Help! Word Documents Will Not Open

[smoo22]

My old Mac must have had a funny turn during the night and now will not open any MS word document - it comes up with the Word logo thingy but never opens them, no matter how long I give it. I always have to force quit Word to get it to stop.

This happens with EVERY word doc so I'm assuming it's not individual files that are damaged in any way.....

Any techies out there have any suggestions/solutions?? PL-EEE-ASE?? Virtually everything I do is in Word so I'm a bit scuppered! :cry:

[smoo22]

Thanks GEG!

Unfortunately I've tried most of the things you suggest :( All the files were created on this machine so no transfer problems between OS's. (It's Mac OS 10.2.3 - if anybody knows anything about that..... :bigeyes: )

I tried to copy and then open the files, but the same thing happens. I can open some in Appleworks but they lose all the company logos that I don't have elsewhere and really NEED for work!! Tried opening in Adobe Illustrator too to see if they came up in that, but no joy :cry: And Text Edit is as good as useless for stuff like that - I could easily type the text again, but need the company headers!!

The weird thing is - I can open a new blank Word document (from the dock) and copy and paste the stuff (minus pics) into that, but THEN it won't save - or even print - the "wait" thingy keeps turning and turning on me (if you know what I mean!).

I think I'll need to try and see if they'll burn to disc and go beg the use of a PC and printer from somebody :banghead:

Machines, machines, machines!!! :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

[smoo22]

Thanks again GEG - but apparetly I still have 75% of disk space unused! So I think I have to rule that one out - wish it was that easy!!

:badpc:

[smoo22]

Thanks for that !

I'm inclined to agree with you - I think the documents are OK, just cant' get the program up and running properly for anything :(

Unfortunately, I don't have the disks to hand, since my whole life is packed up in stoarage containers at the moment - it's hard enough to get space to work on the laptop in this tidgy little caravan! :cry: So I'm well and truly defeated!

Think I'll give up for today :( - going skelly-eyed for one thing :blink: Biggest trouble is I have quite a lot of increasingly-urgent paperwork to get through, and I am working all weekend so won't have time to fiddle around with it again. Been at this since last night as it is :cry:

I just don't understand it - that bugs me more than anything. I didn't do anything, or change anything, it just HAPPENED!
Darn machines :banghead:

[mrmagoo]

Hello Smoo22,

I had this problem a while ago and in the end instead of double clicking on the saved word document to open it, I had to open word first, then File>Open and select the document for word to open.

this worked for me and eventually I had to re-install word.

hope this helps

mrmagoo

[Doktor Jon]

smoo,

If you have 'Disk Doctor' installed you can try running that.

I'm using a Mac with an older OS, and I have a number of similar issues with it.
Running a repair routine fixes some problems; also some of the Mac OS run a hard drive indexing routine which actually starts (and I'm not making this up) .... at midnight :blink:

If your machine runs that routine it seems to tidy up all the files quite nicely, and I have known lock ups and crashes reduce significantly after allowing the machine to index.

As suggested, removing the programme and reloading should sort the problem, but if you don't have the original discs then that might be out of the question.

Only other option I can think of is possibly, upgrade your existing version of word, which may be an affordable option (no idea what Mr Gates charges these days) :unsure:

[Lady Penelope]

:) Hi there smoo,

Lordie sorry to hear your having problems :( Me too!!!! Have a young son who thinks he is a computor programmer and my pc has been in the wars too, been offline for ages :cry:



I always try system restore to an earlier time, see if that works. If not try Brains..... :lol: that's Bonkers Madd!! send the old girl a pm, if it's not a full moon, then I guess she won't be too busy :P :lol:

[Doktor Jon]

I don't believe it ... :angry:

Midnight ... Indexing starts on my Mac. .... what does it do .... only goes and crashes :banghead:

I just ran Disc First Aid (I knew it had something to do with a doctor :lol: ) and that seems to have sorted it ... touch wood.

Hope you get it sorted smoo :thumbs:

[smoo22]

Wow! Thanks for all our ideas, guys! :notworthy:

But unfortunately I'm still crashing :(

I also tried mrmagoo's idea but still they won't open..... and I don't have disk First Aid - at first I thought I might see about getting it, but after Doktor Jon's experience of it, I'm a bit wary.... ;)

Thanks for the tip LP - not sure if you can system restore on a Mac - never done it on this at least - so I won't have a restore point even if I can :cry:

Had a look at openoffice.org miss mellie - I'll need to download that on a day I'm off work as apparently it's going to take about 4 or 5 hours on the old dial-up - but THANKS for the pointer! :notworthy:

It got to the point where I actually went to our storage place last night and started going through boxes for the program discs - and guess what? I FOUND them, in only the 5th Box I tried (well, I am NORMALLY a super-organised Smoo and every box with "office" on it was at the front by sheer luck!!........ BUT, that didn't work either!! :banghead: :banghead:

So I went back to the storage place and continued opening boxes till I found...... my old PC!! Not the one I was using before packing up, but the one I had before that (OK, so I am a hoarder - and paranoid about people retrieving information from old PCs, so I kept it! :) ) NOW..... remember we are living in a small touring caravan in our garden..... :D :D :D I have had to set it up in the wreck of a house, in the middle of the building site and just cover the whole thing with big polythene sheets...BUT the main thing is - it works! it is a W98 and some of the formatting etc etc has gone from all the documents but, hey, a small price to pay for actually being able to get invoces and quotations out, which means we will actually get paid this month! :thumbs: and have some work for next month - phew!!

OK, so it's baltic cold in the house and I will be sitting there with my old paws freezing and turning blue, but I'll manage, as it's only really for work stuff and to use the printer on - and just for Word documetns at athat! The sad Mac seems to be OK for everything else - for now! Fingers toes and everything crossed it holds out till spring! :D

MANY THANKS to all of you for your excellent advice and help! :notworthy: :notworthy: :thumbs:
I am so relieved!

[ellengrace]

Glad you are (sort of ! ) sorted out for now.

You are one determined lady, Smoo !!! :thumbs:

Make sure you keep warm, flasks, little nips of alchol in your tea, or you'll freeze...let alone the PC !!

Hope you can get your work done and dusted and enjoy the remains of your weekend. :)

[Omega]

Well how strange :blink: Just got back from hols and last night my system had a mind of its own :rant:

1. Turn on computer, it gets to the main screen then pauses then turns off again; then restarts itself gets to the main screen then turns itself of again, then restarts itself again...................and so on an so on :banghead: In the end I had to turn power off and start again

2. Then I run spyware just to check my system; and that had a mind of it's own and it scanned twice finding 4 infections :rant:

3. Then I opened Microsoft Word and it was telling me that I only had 42 chances left to register it :bigeyes: I've had it installed for two years and it has been registered all that time so why is it telling me now to register again when I haven't used it for two weeks :rant: :banghead: :badmood: Ok so had to ring freephone Microsoft; got a lovely Indian lady who gave me all the relevant numbers to type in and now it is registered again :thumbs:

:unsure: Some infection must have invaded my computer while I was away and the power was turned off :hihi: :hihi: It's not the burglars you have to be aware of when the house is empty it's those damned virus's that get into your computer when you're not looking :hihi: :hihi:

[Doktor Jon]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(smoo22 @ 21st October 2006 - 9:28 AM) 205030</div>
I also tried mrmagoo's idea but still they won't open..... and I don't have disk First Aid - at first I thought I might see about getting it, but after Doktor Jon's experience of it, I'm a bit wary.... ;)

[/b]


smoo,

I haven't had a bad experience with Disk First Aid; that's the program that normally gets things sorted :thumbs:

It was the automatic "Indexing" which takes place at midnight, that caused last nights crash; actually it probably wasn't the indexing that caused it, just the catalyst that triggered it.

Only two hours to go to see if it does it again :unsure:

[mrmagoo]

just stumbled across this and thought it was appropriate....

Who is General Failure and why is he reading my hard disk?

mrmagoo