following key in the registry:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Word\Options
Click Options.
On the Registry menu, click Export Registry File, type a file name, and then click Save.
With the Options folder selected, click Delete on the Edit menu.
Click Yes when you receive the following message:Are you sure you want to delete this key?
On the File menu, click Exit.
Start Word.

Note Do not use the /a switch to start Word.

If you resolve the issue, the issue was a damaged Options key. You may have to change several settings to restore your options in Word.

If the problem is not resolved, quit Word, and then add the Options key information back to your Windows registry. To do this, follow these steps:

Locate the Options key that you exported earlier, and then double-click it.
Click Yes when you receive the following message:Are you sure you want to add the information in C:\path\filename.reg to the registry?

Additional query words: troubleshoot start word use

Keywords: kbhowto KB826840
Technology: kbWord2003 kbWord2003Search kbWordSearch

Microsoft KB Archive/826840

Contents