I have been using Word recently and all was fine until one day when I tried opening a saved file, it would not allow me to open it. Microsoft Word/Excel would freeze up during the virus scan and I would have to CTRL + ALT + DELTE and end the program. However, when I click the Word/Excel program and it creates a new file, the program works fine. It only seems to be having problems opening saved files. This is a big headache for me as all my previously saved files cannot open I have uninstalled Office 2003 and reinstalled it, but it does not do anything. I have tried searching for Normal.dot file by searching all files on computer and I can't locate it so I can't delete it. I do not use Norton, so I know it shouldn't be related to the problems that Norton have. I am using the free virus program MalwareBytes and I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with the virus program. I think it may have to do with the Windows updates that I might have installed because after that, it did not allow me to open any saved files. Please leave any suggestions because I am running out of ideas.

wilhelmt, my thought's a worm/trojan. M$ and their products are frequent targets. Seems I recall that Malware bytes can handle them, but (unsure)... I KMOW Superantispyware can do the job and you can get it free @: http://www.superantispyware.com/ among other places. They have a Vista compatible version if needed. If it turns out that you need to use it, be sure to update prior to running and disable 'restore' (restart after cleaning) so it doesn't get put back. They just released a new update recently and it changes all the time. Things are in a constant state of flux. The restore thing is critical. May not be your deal at all, but won't hurt anything to try. HTH. Ed in Texas.

MS Word & Excel questions are best asked in the Office Software Forum, you'll get a better response. That being said: Odds are your global template is corrupt or something is loading automatically in your Word Startup folder that is misconfigured or corrupt. Go to your Start button and click on Run. In the Run box, type winword.exe /a If Word launches OK, then it probably is either a bad normal.dot file or a corrupt add-in On Windows XP, normal.dot is a hidden system file Go into My Computer and click on the Tools menu and choose Folder Options. Click on the View Tab and put a check where it says "Show hidden files and folders" and UNCHECK "Hide extensions for known file types" and "Hide protected operating system files". Now, when you search for it, you should find it. MIKE http://www.skeptic.com/