Word can't save

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All of a sudden whenever I try to either save or save-as a Word 2007 file, I get a loud error tone and the Open dialog box opens (instead of the save-as box) and I can’t either save or save-as anything. I have tried the following things:

Deleted normal.dotm
Deleted the Data key in the registry.
Deleted all ~$*.* and *.tmp files
Tried opening Word with the control key and then trying to save.
I also tried to delete whatever add-ins are there (but it won’t let me). I haven’t added any.
It also won’t let me change the file it saves to.
Ran the diagnostics – it found a problem and fixed it, but I still can’t save.

My OS is Windows XP service pack 3.

I have run out of ideas – can someone please, please help?

Thanks,
Sheila

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Just grasping at a few straws:

Do you get any kind of error message, other than the tone? If so, do any of the conditions mentioned in this Microsoft Support article apply?

You mention not being able to delete add-ins – are there any running? If so, what are they called?

Are you a standalone user or are you running on a network?

Gary

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Hi Gary,

No error messages, just the tone and the Open dialogue box.

Add-ins:
Under Active Application: Person Name (Outlook e-mail recipient) – smart tag
I finally deleted this from Windows Explorer. Word doesn’t let me do anything with the add-ins

Under Inactive Application:
There were 5 smart tags and 3 Document Inspectors.
Again, from Windows Explorer, I deleted them all. But in Word, the 3 Document Inspectors are not greyed out even though the file (offrhd.dll) is in the recycle bin.

The computer is a laptop which I use both as a standalone, and as part of my home office network. I have Word 2007 on my other 4 computers also, and they save with no problems.

One other thing – On the laptop, I also have Office 2000. It has been there for a long time, but I no longer use it. Is it possible that the problem is from that? I could uninstall it if that is a possible cause.

Thanks,
Sheila

Do you get any kind of error message, other than the tone? If so, do any of the conditions mentioned in this Microsoft Support article apply?

You mention not being able to delete add-ins – are there any running? If so, what are they called?

Are you a standalone user or are you running on a network?

Gary

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 One other thing – On the laptop, I also have Office 2000. It has been there for a long time, but I no longer use it. Is it possible that the problem is from that? I could uninstall it if that is a possible cause.

It is alleged that more than one version of Office can coexist on the same computer, but that it can lead to problems. If you are no longer using Office 2000, it might help to uninstall it. I can’t think that it would harm to try it.

Ian

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OK, I uninstalled it, but still no change – can’t save anything in Word!

Sheila

——————

It is alleged that more than one version of Office can coexist on the same computer, but that it can lead to problems. If you are no longer using Office 2000, it might help to uninstall it. I can’t think that it would harm to try it.

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Hi Sheila
Its sounds like you either have a corrupt file or missing file, caused by unknown reasons.
And I would have to agree with Wendell
I think your next step should be to uninstall your Word 2007, then restart computer and re-installed your Word 2007 .

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You said you ran diagnostics – does that mean you ran a repair on Office 2007 (or Word 2007)? It sort of sounds like either you picked up a nasty virus that messes with Word, or your installation is actually corrupt. First I would make a full backup of you system, probably to a USB drive (reminder to self – do the same!), and then run a surface test and a defrag on your hard drive. It is possible that your hard drive had some sort of error that is causing Word to misbehave. If none of that helps, then I would reinstall Word 2007.

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Here’s what happened (truly bizarre)…

The diagnostics I ran were in Word Options/ Resources. But now I ran the repair from Add/Remove Programs and that made no difference. I had previously run a complete virus scan on the system and it was clean. And I’ve got Diskeeper running continuously defragging. So I then told Add/Remove Programs to remove Word from Office. I rebooted and then reinstalled Word with some different options. I rebooted and nothing was different. So in frustration, I installed an app I use on my other computers – Classic Menu for Office, thinking that maybe it would do something different with saving. And for the millionth time I deleted Normal.dotm.

To my complete surprise when I reopened Word, I was able to save and save-as using both the classic menu and Word’s own methods. The correct save-as dialog opens instead of the open dialog. I am very happy it works but I would very much like to know why!

Thanks for your help!
Sheila

You said you ran diagnostics – does that mean you ran a repair on Office 2007 (or Word 2007)? It sort of sounds like either you picked up a nasty virus that messes with Word, or your installation is actually corrupt. First I would make a full backup of you system, probably to a USB drive (reminder to self – do the same!), and then run a surface test and a defrag on your hard drive. It is possible that your hard drive had some sort of error that is causing Word to misbehave. If none of that helps, then I would reinstall Word 2007.

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Try deleting normal.dot and normal.dotx. They may have become corrupt. These are hidden files.

Fred

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Fred,

Where is normal.dotx?? I have deleted normal.dot and normal.dotm.

Anyway, it is working now – please see my reply to WendellB.

Thanks,
Sheila

Try deleting normal.dot and normal.dotx. They may have become corrupt. These are hidden files.

Fred

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I don’t think there is a normal.dotx. The pre-2007 default template is named Normal.dot and the Word 2007 default template is named Normal.dotm.

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