eric888
asked on
"The file Normal.dot already exists" Word 2003 issues
Here is the scenario:
When closing Word 2003, a msg pops up: "The file Normal.dot already exists. Do you want to replace the existing file?" If I choose Yes, it closes. If I choose No, it prompts me to save. When I cancel, it goes back to the blank document screen. If I click close again..."Changes have been made that affect the global template, Normal.dot. Do you want to save those changes?" Word closes if I choose Yes or No.
When I try to open a previously saved file, "The file Doc2.doc is not available" (doc2.doc is the test file I used), then it loops back to the aforementioned issues.
I searched the previously asked questions and found one titled "Normal Template MSWord2000" but I don't think that one was ever completely resolved. This computer is running XP Home with all critical updates as of 2/21/04, Office Pro 2003 with all updates as of 2/21/04 and Symantec Antivirus Corporate Edition 8.1 with definitions of 2/19.04. Troubleshooting:
Started in safe mode and scanned for viruses. Welchia.b worm was on it; quarantined and deleted. I ran the latest Welchia removal tool from Symantec's web site; service was removed and Welchia was not found again. Ran a repair on Office, no change; a complete reinstall of Office with all options selected, no change; uninstalled printers; searched all files and folders (hidden too) and renamed the only normal.dot file I found to oldnormal.dot
Renamed registry keys:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software
Renamed Data to Data1
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software
Renamed Options to Options1.
stamps.com postage is not installed;
MS Works is not installed;
Prompt to save Normal template option under Tools, Options, Save tab is deselected;
I've tried all levels of macro security;
Nothing is checked under Templates and Add-ins, Templates tab;
tried http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;820917;
did a complete Office 2003 install, with *everything* running from the computer. When I tried the support template that Microsoft recommends, I got the error msg:
"The file SUPPORT.DOT is not available", even though I can see the file where Microsoft says it should be: c:\program files\microsoft office\office11\macros.
So now I'm doing something that I don't like to do... ask for help. I have 325 points and I'm going to use 250 of them on this problem. I am a newbie here, but I'm fairly computer literate. I'll appreciate any advice regarding any steps that I may have done out of turn or if there is something you see that I haven't tried.
Thank you in advance,
Eric
When closing Word 2003, a msg pops up: "The file Normal.dot already exists. Do you want to replace the existing file?" If I choose Yes, it closes. If I choose No, it prompts me to save. When I cancel, it goes back to the blank document screen. If I click close again..."Changes have been made that affect the global template, Normal.dot. Do you want to save those changes?" Word closes if I choose Yes or No.
When I try to open a previously saved file, "The file Doc2.doc is not available" (doc2.doc is the test file I used), then it loops back to the aforementioned issues.
I searched the previously asked questions and found one titled "Normal Template MSWord2000" but I don't think that one was ever completely resolved. This computer is running XP Home with all critical updates as of 2/21/04, Office Pro 2003 with all updates as of 2/21/04 and Symantec Antivirus Corporate Edition 8.1 with definitions of 2/19.04. Troubleshooting:
Started in safe mode and scanned for viruses. Welchia.b worm was on it; quarantined and deleted. I ran the latest Welchia removal tool from Symantec's web site; service was removed and Welchia was not found again. Ran a repair on Office, no change; a complete reinstall of Office with all options selected, no change; uninstalled printers; searched all files and folders (hidden too) and renamed the only normal.dot file I found to oldnormal.dot
Renamed registry keys:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software
Renamed Data to Data1
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software
Renamed Options to Options1.
stamps.com postage is not installed;
MS Works is not installed;
Prompt to save Normal template option under Tools, Options, Save tab is deselected;
I've tried all levels of macro security;
Nothing is checked under Templates and Add-ins, Templates tab;
tried http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;820917;
did a complete Office 2003 install, with *everything* running from the computer. When I tried the support template that Microsoft recommends, I got the error msg:
"The file SUPPORT.DOT is not available", even though I can see the file where Microsoft says it should be: c:\program files\microsoft office\office11\macros.
So now I'm doing something that I don't like to do... ask for help. I have 325 points and I'm going to use 250 of them on this problem. I am a newbie here, but I'm fairly computer literate. I'll appreciate any advice regarding any steps that I may have done out of turn or if there is something you see that I haven't tried.
Thank you in advance,
Eric
Hi eric888,
My initial reaction is that you have some corruption in your registry entries for Word. As a general guideline on troubleshooting Word, see http://www.theofficeexperts.com/word.htm There's a lot of content there, with troubleshooting entries in two places (one near the top, and the other at the very bottom).
Specifically, I don't think you went far enough upstream when renaming your keys in the registry. Try renaming Word to OldWord
Cheers!
Brad
My initial reaction is that you have some corruption in your registry entries for Word. As a general guideline on troubleshooting Word, see http://www.theofficeexperts.com/word.htm There's a lot of content there, with troubleshooting entries in two places (one near the top, and the other at the very bottom).
Specifically, I don't think you went far enough upstream when renaming your keys in the registry. Try renaming Word to OldWord
Cheers!
Brad
Normal.dot is on C, and I assume not *overwrite* protected?
See...turning off the "Prompt to save..." is now SAVING normal.dot on close automatically.
For some reason, it doesn't want to overwrite the existing one.
If you, for instance, renamed normal.dot on the C, but Tools-Options, File locations shows User templates as H:\\...then you can see that you might still be using the same normal.dot as before.
Just throwing thoughts out there, guy.
See...turning off the "Prompt to save..." is now SAVING normal.dot on close automatically.
For some reason, it doesn't want to overwrite the existing one.
If you, for instance, renamed normal.dot on the C, but Tools-Options, File locations shows User templates as H:\\...then you can see that you might still be using the same normal.dot as before.
Just throwing thoughts out there, guy.
LOL, Brad. I beat you this time.
Actually, many troubleshooting methods tell people to rename the Data key. Since I wanted my instructions to work for most people, I used the whole Word key. So I can see Eric's reason for choosing those keys.
Actually, many troubleshooting methods tell people to rename the Data key. Since I wanted my instructions to work for most people, I used the whole Word key. So I can see Eric's reason for choosing those keys.
ASKER
First of all, thank you very much for the quick and detailed responses. I work in pc support, so I hold detailed troubleshooting in high value.
I renamed the word key to oldword; checked the file locations and the user templates are on c:\ (forgot to mention that this is a home user). I installed Spybot Search & Destroy and removed a bunch of spyware earlier (forgot to mention that too). To follow up on the steps mentioned in your nice article, I made sure there was nothing in the startup folder. I thought it was resolved after closing two blank documents with no error messages. I was about to pump my fist in the air when something told me to try it again. Same error :(
I have decided to punt and start over again with Office... I was wondering if there is an Eraser program for Office 2003 Pro running on XP Home? I'm doing this for a user at work and I don't have her Office cd (installation files were left on hdd), so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to update this post.
Worst case scenario, I'll back up her data and restore everything to Compaq factory specs. I don't like admitting defeat :) however, sometimes at work I find myself saying "I could have ghosted this thing in 15 minutes instead of fighting with it for an hour". I'm going to try a few more times before starting over though, so if any new ideas come up, let me know.
I renamed the word key to oldword; checked the file locations and the user templates are on c:\ (forgot to mention that this is a home user). I installed Spybot Search & Destroy and removed a bunch of spyware earlier (forgot to mention that too). To follow up on the steps mentioned in your nice article, I made sure there was nothing in the startup folder. I thought it was resolved after closing two blank documents with no error messages. I was about to pump my fist in the air when something told me to try it again. Same error :(
I have decided to punt and start over again with Office... I was wondering if there is an Eraser program for Office 2003 Pro running on XP Home? I'm doing this for a user at work and I don't have her Office cd (installation files were left on hdd), so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to update this post.
Worst case scenario, I'll back up her data and restore everything to Compaq factory specs. I don't like admitting defeat :) however, sometimes at work I find myself saying "I could have ghosted this thing in 15 minutes instead of fighting with it for an hour". I'm going to try a few more times before starting over though, so if any new ideas come up, let me know.
ASKER
I've sort of resolved it. I removed the entire office registry key and every folder that I could find in Windows that referenced Office. I could not get Word 2003 to work properly for her, so I installed Office XP. It worked just fine, so I upgraded to Office 2003 and of course it gave me the same error message as before. So I uninstalled everything and installed Office XP again. I thought it would be fine, so I loaded all of the security patches and what do you know... the same error message popped back up. I uninstalled again, reinstalled without the security patches and it worked fine. I loaded Office XP sp1 and Word worked fine. I installed sp2 and that's where the message came back.
Thoroughly tired of reinstallling software and wondering when this woman will ask for her computer back, I just reloaded Office XP with sp1 and gave it back to her. It has to be some security update within sp2 or 2003 or something that changes the registry on her computer that is causing it, but I just didn't want to fool with it anymore.
Now comes the part where I close this thread. I'm a new user here and I don't want to step on any toes, so please let me know if I do anything incorrectly. Help with future issues will be greatly appreciated and I will return the assistance. I don't think I fixed the issue, just found a workaround, but I nonetheless resolved it. You two Experts chose to quickly assist me when you could have helped others. May I have some guidance as to what to do with the available points?
Eric
Thoroughly tired of reinstallling software and wondering when this woman will ask for her computer back, I just reloaded Office XP with sp1 and gave it back to her. It has to be some security update within sp2 or 2003 or something that changes the registry on her computer that is causing it, but I just didn't want to fool with it anymore.
Now comes the part where I close this thread. I'm a new user here and I don't want to step on any toes, so please let me know if I do anything incorrectly. Help with future issues will be greatly appreciated and I will return the assistance. I don't think I fixed the issue, just found a workaround, but I nonetheless resolved it. You two Experts chose to quickly assist me when you could have helped others. May I have some guidance as to what to do with the available points?
Eric
Eric,
Since you fixed the problem yourself and posted a clear description of what you did, this question can serve as a valuable resource for people in the future. We would therefore like to preserve it as a Previously Answered Question (PAQ)--but refund your points.
Please post a zero point question asking for a refund in Community Support https://www.experts-exchange.com/Community_Support/ referencing a link to this question; they will take care of the refund for you.
Brad
Since you fixed the problem yourself and posted a clear description of what you did, this question can serve as a valuable resource for people in the future. We would therefore like to preserve it as a Previously Answered Question (PAQ)--but refund your points.
Please post a zero point question asking for a refund in Community Support https://www.experts-exchange.com/Community_Support/ referencing a link to this question; they will take care of the refund for you.
Brad
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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Found a fix for this
check out this page
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb%3Ben-us%3B315352
and the symantec fix that I implemented here and worked fine (link from above page)
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/nav.nsf/8d071816eedd7cac88256c0e005a96e5/9b4dabf484e0f2ac88256c2f007f88db?OpenDocument&src=bar_sch_nam
same problem with word as experienced .. and decided not to follow the steps as outlined by eric (why repeat our selves)
machine is a compaq that was upgraded to xp pro (not clean install!!)
tested fine after reboot and reg key removed.. then uninstalled word and retested - tested fine
some related errors to this are www.techsupportforum.com/computer/topic/7150-1.html
www.jsiinc.com/subj/tip4800/rh4819.htm
the latter referred to an error I got from norton while trying to uninstall before regedit as outlined above (symantec link)
error was :" ERROR 1606, 'COULD NOT ACCESS NETWORK LOCATION...'"
the location in question was ..documents and settings/all users/desktop (go figure)
anyway hope this helps
check out this page
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb%3Ben-us%3B315352
and the symantec fix that I implemented here and worked fine (link from above page)
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/nav.nsf/8d071816eedd7cac88256c0e005a96e5/9b4dabf484e0f2ac88256c2f007f88db?OpenDocument&src=bar_sch_nam
same problem with word as experienced .. and decided not to follow the steps as outlined by eric (why repeat our selves)
machine is a compaq that was upgraded to xp pro (not clean install!!)
tested fine after reboot and reg key removed.. then uninstalled word and retested - tested fine
some related errors to this are www.techsupportforum.com/computer/topic/7150-1.html
www.jsiinc.com/subj/tip4800/rh4819.htm
the latter referred to an error I got from norton while trying to uninstall before regedit as outlined above (symantec link)
error was :" ERROR 1606, 'COULD NOT ACCESS NETWORK LOCATION...'"
the location in question was ..documents and settings/all users/desktop (go figure)
anyway hope this helps
I got this from searching the web, it worked perfectly to solve the problem. My sincere apologies to the provider of the solution, I lost the link and the credits (took me 2 hours to find the solution with tons of open web pages and somehow lost it), it went something like this:
It has to do with your current or older Norton/Symantec Antivirus plugin that is/was on your computer, so search your entire C: drive for the file "officeav.dll" then click "Start" then "Run" and use the following command to remove the bug from the registry (your path may be different):
regsvr32 /u "C:\Program Files\Norton AntiVirus\officeav.dll"
Snafaru
It has to do with your current or older Norton/Symantec Antivirus plugin that is/was on your computer, so search your entire C: drive for the file "officeav.dll" then click "Start" then "Run" and use the following command to remove the bug from the registry (your path may be different):
regsvr32 /u "C:\Program Files\Norton AntiVirus\officeav.dll"
Snafaru
Good work, Snafaru! Muchas gracias!!! Attempting to resolve this for a client was driving me nuts. The fix you posted was the key.
Archer
Archer
Snafaru... that was simply awesome. The fix is perfect. The saddest aspect is that I had uninstalled Norton 2 years ago.... I can't stand the fact that so many files are left behind with uninstalls. I worked on this for 8 hours before I got to this thread.
Thank you...
NIUWolf
Thank you...
NIUWolf
Snafaru you just saved me a lot of work...good job.
I have had Norton previously installed, but has been un-installed for years. This error started occuring, and I thought I had been infected with a virus - BUT Snafaru's answer fixed it. Awesome post, thanks.
Thank you for the information. I wanted to let you know I couldn't find the officeav.dll file when I searched for it, but I uninstalled the most recent Microsoft Office and Word Updates and it seams to have solved the problem too. This post saved me a lot of time though. If the problem comes back I will remember your solution. Thanks again!
This problem can also be caused by a corrupt NORMAL.DOT file.
I just had an end user report the exact same symptoms.
I just had an end user report the exact same symptoms.
This saved before I could finish my previous comment.
My solution was to search for any and all instances of the the NORMAL.DOT file. There can be more than one if the PC has more than one Windows profile (User login).
I deleted all except the standard version from out-of-the-box Word (or you can copy one from another PC) and make sure it's in the TEMPLATES folder.
The one I deleted was 3.4 MB. The standard template is 32K.
Once I put the original in and deleted any others it worked great.
My solution was to search for any and all instances of the the NORMAL.DOT file. There can be more than one if the PC has more than one Windows profile (User login).
I deleted all except the standard version from out-of-the-box Word (or you can copy one from another PC) and make sure it's in the TEMPLATES folder.
The one I deleted was 3.4 MB. The standard template is 32K.
Once I put the original in and deleted any others it worked great.
The only thing I can suggest is to do it again.
Sometimes, if things aren't done in *thus and such* order, they don't work.
Word troubleshooting (mine):
www.theofficeexperts.com/word.htm
Also, note that I dump the entire Word key, not just data and options.
And just because I feel obligated to say it:
Run a virus scan.
Run a spyware scan.
Macro security shouldn't have anything to do with it.
Let me know...