computer freezing when opening office programs

[Ace]

For some reason when ever i open a microsoft office program, be it word, publisher, excel whatever and it has an image or large table or something the computer freezes. I can move the mouse but cant click on anything. If i click the mouse button to many times it makes a beep sound and i loose everything, the lot freezes. I cant Alt+Control+Delete all i can do it hit the reset button.

Any ideas?

[incisor]

try doing the same thing in safe mode and see if it works, if it does it will be software.

but as a general rule, if the 3 fingered salute gets you nowhere then you have a hardware problem.

there are exceptions, usually video driver related...

[Ace]

i have just done a complete re-install of office and no difference.

I will try the safe mode thing

[mike 90 RR]

When windows gets old it seems to loose it's speed
I have fixed these types of problems via
(based on Win XP)

1: Clean out all cookies

2: Also defrag your harddrive

3: Registry needs a tune up: (recommended)

Down load a copy of "Glarysoft registry repair"
It's a good safe registry program / free to use / but be aware that a lot of these type of programs can kill your computer so don't use anything you see. (I went through a dozen till i got this one)
I use this one all the time & it never gives me grief / and it really does make a difference

4: (Last resort) Reinstall windows / insert CD / chose repair
If all else fails, just reinstall the windows disc for a new install. as you start the CD one of the selections will be to "repair" / Chose this method / all data drivers & all programs should be kept.(make sure your data / files / internet Email is backed up for safety) It should just rewrite the windows operating system

Make sure you have the "Windows product key numbers" as you will have to type them to fire up the install

Windows seems to lose & corrupt it's files over time

[29dinosaur]

When windows gets old it seems to loose it's speed
I have fixed these types of problems via

1: Clean out all cookies

2: Also defrag your harddrive

3: Registry needs a tune up: (recommended)

Down load a copy of "Glarysoft registry repair"
It's a good safe registry program / free to use / but be aware that a lot of these type of programs can kill your computer so don't use anything you see. (I went through a dozen till i got this one)
I use this one all the time & it never gives me grief / and it really does make a difference

4: (Last resort) Reinstall windows / insert CD / chose repair
If all else fails, just reinstall the windows disc for a new install. as you start the CD one of the selections will be to "repair" / Chose this method / all data drivers & all programs should be kept.(make sure your data / files / internet Email is backed up for safety) It should just rewrite the windows operating system

Make sure you have the "Windows product key numbers" as you will have to type them to fire up the install

Windows seems to lose & corrupt it's files over time

Especially the older versions. When i was running 98 and sometimes 2000, if things started playing up all I'd do would be to take time out and start from scratch and reinstall windows over newly formatted HD. I don't seem to have too many problems with xp or server 2003 though. depends on how many programs you need to reinstall though...

[mike 90 RR]

29 Dinosaur
Try the registry program, sorts out most of my dramas

[p38arover]

It's because it's snowing up there, Matt.

[HangOver]

Does it ONLY happen with office?

With out further info I would guess at either not enough ram or faulty ram.
Try opening several non-office programs at once to try and max out your ram.
Try increasing you swap file to a couple of gig.

Does it still crash with lots of programs running but without office?

If it does not crash with lots of progs running forget what I said about ram and try this:
uninstall Office, restart your computer !
download, install and run CCleaner
restart again
reinstall office

This is one of those elimination of the most likely to find the cause situations, keep us posted.

[JDNSW]

Ditch Windows.
MS Office is very demanding of resources, and apart from the above suggestions, it is possible that it is not frozen, but running a Word or Excel macro that is using all your resources, quite possibly one that was added to your computer as an unintended attachment to one of those Word documents someone sent you.

John

[mike 90 RR]

Ditch Windows.
MS Office is very demanding of resources, and apart from the above suggestions, it is possible that it is not frozen, but running a Word or Excel macro that is using all your resources, quite possibly one that was added to your computer as an unintended attachment to one of those Word documents someone sent you.

John

Thoughts on this subject

If you just installed this program (office) and then all this happened then you most likely have a RAM issue

(It can also make your video card outdated) Hence: Hardware problems

Most "off the shelf" computers are sold with the bare minimum RAM

The minimum amount of RAM, if you want windows to run "Office" is;
Win 98 = 1gig
win 2000= 2gig
Win XP = 2gig
Vista= 4gig

Windows tries to use as much RAM as possible when running it's programs
& the more you use & the more you stick in up-todate programs (office 03 upgraded to Office 07) the worse it gets

Bill Gates: What happened to clean & simple? :mad:

[incisor]

microsoft tried to break the rising popularity OS/2 by modifying word to grab 1gig of ram on opening if my memory serves me rightly, it didnt affect other office apps.

and as an aside,

most installs of 98 wont even boot with 1gig of ram in the machine, the os usually needs a PAE patch if my memory serves me rightly.

[ladas]

Thoughts on this subject

If you just installed this program (office) and then all this happened then you most likely have a RAM issue

(It can also make your video card outdated) Hence: Hardware problems

Most "off the shelf" computers are sold with the bare minimum RAM

The minimum amount of RAM, if you want windows to run "Office" is;
Win 98 = 1gig
win 2000= 2gig
Win XP = 2gig
Vista= 4gig

Windows tries to use as much RAM as possible when running it's programs
& the more you use & the more you stick in up-todate programs (office 03 upgraded to Office 07) the worse it gets

Bill Gates: What happened to clean & simple? :mad:

My old laptop has 1 gig runs office perfectly on XP, my sons PC has office with 0.750 gb - runs office perfectly, my new laptop 2 gig on Vista runs office perfectly, my main PC with 1 gig on XP runs perfectly

Can't really see where you get your numbers from - but what I do understand is that the more memory you have the more the MS OS and Office will try to use.

My feeling is that ACE has some doggy memory and may want to have that tested first. Or just upgrade to a bigger/better / memory.

[mike 90 RR]

Can't really see where you get your numbers from - but what I do understand is that the more memory you have the more the MS OS and Office will try to use.
[QUOTE=ladas;737408]


Read what i wrote (some times i write and don't realize how it could be read)
Didn't mean "must have for that product" / just what seems to be good overall

Each setup is different

Trouble with computers, is that it's like politics, sometimes best left alone ;)

[garryc]

Ditch Windows.
MS Office is very demanding of resources, and apart from the above suggestions, it is possible that it is not frozen, but running a Word or Excel macro that is using all your resources, quite possibly one that was added to your computer as an unintended attachment to one of those Word documents someone sent you.

John

The easiest way is to use a Linux and Open Office instead of Bill's stuff. ;)

[JDNSW]

The easiest way is to use a Linux and Open Office instead of Bill's stuff. ;)

I was sort of hinting that, although O.O.o is pretty much of a memory hog itself, and also has a few undocumented features. But at least it does not run Word or Excel macro-viruses.

John

[HangOver]

most installs of 98 wont even boot with 1gig of ram in the machine, the os usually needs a PAE patch if my memory serves me rightly.

from what I remember 98se will run with 1GB or more and it will register that it has over 1GB but ti can only use 512mb total.

XP = 4GB
vista 32bit = 4GB
vista 64bit home = 16GB
vista 64bit business = a lot

Mike99R
"the more memory you have the more the MS OS and Office will try to use."

XP can only use a max of 2GB for OS, (3GB if you modify startup) and 2GB apps, (1GB if you modify startup)

[mike 90 RR]

from what I remember 98se will run with 1GB or more and it will register that it has over 1GB but ti can only use 512mb total.

XP = 4GB
vista 32bit = 4GB
vista 64bit home = 16GB
vista 64bit business = a lot

Mike99R
"the more memory you have the more the MS OS and Office will try to use."

XP can only use a max of 2GB for OS, (3GB if you modify startup) and 2GB apps, (1GB if you modify startup)

Hangover
Thanks for that info

I had 1.5gig on 98SE with no dramas (never used 98 1st edition)
& oh no, more RAM to buy $$$$ (running XP pro with 2gig) ;)

& no wonder i am avoiding vista!!! :(

[incisor]

from what I remember 98se will run with 1GB or more and it will register that it has over 1GB but ti can only use 512mb total.

se has the pae fix built in, that was one of the bigger reasons for its release

[HangOver]

Hangover
Thanks for that info

I had 1.5gig on 98SE with no dramas (never used 98 1st edition)
& oh no, more RAM to buy $$$$ (running XP pro with 2gig) ;)

& no wonder i am avoiding vista!!! :(

I hope I haven't misleaded you with those figures for ram they incicate the MAXIMUM ram that the operating system CAN use, not what you NEED to use.

XP = 4GB
vista 32bit = 4GB
vista 64bit home = 16GB
vista 64bit business = a lot

in my experience if you are just using office stuff, email etc 2GB on XP will be fine. Saying that DDR ram is very cheap at the moment. not so the case with SD.
My laptop has 1GBram, my desktop 2GB ram both on XP pro both run fine.