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fourthgen
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Word 2003 problem opening DOCX files

Am hoping someone can help with this as it's an odd problem:

Word 2003 SP3 and fully updated, installed on 10+ Windows XP PCs, all the same HW and SW.  Most will open DOCX files without a problem however 3 will not - Word hangs for a while, then says "There was an error opening the file"

I've uninstalled and reinstalled the latest FileFormatConverters.exe pack from MS website, also tried manually registering files as per MS knowledgebase.  Have cleared temp files, repaired Office etc.

So far I 'think' I have tracked it down to the Word 'File Locations > Startup' folder:  If I leave the Startup folder pointing to a blank folder, DOCX files open without a problem.  As soon as I point it to a local or network folder that contains .DOT templates with printer macros in them, I cannot open the DOCX files.

The other PCs that can open .DOCX fine all the time have their Startup folders pointing to the same folders to use the same printer macros!

Macro security is set to low on all PCs, no other add-ins, plug-ins or customisations in Word.  

Can anyone suggest what else to check, or other troubleshooting steps to take?

Much appreciated!
Microsoft OfficeMicrosoft Word

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fourthgen

8/22/2022 - Mon
fourthgen

ASKER
Further to above:

Have found that the presence of a Normal.dot (even a clean one with no customisations) also causes the problem on these PCs.  Clearing the Templates and Startup folders of all .dot files is the only way I can get the .DOCX files to open.  Copying files from working machines has not helped.

Any ideas?
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fourthgen

ASKER
New user profile on the PC in itself didn't work, however it did give me the idea of using the CopyProfile utility to test a 'good' profile from one of the working PCs.  This seemed to do the trick, so then it was just a case of switching email, replacing documents etc.
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