Word always enters safe mode for one user

[sidewinder]

This is happening to a member of our team (not me honest!) and its driving him (and me) mad!

He was running a course on Monday night, and Word (2003) crashed. Since then Word insists on starting in safe mode every time he opens it.

Now these problems are usually down to the normal.dot file - and sure enough when I delete that from his profile, it creates a new one and it opens. Once. After that, from somewhere, it gets back the corrupted version (its got the same date/time stamp as the time Word crashed)

If I copy a normal.dot from someone elses profile, it does then keep opening ok. Until he goes back to his PC. Then, from somewhere, it is overwritten AGAIN!
Still the same version, with the same timestamp!

Ive wiped his profile completely. Still does it. I've searched the entire computer for a local copy with that timestamp it might be storing somewhere. Cant find one.

So short of wiping that PC (which I really, really dont want to do since its got mountains of programs he uses which arnt on our image) how do I solve this? What the hell is going on with it?

[CESIL]

Are you using roaming profiles?

If the corrupted file is still on the server then when he logs back in it will be copied back to the local profile...I think...

[sidewinder]

Yeah roaming

Cleared profile on server and computer!

Actually...I cleared them off a computer in our office, then he logged on and recreated the profile. The old files would have still been on his computer. But the newer profile should always be used shouldnt it? They arnt supposed to merge

[Michael]

Holding the Ctrl key when launching Word will also start it in Safe Mode.

[sidewinder]

Holding the Ctrl key when launching Word will also start it in Safe Mode.

Yeah, but how does that help me? lol

[SYNACK]

Actually...I cleared them off a computer in our office, then he logged on and recreated the profile. The old files would have still been on his computer. But the newer profile should always be used shouldnt it? They arnt supposed to merge

If the profile is large and or depending on settings the computer will used the cached local copy to speed up logon and polutants from corrupted profiles can flow back to the server. Kill the profile on the server and any/all client computers that it is cached on then this problem should not repropogate to the profile.

[Hightower]

In the settings, there's a normal file (in a templates folder) - try deleting this.

[rad]

create him a new account, copy work, sorted!

Me taking the easy route again.

[spc-rocket]

This is happening to a member of our team (not me honest!) and its driving him (and me) mad!

He was running a course on Monday night, and Word (2003) crashed. Since then Word insists on starting in safe mode every time he opens it.

Now these problems are usually down to the normal.dot file - and sure enough when I delete that from his profile, it creates a new one and it opens. Once. After that, from somewhere, it gets back the corrupted version (its got the same date/time stamp as the time Word crashed)

If I copy a normal.dot from someone elses profile, it does then keep opening ok. Until he goes back to his PC. Then, from somewhere, it is overwritten AGAIN!
Still the same version, with the same timestamp!

Ive wiped his profile completely. Still does it. I've searched the entire computer for a local copy with that timestamp it might be storing somewhere. Cant find one.

So short of wiping that PC (which I really, really dont want to do since its got mountains of programs he uses which arnt on our image) how do I solve this? What the hell is going on with it?

I know you cleared the profile but if app data is redirected somewhere else then deleting the normal.dot template file is something you can do. We had similar issues and deleting the normal.dot file cured it.

HTH,

Ash.

[jcollings]

I have had some success with issues like these by creating a shortcut

winword.exe /a

Get the user to run this once and see how they get on next time. It's cured some oddities for me in the past.

[Michael]

Yeah, but how does that help me? lol

Well the Ctrl key could be wedged down. Does this problem happen for one user on one machine or one user on all machines?

I would recommend you allocate the user a new profile, but name the profile differently. Putting a numerical 1 on the end (for example) then makes it completely new, so locally cached profiles do not cause any problems.

[mac_shinobi]

a complete un install of MS office 2003 - clear any remainders for ms office ( in program files , profiles etc ) then do a fresh install - along with office updates ?