# Frustrating Excel 2007 issue



## DrMorganes

I've a user who uses Excel 2007 to maintain a calendar of information. At random intervals Excel seems to crash: the display blanks, clickable areas get re-drawn as the mouse moves over them, but nothing else seems to refresh the screen. Keyboard shortcuts work, so CTRL+S will save the document. She needs to close Excel and reopen it to regain normal functionality, and the issue may or may not repeat. No errors are logged in the Windows Application Event Log.

We did not have this issue with Excel 2003. The workbook format has been converted to Excel 2007's .xlsx format, but the same thing happens when using the older .xls file.

We did upgrade from Office 2003 Pro to Office 2007 Enterprise. I thought perhaps something got mucked up in the upgrade, so I reloaded the PC from scratch. 

No help. 

Any ideas? Thanks!


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## FreoHeaveho

Can you please post a screen shot? If not please use pc wizard in my sig to post your computer specs. Install and open PC Wizard and then go to FILE, SAVE AS and copy the text out of the file it creates to this thread. Please also post what Power Supply Unit you have (open the computer if possible to see).

Based on the fact that this issue exists with a new install, i am convinved you have a hardware (possible memory) issue.

Not sure yet, but please post your specs.


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## DrMorganes

I'll get the details to you ASAP.

In the mean time, it's an AMD x2 CPU, 4GB of RAM that's been tested good via MemTest. The rest of the system works flawlessly. I won't be able to run the program you mentioned until later tonight, and will post back with results in the morning.


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## Terrenzo

I have the EXCEL 2007 screen refresh problem big-time, and it has gotten worse, to the point where I cannot use EXCEL anymore. It does not matter how big the workbook or spreadsheet is, how much data or how many formulas are in it, or how much formatting, conditional or otherwise. The screen flickers, jumps, hides rows, refuses to refresh, all seemingly at random. The more active I am in the spreadsheet, the more it happens. When I stop moving through the sheet, the weird refreshing and flickering eventually stops, until I get back into the sheet. Eventually, all or part of the screen material will reappear, and so far, no data have been permanently lost. With excellent support from Dell, we checked all hardware, reinstalled the latest graphics driver, upscaled and downscaled the graphic speeds, etc. Nothing worked. Next stop Microsoft?


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## FreoHeaveho

Please post your own thread Terrenzo. Welcome to TSF.


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## DrMorganes

Actually, BigFella, that sounds very much like the problem I was dealing with. I think I've managed to fix it.

Terrenzo, by chance is this an upgraded Office installation? Mine was. I deleted the contents of "c:\documents and settings\%username%\application data\microsoft\excel" and rebooted the computer. The folder contents were re-created the next time I opened Excel and I haven't had the problem return since then.

Oddly enough, the apparent solution came at me as a "hail mary". Adobe InDesign CS2 was giving me out of memory errors when it opened. The solution there was deleting an Adobe-related folder in the Application Data folder. I thought I'd give it a go for the Excel issue and it seems to have worked.


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## RelievedUser

Dr Morganes - Thank you so much !!!!

This problem has been driving me crazy for almost 12 months and you've hit the nail right on the head.
Everyone's advice up until now had been to say it's a hardware issue but I've had this problem to an almost crippling level on all 4 of my high spec PC's at work since I installed the upgrade and knew it couldn't be anything other than a software issue.
What a relief you've solved this nightmare for me. I can't thank you enough.

Shame on Microsoft for allowing this to go on for so long.

P.S. other interested parties - the 'application data' folder is hidden as default so to bring this into view carry out the following.

Select:
Tools
Folder Options
click 'view' tab
select the radio button 'show hidden files and folders'
Hey presto!

Windows Vista Users: the folder is in a different location. Open from: Users\user name\appdata\Roaming\Microsoft\Excel.

Good Luck!


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## sallywuu

Hi all, I used the solution posted. It improved but not totally solved. 

It's less than before, but still parts of the screen "lag"/doesn't refresh/missing and won't wake up. Also, I keep getting error messages to say "Excel cannot complete this task with available resources. Choose less data or close other." I don't have any other file opened, just email and browser. And I have 4 GB RAM! I know Windows can only use 3+. Neverthelss, I can't see why's it's a resource issue!

Please see attached screen cap of excel lagged screen.

Somebody/Anybody, please help!!!!


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## rgaytsforum

Very similar to our problem. Currently being blamed on the user's file, but now burning expensive tech time to try to solve as it cripples one of our critical business operations.

I'm going to apply fixes suggested here. Does it occur in both .xls and .xlsx formats?

rg


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## JScott82305

Hey guys,

I am having this exact same issue. I have experienced it on two different PC's in my office and both of them were brand new Dell's. I have tried deleting the contents of the Excel folder as stated above in a previous post prior to joining this site. I was unable to find anybody else who had this same issue until I found this site.

I have tried a video card driver update, increase page file, Windows and MS Office update, decrease hardware acceleration for the video card... Nothing seems to work. Anybody have any other ideas?:4-dontkno


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## rgaytsforum

We opened a ticket with Microsoft pro support. There is a hotfix for the GDI layer, which we applied. Has been OK for a couple of days. Waiting until 9/11 to see if it is a fix.


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## JScott82305

I thought I was going crazy and nobody else was experiencing this issue. It is happening very frequently. Can you let me know the kB for the hotfix? If it is possible, I would like to try it as well to see the results.

Hope it worked for you!


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## DrMorganes

Just an update from my side of things:

We still have the issue, just far, far less frequently. 

rgaytsforum: Be sure to let us know if that GDI hotfix resolved the issue.


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## JScott82305

Just a question, do you guys have SP3 installed on the XP machines that are experiencing this problem? I have noticed on the few that have had the issue in my office, they were XP SP2. i have Vista and never have any problems at all with Excel. it seems to be if the user has Excel open (no file open though) and they go somewhere else like browse the internet or open Windows Media Player, once the click on the Excel that is when the problem happens, the toolbars and menus at the top are gone, and you can see through the Excel to the application that is behind it... Odd...


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## rgaytsforum

No problems yet after the hotfix. I'll post the hotfix we used tomorrow if it is still OK - that will be one week after application. I believe you will have to contact Microsoft to get it, as it is password protected.


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## Hedgehog71

I also have been having a few issues with excel 2007 but i simply renamed the old user profile and then recreated a new one which fixed most of the faults.

but will try clearing the excel folder next time


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## rgaytsforum

No problems after one week. The hotfix references KB955142 which is not findable on support.microsoft.com.


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## DrMorganes

JScott82305 said:


> Just a question, do you guys have SP3 installed on the XP machines that are experiencing this problem? I have noticed on the few that have had the issue in my office, they were XP SP2. i have Vista and never have any problems at all with Excel. it seems to be if the user has Excel open (no file open though) and they go somewhere else like browse the internet or open Windows Media Player, once the click on the Excel that is when the problem happens, the toolbars and menus at the top are gone, and you can see through the Excel to the application that is behind it... Odd...


Happens with SP2 and SP3 for us.


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## callen

We are getting the same symptoms as described in the post but after attempting to apply the Hotfix from Microsoft it says it has already been applied... I erased the contents of the folder described above and will see if that helps. If someone has any other ideas I am all ears.


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## rgaytsforum

This is a nasty problem. I have one more machine with the problem and I will watch it after I apply the hotfix. So far the 1st one is OK, but it has gone weeks between incidents before.


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## JScott82305

Sounds good. Thanks for the reply. I have not applied the hotfix yet, I just recently updated to SP3 and wanted to see if it resolved anything. If not, I will try the hotfix and see how it helps.


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## FreoHeaveho

Set a restore point, and then apply the hotfix, if the problem disappears, leave it, otherwise use system restore.


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## rgaytsforum

2nd machine with the continuing problem already has the hotfix, so re-engaging Microsoft support. 1st machine that took hotfix is still OK, but expect it to recur.


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## JScott82305

I have just applied the hotfix.. I will let you guys know how it works out. The problem will usually happen every few hours so I should have an answer by today. If no reply, the issue did not happen and I will post an update at end of day tomorrow.


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## twscrb

Having these same issues. Systems have 2 GB of ram but doesn't seem to matter. Anybody try using a memory management program to fix this problem?


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## JScott82305

twscrb said:


> Having these same issues. Systems have 2 GB of ram but doesn't seem to matter. Anybody try using a memory management program to fix this problem?


Just thought you guys should know that it has been 10 days now and this user has not had an issue with Excel. They are a heavy Excel user, so I am almost confident to say the hotfix fixed the issue. I will post again should anything change. *twscrb*, I don't think it is an issue with memory. I have had this happen on machines brand new from the box with 2GB RAM, dual core CPU's.. I could be wrong, but I think the issue is within the OS. Have you applied the hotfix listed above?


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## manchej

We have the same issue here with some of our power users. Charting seems to cause hte issue. I have the patch but when I install it it says that it is already installed. Not sure what to do at this point. Going to be call MS support back this morning. I even extracted the MSP file from the exe and it still didn't install. Has anyone else figured out how to get by this error?


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## rgaytsforum

Now we know that the hotfix seems to work and that Office Security Update KB951944 is not compatible with the hotfix. The hotfix will say "already applied" if 951944 is installed. We are now deinstalling 951944 on the affected machines and applying the hotfix to see if the problem goes away on more machines. This is adding some security risk so you will have to evaluate the KB notes and see if you want to follow that path.


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## twscrb

*Re: Frustrating Excel 2007 issue _ GDI hotfix*

Does anybody have a link to the GDI hotfix? This is looking more and more to be the fix for this issue. I'm finding it as KB319740. I think that's correct but I just want to be sure.


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## rgaytsforum

The one I used is KB955142, available from MS support. Don't know what the diff. is.


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## callen

Good catch on the incompatible Office update. I have removed the incompatible update, restarted, applied the hotfix and restarted.. Now I wait.... I ran Microsoft Update again and the incompatible update shows as a pending critical update. Do you know if it can now be reapplied? It would appear that I am unable to hide this update as that option is greyed out..


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## JScott82305

callen said:


> Good catch on the incompatible Office update. I have removed the incompatible update, restarted, applied the hotfix and restarted.. Now I wait.... I ran Microsoft Update again and the incompatible update shows as a pending critical update. Do you know if it can now be reapplied? It would appear that I am unable to hide this update as that option is greyed out..


More than likely it is not compatible and unable to be installed after the hotfix has been applied.


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## twscrb

GDI patch seemed to work for about 2 weeks -- and now user is having same problem again.
"Insufficient memory to create the bitmap. Close one or more applications to increase available"

The interesting thing about this issue is that we're only seeing it with a small group of users who share some spreadsheets between them. But yet others in the group who also share the same spreadsheets never have these issues -- even though they are using similar systems.


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## callen

Hey twscrb,

Can you tell me if KB update 951944 has been reinstalled since you applied the hotfix or if it exists on the system?

It's only been since Monday that we installed the hotfix and I have not heard any reports of the original issue reoccuring. This was so bad prior to the hotfix that you could guarantee at least 3-4 failures a day.


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## JScott82305

twscrb said:


> GDI patch seemed to work for about 2 weeks -- and now user is having same problem again.
> "Insufficient memory to create the bitmap. Close one or more applications to increase available"
> 
> The interesting thing about this issue is that we're only seeing it with a small group of users who share some spreadsheets between them. But yet others in the group who also share the same spreadsheets never have these issues -- even though they are using similar systems.


I installed the hotfix given by rgaytsforum and have not had an issue in two weeks now. I am not sure if the two are the same hotfix or not. Maybe uninstall and try the other one. We had the same issue with a group of users and the hotfix resolved the issue. One other thing is that there are about 20 who have identical machines and it would only happen on 2 or 3. Strange issue......


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## twscrb

Obviously, to resolve this issue we need to make sure that we are using the same patches. The hotfix KB955142 used by rgaytsforum cannot be found on Microsoft's website or anywhere else. If anyone knows where this patch can be found, please let me know.


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## rgaytsforum

I got it directly from Microsoft Pro support. It took exhausting the $49 path and going up to the $259 path. It's well worth the price, especially if you have more than one user or the 1 user is a high-value one. They will work it for that price until it is resolved. From my support contact, I understand they are working out a more complete solution to address our workarounds.

Here's the link:
http://support.microsoft.com/?LN=en-us&scid=gp;en-us;offerprophone&x=15&y=11


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## hinetasm

We're having this same issue, accompanied by the error "not enough resources to display completely"

We opened a ticket with MS tech support and they gave us the hotfix 955142. When I pressed the tech at MS about it he stated that this is a private KB and hot fix. It has not passed regression testing yet, as stated in the disclaimer included with the hot fix.

We're going to try this on a few PCs and I will post about our results. Thanks to folks who found out that you have to uninstall KB951944 before applying this hotfix.


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## twscrb

FYI

It seems like the hotfix 955142 that apparently resolves this issue is available from Microsoft now. Do a Google search for 'hotfix 955142' and you should be able to find the link to it.


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## rgaytsforum

We have closed our issue. MS Pro support came through with a final hotfix to cover the original display problems and support the conflicting patch. No recurrences since we applied. 956506


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## 808pants

I downloaded and applied hotfix 956506 - after 45 seconds or so of progress-bar, it fails with "The installation of this package failed," and nowhere to go for help with it. Any suggestions?


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## Gybson

Hi All!
Hate to drag up an old issue, but I'm seeing this issue with users in my environment. I tried to apply the KB955142 patch, but it fails during the install. Were these patches slipstreamed into Office 12 SP1?

It's very sporadic, but I've even experienced it myself. It's easy to just close out and reopen excel, but trying to tell that to 30-40 users (accountants during tax season!) out of 600, would be difficult! Sometimes it happens multiple times a day, others the users can go days without it happening.


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## rgaytsforum

Brief history on this - and you can look back at my old postings to Aug 2008:

1. Suspected GDI problem - worked with Microsoft Pro support.
2. Patch suggested first failed - conflict with prior update.
3. Backed out prior update - patch applied OK. Problem ceased.
4. Microsoft provided composite patch to include one backed out.
5. Applied composite patch - no problems since.

I'll go back and pull my notes if it's not trackable from the postings.

If you open a ticket with Microsoft pro support, they will help you get it fixed.
It's $259 risk, but usually no charge if it is their problem.


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## mingblus3

There is nothing you can do to fix this. I went down the route of contacting MS who have not charged me as it can't be fixed. We have worked out a couple of workarounds, and the beta tests in the next services pack do not fix this either. I have requested complete Microsoft Articles to be published so IT techs like us don't waste any more time. 

I had confirmation this evening that they will be pushiled within the next week or so. 

Will let you know.


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## Captainmark

Guys if you are suffering from Screen flicker problems in Excel 2007 or any other version of excel. 

Have a look for Microsoft Intellipoint software version 6.2 in add remove programs and uninstall it if found.

Fix should be instant if this is your problem.


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## takeiti

Tks CapitainMark, it did work with my computers. It really was the Intellipoint software driving me nuts!
Tks again.
Ed


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## titingrenelle

:upset:I can't install the hotfix KB955142 and KB956506. "Installation of the package failed" error occurs. What's the proper way of installing this hotfix. Please help me guys. Please.......! I downloaded the hotfix from microsoft.....! Thanks.........


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## titingrenelle

I got it! Heheh! I install Windows Installer 3.1 V2 Redistributable first. Then install the hotfix successfully. Thanks.........!


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## rgaytsforum

Captainmark said:


> Guys if you are suffering from Screen flicker problems in Excel 2007 or any other version of excel.
> 
> Have a look for Microsoft Intellipoint software version 6.2 in add remove programs and uninstall it if found.
> 
> Fix should be instant if this is your problem.


Thanks for this update. All the computers I had trouble with had Microsoft wireless kb & mouse. I'm going to check them. Will they run without the Intellipoint software?


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## mingblus3

ACTION/RESULT:

After Copy/Paste some information from one cell to another, and scrolling up and down will make the date visually disappear.



CAUSE/RESOLUTION:

There are 3 workarounds at the moment the customer can use:

1. Unselect the cell after copying.

2. Disable the Freezing Panes.

3. Scroll up and down using the keyboard keys instead of using the mouse scroll.



A Knowledge base article was written for this issue:

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=970547 Cell contents are not visible when the Sheet contains Freezing Panes in Excel 2007

=================


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## MikeSplicer

Captainmark said:


> Guys if you are suffering from Screen flicker problems in Excel 2007 or any other version of excel.
> 
> Have a look for Microsoft Intellipoint software version 6.2 in add remove programs and uninstall it if found.
> 
> Fix should be instant if this is your problem.


 
This is the one that worked for me Thanks Mate 

BTW I was at version 6.3 but same affect


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