I have Microsoft Office 2003 in my computer. MS Word opens very late. What can I do?

Question

MS Word opens only after 60 seconds nowadays. Previously I think it started earlier. Is there any way to speed it up?

Answer 1

There are several things that could cause this:
You need more RAM
You need to clean up your machine
You have registry errors
You need to defrag
And possibly you need a good antivirus and antispyware if you don't have them

Programs to do all of this are either already on your machine or can be downloaded.
1. Clean up your machine. Run Disk Cleanup by clicking on Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools and Disk Cleanup. Remove everything it finds.
2. Get Microsoft's Live OneCare Cleanup Scan and clean up your registry. This is one area that most users forget about.
3. Get Auslogics Disk Defrag and defrag your hard disk after you clean it up.
4. Antivirus and antispyware - Avast 4-Home for antivirus and SpyBot Search & Destroy and Ad-Aware combined for anti-spyware.

All are free.

http://www.download.com/

http://www.auslogics.com/disk-defrag/index.php

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/avg-anti-virus-free/lng/us/tpl/v5

http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html

http://onecare.live.com/site/en-US/center/cleanup.htm

Answer 2

There could be several problems. Is this happening right after you start your computer? Perhaps it's taking so long because other applications are still loading. Try this, wait a few minutes after the computer is fully loaded, then open word. Does it take 60 seconds? Now this, after it has successfully opened, close it and re-open. Does it still take so long?

If Word consistently takes a long time to load, one solution that has worked over the years is to delete your "normal.dot" template. Keep in mind that if you have modified your toolbar in anyway, the changes will be lost. To find your "normal.dot" you can do a file search. Or, open Word, then go to Tools, Options, click on the file location tab. Click on the "modify" button for file templates. This will give you the file path of the normal.dot. After you know the location, close MS Word, and go and delete "normal.dot" -- then re-open Word. Word will create a new normal.dot that is no longer corrupt.

Answer 3

Try the following, in order.

- If you leave your computer on for long periods of time, it causes data to build up in RAM (temporary "working" memory), which can seriously slow down your computer. Shutting down clears the RAM, freeing up space for your computer to "think." Save your documents, shut down and restart, give the computer a couple minutes to "warm up," then try again.

- Use the Task Manager (Ctrl-Alt-Del on most newer PC's) to determine which programs are running in the background. If you have a lot of background programs that automatically open on startup, close them out. (They should be listed under "Applications." Don't close out anything under "Processes" unless you really know what you're doing--you might cause a crash.) Then go to the programs themselves, and uncheck any options involving automatic software updates and "open on startup."

- Defragment your hard drive. Some files and programs, even Word files which are relatively small, can end up being scattered across your harddrive, causing slowdowns while your computer searches for the pieces. Defragmenting re-organizes the harddrive so that your files are all in one piece. (Don't worry, it won't change what folder anything is in.) It can take several hours, but you should definitely do this at least once a year. Be aware that if anything is in your Recycling Bin, it may be permanently and irrecoverably deleted during a defrag, so make sure you go through it first and make sure you don't want to get any of those deleted files back. If you don't know where the option is to defragment your hard drive, try going to the source: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314848

- If all else fails, you may need to upgrade your RAM. If you don't know a lot about processing speeds and megabytes, get a friend who knows computers to help you. Remember, this step is a last resort, to be used only if all the above methods fail. Buying a new processor can cost several hundred dollars (all the above methods are free), and you will have to look up your current processor's RAM capacity before you shop. (I hope you didn't remove your computer's little sticker that lists all the system specs--it's pretty hard to find out what processor you have otherwise!)

Answer 4

Do a document "shop as" and interior the window seek for a %. field for kind %. the 2003 version. additionally your instructor can get carry of an replace from microsoft so as that they'd open 2007 documents.

Answer 5

Spyware or adware slows your machine down and can actually just affect certain programs.
I suggest some free antispyware programs that work very well--
Adaware and spybot search and destroy can be found for free off of download.com.
Try updating and running these and it should work better and faster.

Answer 6

I assume you mean when you try to open it... Clear your temp files and do a defrag. Also do run adaware or some spyware cleaner.

Answer 7

Write it off as more Microsoft tomfoolery