# All of Office Corrupted???



## PCPatrick (Aug 7, 2003)

I'm running Win XP and it appears my Office 2003 is corrupt. At first, I thought it was just an issue with Word--I was receiving error messages regarding the "normal.dot" file and my documents were "locked for editing by" both me and "another user"; however, I've spent the last day following troubleshooting and the problems still persist.

Now, I'm noticing that when I attempt to reply to an email in Outlook, I receive an error message indicating that Word is not installed or corrupt. And, I've also noticed I can no longer open images in Office Picture Manager because it has somehow suddenly "stopped working." 

Anyone know what the deal could be? I'd appreciate any help.--Patrick


----------



## Corday (Mar 3, 2010)

Try the Office Repair option if you haven't already.


----------



## macropod (Apr 11, 2008)

Indeed, Help|Detect & Repair from within any Office Application, or via Add/Remove Programs in the Windows Control Panel.

Another possibility is that the Temp folder has become cluttered with orphaned temporary files. To clean those up:
1. Closing all open applications:
2. Click an empty spot on the taskbar & press F3.
3. Make sure that the look in box is your primary hard drive & that "include subfolders" is ticked.
4. Type *.tmp;~*.do?;~*.wbk in the "named" box & search.
5. Delete all these files.
You may get a warning that some of this files are in use. Simply skip those and continue with the rest.


----------



## PCPatrick (Aug 7, 2003)

Corday and macropod,

Thanks for your replies. When I try the office repair, I get a Windows Installer error, saying "Error opening Windows installation log file. Verify that the specified log file location exists and is writable."

Also, when I attempt to access the look in box by clicking on the taskbar and then pressing F3, nothing is coming up. Is there another way to delete the *.tmp;~*.do?;~*.wbk files?

Thanks.--Patrick


----------



## macropod (Apr 11, 2008)

Did you ensure the look in box was pointing to your primary hard drive (presumably C:\)?


----------



## PCPatrick (Aug 7, 2003)

macropod said:


> Did you ensure the look in box was pointing to your primary hard drive (presumably C:\)?


Oh, okay. I originally misunderstood. However, when I look for "~*.do?" files to delete, it appears a ton of my Word documents appear--perhaps all of them saved on my hard drive. I need to delete all of these? Thanks.


----------



## macropod (Apr 11, 2008)

PCPatrick said:


> I need to delete all of these?


Unless you've been creating files whose names begins with ~, yes.


----------



## sobeit (Nov 11, 2007)

do a search for normal.dot file. make sure hidden files are shown. once found, delete it. It will be recreated the next time you start office.


----------



## macropod (Apr 11, 2008)

Normal.dot deletion is a bit drastic if the OP has customisations (page formats, fonts, styles, macros, the list goes on) there they want to keep, especially if clearing the orphaned the temp files resolves the problem.

It's usually better to just rename Normal.dot, if anything needs doing with it. That way any customisations in it can be recovered.


----------



## PCPatrick (Aug 7, 2003)

I deleted the *.tmp;~*.do?;~*.wbk files, restarted, and then tried to open a random Word document... it appears the problem persists: "Word cannot open the existing (Normal.dot)"


----------



## macropod (Apr 11, 2008)

In that case, close Word, locate Normal.dot (you can probably locate it by inserting:
C:\Documents and Settings\%Username%\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates
into the Windows Explorer address bar. If not, see Discusses how the Normal.dot global template is found by Office Word 2003), then rename it.
Word will create a new one when you re-start it. You may then be able to open the old one for editing, so you can transfer any customisations from it to your new one.


----------



## PCPatrick (Aug 7, 2003)

Renamed Normal.dot "OldNormal.dot." It appears I'm able to open Word and save a document; however, when I attempt to open one of my old documents, I receive the same message: "Word cannot open the existing (Normal.dot)" 

Also, and I'm not sure if it's really mattered to this point, but I'm actually running on Win 7 (not XP--not sure why I said that originally).


----------



## macropod (Apr 11, 2008)

You don't say which copy of Normal.dot you renamed. Assuming you found the one I gave the path for in my last post, you might also try renaming the one that should be at:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Templates\1033\
or:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Templates\1033\


----------



## PCPatrick (Aug 7, 2003)

Yes, renamed Normal at path you specified. For the other two--the first one listed--no "Microsoft" folder (just "Microsoft Games"). Second listed--no Normal file in "1033" folder.

Thanks.


----------



## PCPatrick (Aug 7, 2003)

But, the same problems continue to persist...


----------



## Corday (Mar 3, 2010)

PCPatrick: You also neglected to mention that you were running the 64 bit version of Windows 7. The more info we have, the more help we can provide. FYI, Microsoft has stated that Office 2003, although workable with Windows 7 & 8, they do not support it and certain problems are known.


----------



## PCPatrick (Aug 7, 2003)

Corday,
Sorry about that. I'm somewhat ignorant when it comes to all the particulars of what I'm running, on what system, etc. So, is there anything that can be done, or do I need to look to upgrade from the Office 2003 version? Thanks.
--
Patrick


----------



## macropod (Apr 11, 2008)

You have two options: Upgrade your version of Office or reinstall your System in 32-bit mode.


----------



## PCPatrick (Aug 7, 2003)

macropod said:


> You have two options: Upgrade your version of Office or reinstall your System in 32-bit mode.


I have access to Office 2007 for upgrading... Probably a dumb question, but if I upgrade to 2007 will I lose any of my 2003 Word documents I've saved, OR any of my emails in Outlook 2003? Thanks.


----------



## Corday (Mar 3, 2010)

Your profile is retained unless you actively destroy it. It still pays to back everything up since some have had problems finding the "File Association" after upgrading. Steps are shown in: How to Upgrade Microsoft Office 2003 to 2007 | eHow


----------



## PCPatrick (Aug 7, 2003)

Just great... I'm trying to install Office 2007, and when I double-click "setup.exe," nothing happens... The disc sounds like it starts to run but then stops. I'm starting to wonder if my paths--TEMP and TMP--are not set right for environment variables. What should these be set to? Thanks.


----------



## macropod (Apr 11, 2008)

If you're installing from the Office 2007 DVD, your temp paths and the like are of no consequence. Sounds like there may be other things wrong with your system and/or the DVD.


----------



## PCPatrick (Aug 7, 2003)

macropod said:


> If you're installing from the Office 2007 DVD, your temp paths and the like are of no consequence. Sounds like there may be other things wrong with your system and/or the DVD.


Not the DVD; I was able to use it to setup Office 2007 on another laptop. Also, not my laptop's disc drive; when I copied the Office files from the DVD to a disc, saved the files from the disc onto my laptop's desktop, the setup.exe wouldn't start up.

Something must be wrong with my system... Any other ideas how I could remedy this? Thanks.


----------



## Corday (Mar 3, 2010)

Wait, I'm losing something. Did you actually insert the "real" DVD into the computer you're trying to install on or did you do what you said in Post #23.?


----------



## PCPatrick (Aug 7, 2003)

Corday said:


> Wait, I'm losing something. Did you actually insert the "real" DVD into the computer you're trying to install on or did you do what you said in Post #23.?


Sorry if I've made all this confusing... On my laptop--the one with the issues--I inserted a "real" Office 2007 disc (not sure why I called it "DVD"), double-clicked "setup.exe," and nothing happens. However, when I do the same on a different laptop--one without the problems--it begins the setup process. Therefore, I'd guess the problem is with my laptop, and not my Office 2007 disc. Thanks.
--
Patrick


----------



## Corday (Mar 3, 2010)

With another media plugged into the disc drive, it works? If so, do you have the latest copy of Windows Installer?


----------



## PCPatrick (Aug 7, 2003)

Corday said:


> With another media plugged into the disc drive, it works? If so, do you have the latest copy of Windows Installer?


If I understand you correctly, no. When I copied all the files from Office 2007, pasted them into a new folder on my "bad" laptop, and tried to run "setup.exe," it wouldn't run--the same result when I tried to run "setup.exe" on the same "bad" laptop using the disc.


----------



## Corday (Mar 3, 2010)

I mean does any medium work when using the optic drive on the unit you can't install 2007 on?


----------



## PCPatrick (Aug 7, 2003)

Corday said:


> I mean does any medium work when using the optic drive on the unit you can't install 2007 on?


Oh, sorry. Yes, DVDs and such continue to work in my "bad" computer's drive. As far as Windows Installer, I have 5.0, which appears to be the latest version for Win 7; however, maybe mine is corrupted or something...


----------



## joeten (Dec 4, 2008)

Hi you can run this to check the operating system files SFC /SCANNOW Command - System File Checker - Windows 7 Help Forums
and this on your hard drive How to use CHKDSK (Check Disk) | Windows 7 Forums


----------



## macropod (Apr 11, 2008)

What do you mean by:


> a "real" Office 2007 disc (not sure why I called it "DVD")


If it's not a genuine Office 2007 DVD, what is it?


----------



## PCPatrick (Aug 7, 2003)

macropod said:


> What do you mean by:
> 
> If it's not a genuine Office 2007 DVD, what is it?


Sorry to be so confusing... It IS a genuine disc: Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007.


----------



## PCPatrick (Aug 7, 2003)

joeten said:


> Hi you can run this to check the operating system files SFC /SCANNOW Command - System File Checker - Windows 7 Help Forums
> and this on your hard drive How to use CHKDSK (Check Disk) | Windows 7 Forums


CHKDSK went through okay; however, SCANNOW resulted in a "Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them. Details are included in the CBS.Log..."


----------



## RobCr (Jan 26, 2008)

Did your Office 2003 work properly for a while ?
How long ago did it start to play up ?
Was your PC changed in any way between the period when Office was OK, and the date when it started to play up ?
If the date is recent you could try doing a System Restore ?
If that fixes things, then do an immediate image to an external drive
(I use the free Seagate DiscWizard, and an external Dock with a 3.5" Seagate drive shoved vertically into it.)
When you have created the image, verify/validate it.

If Office starts to play up in the coming days, it may be MS updates stuffing it, not being adequately tested against old versions (AKA MS wants you to buy their latest offerings)

Rob


----------



## macropod (Apr 11, 2008)

RobCr, you reply has nothing to do with the discussion. The OP is trying to install Office 2007 (not 2003) on a laptop that doesn't have it. Indeed, yours post is the first to mention Office 2003 in the entire thread.


----------



## RobCr (Jan 26, 2008)

I may be old, and I may be feeble minded, however this is the very first line in page 1 of this thread (in the OP I believe) -
"I'm running Win XP and it appears my Office 2003 is corrupt"


----------



## PCPatrick (Aug 7, 2003)

Well, what do ya' know... 

Just because, I decided to run SpyHunter (and it didn't even finish; I had to abort the process after a while) and for whatever bugs were fixed/deleted, they must have been the problem. Everything as far as Office 2003 works fine now. Also, I was getting a Dell Docking Station error every time I restarted, and even that's not showing up now. Not sure how, but it appears my problem was fixed after partially running the antispyware--something I should have done at the VERY beginning. Thanks for everyone's assistance and suggestions!
--
Patrick


----------



## Tech_Mate (Aug 7, 2006)

Well done: smile:


----------



## ellewasal (Jan 4, 2013)

Change the Normal template (Normal.dot) - Word

I suppose you already loaded service pack 3 and read the above


----------



## PCPatrick (Aug 7, 2003)

ellewasal said:


> Change the Normal template (Normal.dot) - Word
> 
> I suppose you already loaded service pack 3 and read the above


Will do, and yes. Thanks, ellewasal.


----------



## Kenny825507 (Feb 26, 2010)

I have Office 2003 running under 64 bit windows 7 on 2 pc's with no problems and have used it for as long as I have had Windows7


----------

