Office 2000, 2003, Excel will not start / open, even in safe mode.
One of the machines in a different department has developed a strange problem with Excel. It simply won't open.
Trying to open Excel will sometimes cause the logo to appear in the middle of the screen for a moment but that's it.
In the event log I get this:
Event ID 2001
Rejected Safe Mode action: Microsoft office Excel.
I've looked into this or similar problems and tried to fix it, the following are some of the things I've tried:
Running the file Excel.exe directly.
Start Run: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\EXCEL.EXE"
Start Run: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\EXCEL.EXE"
Start Run: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\EXCEL.EXE"
Start Run: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\EXCEL.EXE"
(tried in both normal and windows safe mode)
Start Run: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\EXCEL.EXE"
I've deleted all temp files in Windows/temp and in the users profile temp
The XLSTART directories are empty
I've re-named .xlb and .pip files to .old so that Office re-creates them.
I've tried the Office disc repair
I uninstalled Office 2003, re-booted and re-installed 2003, this didn't work, so I uninstalled it again and installed
Office 2000
This didn't fix the problem the problem is the same in both versions of Office.
However I can get Office 2000 Excel to open in safe mode with this:
Start Run: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\EXCEL.EXE"
Once open I tried:
Remove all add-ins
Selected "Ignore other applications"
neither worked :o(
One of the remaining options is to format the machine and start again, but obviously I don't want to do that.
Any ideas experts?
Trying to open Excel will sometimes cause the logo to appear in the middle of the screen for a moment but that's it.
In the event log I get this:
Event ID 2001
Rejected Safe Mode action: Microsoft office Excel.
I've looked into this or similar problems and tried to fix it, the following are some of the things I've tried:
Running the file Excel.exe directly.
Start Run: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\EXCEL.EXE"
Start Run: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\EXCEL.EXE"
Start Run: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\EXCEL.EXE"
Start Run: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\EXCEL.EXE"
(tried in both normal and windows safe mode)
Start Run: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\EXCEL.EXE"
I've deleted all temp files in Windows/temp and in the users profile temp
The XLSTART directories are empty
I've re-named .xlb and .pip files to .old so that Office re-creates them.
I've tried the Office disc repair
I uninstalled Office 2003, re-booted and re-installed 2003, this didn't work, so I uninstalled it again and installed
Office 2000
This didn't fix the problem the problem is the same in both versions of Office.
However I can get Office 2000 Excel to open in safe mode with this:
Start Run: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\EXCEL.EXE"
Once open I tried:
Remove all add-ins
Selected "Ignore other applications"
neither worked :o(
One of the remaining options is to format the machine and start again, but obviously I don't want to do that.
Any ideas experts?
ASKER
Thanks bruintje, I'll take a look at that.
The P.C. is running on Win 2000 SP4 and I believe that all the updates are up to date.
Also worth mentioning: I tried Office with the Office service packs and without.
The P.C. is running on Win 2000 SP4 and I believe that all the updates are up to date.
Also worth mentioning: I tried Office with the Office service packs and without.
Have you checked the task manager to make sure Excel is not running? I have seen where the user has minimized the application, then performed a shutdown. When this occurs, Excel re-opens minimized. You can maximize it again from the task manager.
Don
Don
ASKER
I've checked the registry; in fact I've really scrutinised it as well as using some registry tools to check it. Nothing specific came up and any errors that we fixed didn't affect Excel.
When you try to start Excel the loading banner appears for a split second and if you have task manager running you can see Excel.exe appear on it for just a moment before it disappears.
I've also tried removing all un-necessary software from the machine or at least everything that might have been installed after the last time Excel ran O.K. This hasn't helped.
The machine actually runs really nicely now with all the work that I've done on it, just Excel won't run.
What I've resorted to doing is I've re-installed Office 2003 except for Excel and I've installed Excel 2002(XP) which I find will run in safe mode. This is far from ideal but it's better than nothing.
If no-one has any other ideas I may format the machine and start again. I hate having to do that but this may be a mystery that can't be solved.
When you try to start Excel the loading banner appears for a split second and if you have task manager running you can see Excel.exe appear on it for just a moment before it disappears.
I've also tried removing all un-necessary software from the machine or at least everything that might have been installed after the last time Excel ran O.K. This hasn't helped.
The machine actually runs really nicely now with all the work that I've done on it, just Excel won't run.
What I've resorted to doing is I've re-installed Office 2003 except for Excel and I've installed Excel 2002(XP) which I find will run in safe mode. This is far from ideal but it's better than nothing.
If no-one has any other ideas I may format the machine and start again. I hate having to do that but this may be a mystery that can't be solved.
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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ASKER
Nothing fixed it, so when I get time I'll format the machine and see if it happens again :o(
looks like a likewise problem we have open (cant find the thread at this point), is this on winxp ór did you install any SP
you could try a complete uninstall using the tools from the office resource kit
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you can download the office resourcekit (ork.exe)
http://www.microsoft.com/office/orkarchive/2003ddl.htm
which contains the removal tool
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA011401771033.aspx
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hope this helps a bit
bruintje