Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac problem

[mnoonan589]

Have Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac running on MacBook Pro w/OS 10.5.8.

Was working fine until: Last week I tried to open Microsoft Word. Blue Box opens and the apps begin to load until it gets caught on "Visual Basics For Applications." It freezes and then I get the spinning death ball. I have to force quit.

Excel opens fine, but Powerpoint freezes as well. I have uninstalled and reinstalled Office 2004 numerous times; the problem persists. Have run Disk utility, Onyx and all reports are good. Tried a safe boot and still get the freeze.

Can anyone offer a potential solution? I'm thinking of reinstalling the OS system but I think it may not be a systems issue.... Help....
mnoonan589 is online now Report Post Edit/Delete Message

 

[MisterMe]

...

Can anyone offer a potential solution? I'm thinking of reinstalling the OS system but I think it may not be a systems issue.... Help....
mnoonan589 is online now Report Post Edit/Delete Message

Before anyone can prescribe a remedy, the problem first must be diagnosed. You have given not a hint about what the problem may be. My guess is that you messed-up the application somehow. Perhaps, some combination of fumbling and failure to update the suite is the problem.

My suggestions:

• Use the Remove Office utility to remove Office 2004.
• Reinstall.
• Personalize.
• Manually run the Microsoft Autoupdate utility to update Office to Office 11.62.

 

[mnoonan589]

Despite my "fumbling" I already tried that -- a couple of times. Also, the software had all the updates before the problem started. The point of this forum is to try to find out "what the problem is." I've described the symptoms and the steps I have taken. What else are you looking for?

 

[MisterMe]

Despite my "fumbling" I already tried that -- a couple of times. Also, the software had all the updates before the problem started. The point of this forum is to try to find out "what the problem is." I've described the symptoms and the steps I have taken. What else are you looking for?

Actually, you did not describe symptoms. Of Word and PowerPoint, you basically said that you have a problem. Of Excel, you do not have a problem. The last bit of info is important because it implies an isolated problem that does not affect even all of Office. However, problems have causes which, in turn, are a result of the history of the installation. You gave none of that, only a sketchy description of your attempts to fix the problem after the event.

 

[mnoonan589]

I respectfully disagree that what I described were not symptoms. Again, from my earlier post: "Last week I tried to open Microsoft Word. Blue Box opens and the apps begin to load until it gets caught on "Visual Basics For Applications." It freezes and then I get the spinning death ball. I have to force quit."

I am trying to discover what is causing this to happen and then fix it. I have accessed other Help Forums and found other Mac Users who have experienced this same sequence as described above. I have followed a number of the suggested solutions put forth; none have helped.

I regret that the information I have put forth is not clear enough and/or in-depth enough for you to assist me. Thank you for your time and comments.

 

[MisterMe]

I respectfully disagree that what I described were not symptoms. Again, from my earlier post: "Last week I tried to open Microsoft Word. Blue Box opens and the apps begin to load until it gets caught on "Visual Basics For Applications." It freezes and then I get the spinning death ball. I have to force quit."

I am trying to discover what is causing this to happen and then fix it. I have accessed other Help Forums and found other Mac Users who have experienced this same sequence as described above. I have followed a number of the suggested solutions put forth; none have helped.

I regret that the information I have put forth is not clear enough and/or in-depth enough for you to assist me. Thank you for your time and comments.

OK. It stops at VisualBASIC for Appllications in Word and PowerPoint. Does VBA work in Excel?

Word to the Wise. Hundreds if not thousands of people use Office 2004 everyday with nary a problem--at least, not your problem. Problems have causes. The problem is most likely due to something that you did or are doing. However, we do not have access to your computer. We cannot look over your shoulder. Couple that to the fact that there are a few ways to do things correctly, but an infinite number of ways to screw-up, it is virtually impossible to diagnose a problem caused by user error without information to provide hints.

 

[mnoonan589]

Problems solved. Thanks to a poster on an MS troubleshooting forum.

Per the word to the wise: Since 1995 I am one of the hundreds if not thousands (I would venture to guess millions) who use Microsoft Office everyday with nary a problem. Not a single problem, until now. Also, after visiting numerous troubleshooting forums I found that there were others who had experienced or were experiencing the same problem. This does not mean that I did not cause it; in fact, chances are I did.

As I stated in the earlier post I regret that you could not help me with the information I provided. In the end someone was able to assist me given the same information I posted in this forum.

Again, thanks for your time.

 

[Gregg2]

Problems solved. Thanks to a poster on an MS troubleshooting forum.

That wasn't helpful. Since you're not the only one with the problem, perhaps another unlucky user will happen upon this thread. He or she will have no clue as to how to solve it. If you would be so kind as to post the solution, that will be helpful.