Microsoft Word not Responding

Question

Hi,

"Microsoft Word Not Responding." This error message comes up sometimes, not always when I close a Microsoft Word document. Sometimes you will get the little circle going around and then eventually it will close. Sometimes it closes straightaway with no problem. Sometimes it will take ages and eventually Word will go a whiter Shade of pale and ask me if I want to wait, restart or close the program.

I know this problem has been answered many many times and I'm gradually wading through the solutions that have been suggested. But I'm gradually losing my grip on reality! I am using Microsoft Word 2007 in Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit OS.

1. I have deleted the "Normal.dotm" template along with deleting suggested temporary files. Rebooted the computer, still I have the problem.
2. I have renamed the "Normal.dotm" to "Normal.old," rebooted the computer and that did not solve it. Incidentally, if by renaming the word template, are you still supposed to leave the original "Normal.dotm" in the same place or delete it? Also, now that I know that renaming the "Normal.dotm" to "Normal.old," did not solve the problem, is it safe to delete the "Normal.old?"
3. I have completed two steps as in the Microsoft instructions to take out two registry items one at a time and then try it. This did not solve it so I put the registry items back as per Microsoft instructions.
4. The next thing I tried is the Mr. Fixit from Microsoft to detect issues automatically. I eventually came to the "printer" section. The exact wording was this-

"Word is a very printer intensive program. To determine whether the printer driver is the cause of the problem, we recommend setting your default printer to Microsoft XPS document writer. If this fixes the word start-up problems, you may need an updated printer driver. Contact the manufacturer of your printer for help updating your printer driver."

Well my printer is a Dell V305 Wireless printer and I can tell you that it still prints okay from a Word document. Also, I do not have Word start-up problems. Is the above pointing me to try that option temporarily to see if this is the problem? Because I don't want to use their printer. I suppose this is my next step to try?

I also found this advice about Microsoft Word Not Responding regarding the printer side of it below.

"If Word starts and then stops responding in a few seconds, this is typically caused by an unavailable network printer driver. Word queries the printer driver at various times, even if you're not printing, in order to obtain available fonts, printable area, etc.

If you're using a shared printer, the solution is to install the driver locally. In your Printers folder, remove your shared printer and then use the Add Printer Wizard to add your shared printer back which will install the printer driver locally."

This sounds an interesting solution but it is still too technically worded for me regarding the instructions on what to do. I wonder if someone can break it down into easier instructions for me to understand. For example, where is my printer's folder? Where will I find my "Shared Printer" and the "Add Printer Wizard?" So if the above is broken down into understandable instructions, that will be most appreciated by me.

I ought to try that first to eliminate that problem. If that does not solve the problem, then I may have to come back to ask for more solutions to try.

Thank you

Answer 1

Sorry I was some time until my reply but I have been going through all the options in the first link of your post.  I started Word in application safe mode as you suggested and it worked fine.  Then I went to your first link and went through the many solutions that were selected. I managed to find the culprit.  It was a COM add-in.  But please can you (or anyone else) explain this scenario for me. First, I took out the add-in registry keys as instructed below from your first link.

"Delete the COM add-ins registry keys"

You can install COM add-ins in any location. Programs that interact with Word install COM add-ins. Delete the registry keys for the COM add-ins, and then restart Word.

To delete the COM add-ins registry keys, follow these steps:

Exit all Office programs.

Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.

Locate the following registry subkey, as appropriate for the version of Word that you are running:

·       Word 2007:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\Word\Addins

Click Addins, and then click Export on the File menu.

Name the file WdaddinHKCU.reg, and then save the file to the desktop.

in the Edit menu, click Delete, and then click Yes.

Locate the following registry subkey:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Office\Word\Addins

Click Addins, and then on the File menu, click Export.

Name the file WdaddinHKLM.reg, and then save the file to the desktop.

On the Edit menu, click Delete, and then click Yes.

Exit Registry Editor.

Start Word.

If the problem is resolved, you have determined that a COM add-in program is causing the problem. Next, you must determine which COM add-in program is causing the problem.

Let me point out, I did all of the above and I still had the problem. Then I carried on with the next procedure from your link that was "Determine which COM add-in program is causing the problem" as shown below:

To determine which COM add-in program is causing the problem, follow these steps:

1.     Exit all Office programs.

2.     Double-click the Wdaddin.reg icon on your desktop.

3.     Click Yes, and then click OK.

4.     If you are using Word 2007, go to step 5.

5.     Use one of the following procedures, as appropriate for the version of Word that you are running:

Word 2007:

 .                 Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Word options.

a.                Click Add-ins.

b.               In the Manage list, click COM Add-ins, and then click Go.

c.                If an add-in is listed in the COM Add-Ins dialog box, click to clear the add-in check box. If more than one add-in is listed, click to clear only one add-in check box at a time. This procedure helps determine which add-in is causing the problem.

d.               Click OK to close the COM Add-Ins dialog box.

e.                Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Exit Word.

6.     Start Word.

7.     If the problem is resolved when you start Word, you have determined which COM add-in is causing the problem. If you must have the features that the add-in provides, you must determine which add-in includes those features so that you can contact the vendor for an update.

This resolved the problem.  I only had one COM add-in that I unchecked. However, even when I put back the other registry item, with that solitary COM add-in unchecked, Word was closing okay and the problem was still resolved.With both registry items put back, should I just leave them there now as the problem is only resolved when I uncheck the single solitary COM add-in in Word options?Now let me explain what the COM add-in does.I am disabled and cannot use my hands to type so I use a program called Dragon NaturallySpeaking. The program allows me to dictate to the screen and the words come out as I speak them.The COM add-in that is causing the problem is an add-in for Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Without the add-in checked, I cannot dictate into Microsoft Word so I need that to be checked. How can I get around this scenario?Thank you

.. .

Answer 2

See if there is an updated version of the add-in on the web site for Dragon Naturally Speaking.

  Hi Stefan,

that's what I thought the answer would be. I will try that and report back to let you know how I got on.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Answer 3

See if there is an updated version of the add-in on the web site for Dragon Naturally Speaking.

Answer 4

Mention the article you are following to resolve the issue?

Start Word in application safe mode and check how it works.

To do that, close Word. Go to Start, click on All Programs and Accessories and then Run. In the open box type in ‘winword /safe’ and hit ok. (Note: There is a space between winword and /).

If application safe works, try the steps mentioned under the section ‘Manual steps to troubleshoot problems that occur when you start or use Word’ in the following article and check:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/921541

You may also change the default printer to Microsoft XPS or OneNote 2010 and check. If changing the default printer works, then you may update the drivers for the problem printer. To change the default printer, refer to the following link:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Change-your-default-printer

If issue still persists, you may post the Error report logged into the Windows 7 event viewer.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/What-information-appears-in-event-logs-Event-Viewer