Server based Word and Excel files very slow to open

Thanks for your input,guys. However, as stated, it is only Word and Excel I am having a problem with. All other file type access from the server is pretty much instant. This would explain away DNS, WINS and another NIC being the problem. For example, Powerpoint files open in about 1 to 2 seconds which, considering the application has to start first, is pretty good. This has to be an application layer issue, really. I don't have sufficient knowledge of Word/Excel client/server internals to troubleshoot the problem. I know that, if I monitor the processes on the server and client, there is liitle change in activity. It's as though the server is timing out on some required parameter or other (like a template) and then giving up the information when all else fails.

Thanks for hanging in, Badotz. The switch was changed because all the PCs and server were running at 10Mb/sec HDX. After the new switch was installed all the network ran at 100Mb/sec FDX. However, pings to google.com were still taking about 4100ms from any PC and server. Each PC was disconnected in turn and still the same. But when the server was disconnected, a ping from any PC to google.com dropped to about 110ms. So then I added a NIC to the server. Still the same. Then I changed the cable run from the server to the switch. All OK. I tested the old switch later with a couple of laptops and it was running at 100Mb FDX, so the bad cable run from the server to the switch was causing packet retransmissions and overloading the first switch. The second switch was of higher quality so could handle the packet retransmits. I could see the difference immediately at the NIC status.

So, to summarize: The cabling problem is fixed and Internet access, email, etc is much better than it has ever been for quite some time. The old switch is OK, as probably is the old NIC. File access from any PC to the server is also excellent. PDFs, Powerpoint and other applications open in a twinkling of an eyelid. Word and Excel still take forever. That is where the software issue is.

 Incidentally, on Monday I'm putting a LAN analyzer in place to see what is happening over the cable when accessing Word and Excel. I'll post the results because I know you are really interested. Thanks again.

Thanks, TechSoEasy. I tried your recommendation but no improvement. I put my thinking cap back on and went in a different direction, by isolating the server down to each PC in turn and then PC to PC in turn. This revealed the same result in every case - slow document startups. Opening a blank document per PC (using the normal.dot template) produced acceptably fast results. Opening localised Word documents (dated after about March 2008) per PC was very slow. Now the daylight began to dawn. One of the users opens documents with Office 2007 (saving in 2003 binary format). I opened one of these files with Word 2003, selected all the content and copied it into a blank document and saved it to the server. I went to another PC and opened this file from the server and, voila, instant result. I've gone around all the PCs doing the same and the slow startup problem has been eliminated. The same has been done with Excel docs (also have been opened with Excel 2007). It looks as though there may be an "undocumented feature" there (as we used to say in my DEC days). Please consider this problem solved and closed. Thanks, everybody.