PowerPoint Presentation will not load

[Bowdrie]

Hello:

I am running Microsoft XP Pro Version 2002 with a
Microsoft Office 2002 Suite containing PowerPoint 2002.
Computer is a two month old HP with 106 GB of open space
remaining on C Drive and 1 GB of Ram. I have prepared a
65 slide presentation containing mostly Text with
inserted Music and Sound clips here and there
throughout. Upon competeion I saved the presentation to
a PowerPoint Folder in My Documents.

When I attempt to reopen it back into Powerpoint for
further work the first slide (the Title Slide) appears in
the center Normal View Window but the left side window
where the Thumbnails of all the slides normally appear
contains only white squares with a small icon in the
center. The icon contains a small Red Square, a small
Green Circle, and a small Blue Triangle. Clicking on
anything brings up a window that says the program is not
responding. It is frozen and I can do nothing with it,
except "X" out of it. Other presentations open Ok, so it
seems to be just this presentation.

Some points of information .....

The title slide was made first (see next paragraph),
except for a Music clip (.mid file) that was inserted on
it when all the other animation was done. (Most of the
other files are .wav files and a few .avi files.) After
the title slide was made the presentation was made by
doing the text portion of all the slides first. Then I
came back and inserted some Custom Animation to some of
the Text and also inserted the sound clips and music
clips where I needed them.

Version 2002 is suppose to open and be able to use older
version programs. It is also suppose to allow the use of
different master templates in the same program. The
first title slide is a slide that is using a 1997
Template that I brought into the 2002 program by
downloading it from an old disk, deleting all of the old
presentation except the title slide and then saving it to
templates and using it to start the new presentatiion.
There is a new Photo and a new music (.mid file) inserted
on it. The remaining slides are build on a second Master
Template Design taken from the 2002 program. This should
not create a problem.

I had no problem saving and re-opening this presentation
until I added the custom animation, music clips and sound
clips, including the music .mid file to the title slide.
Can I please get some help on how I might be able to open
and use my presentation, or if it is the title slide that
is the problem, how I might delete this slide and save
the rest of the work. ???

Thank You,
Bowdrie.

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

So you can open the presentation but literally can't do anything with it once
it's open?

If that's correct, then as a test, start a new blank presentation and then use
Insert, Slides, From File to insert the slides from your "problem" presentation
into the new presentation. You might want to skip that title slide when you do
this. If that works, save the file. Then try applying a template from the
original presentation; when you select a template to apply, point to your
presentation rather than using one of the usual template files supplied by
PowerPoint, or revert to the original template design you saved from your '97
CDs.

I am running Microsoft XP Pro Version 2002 with a
Microsoft Office 2002 Suite containing PowerPoint 2002.
Computer is a two month old HP with 106 GB of open space
remaining on C Drive and 1 GB of Ram. I have prepared a
65 slide presentation containing mostly Text with
inserted Music and Sound clips here and there
throughout. Upon competeion I saved the presentation to
a PowerPoint Folder in My Documents.

When I attempt to reopen it back into Powerpoint for
further work the first slide (the Title Slide) appears in
the center Normal View Window but the left side window
where the Thumbnails of all the slides normally appear
contains only white squares with a small icon in the
center. The icon contains a small Red Square, a small
Green Circle, and a small Blue Triangle. Clicking on
anything brings up a window that says the program is not
responding. It is frozen and I can do nothing with it,
except "X" out of it. Other presentations open Ok, so it
seems to be just this presentation.

Some points of information .....

The title slide was made first (see next paragraph),
except for a Music clip (.mid file) that was inserted on
it when all the other animation was done. (Most of the
other files are .wav files and a few .avi files.) After
the title slide was made the presentation was made by
doing the text portion of all the slides first. Then I
came back and inserted some Custom Animation to some of
the Text and also inserted the sound clips and music
clips where I needed them.

Version 2002 is suppose to open and be able to use older
version programs. It is also suppose to allow the use of
different master templates in the same program. The
first title slide is a slide that is using a 1997
Template that I brought into the 2002 program by
downloading it from an old disk, deleting all of the old
presentation except the title slide and then saving it to
templates and using it to start the new presentatiion.
There is a new Photo and a new music (.mid file) inserted
on it. The remaining slides are build on a second Master
Template Design taken from the 2002 program. This should
not create a problem.

I had no problem saving and re-opening this presentation
until I added the custom animation, music clips and sound
clips, including the music .mid file to the title slide.
Can I please get some help on how I might be able to open
and use my presentation, or if it is the title slide that
is the problem, how I might delete this slide and save
the rest of the work. ???

Thank You,
Bowdrie.

--
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
================================================
Featured Presenter, PowerPoint Live 2004
October 10-13, San Diego, CA www.PowerPointLive.com
================================================

 

[Bowdrie]

Steve:
Thanks for your reply.
I tried your suggestion. The slide finder window opens
but when I type in the command line to the "problem"
presentation or browse to it and click it all the
thumbnails in the slide finder window stay blank and I
get a program not responding message. Other
presentations open in the slide finder window so the
problem has to lay with the "Problem" Presentation. When
I try to open it in Powerpoint I am really not sure that
it is actually opening because I see none of the slides
in the Left side window where all the thumbnails of the
program should show. Only the title slide is showing in
the the center normal view window. Everything else is
frozen and gives me the program not responding
message.

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Rats. If that didnt' work, have a look here:

Recovering a corrupt presentation
http://www.rdpslides.com/pptfaq/FAQ00108.htm

If you have a backup copy of the file, hang onto it. It might be simpler and
less time-consuming to revert to the backup and go forward from there.

It's a *really* good idea to save periodic backups of your presentation under a
new name for just this reason. There's even an add-in for PPT to do the job
automatically. See http://www.mvps.org/skp/

Steve:
Thanks for your reply.
I tried your suggestion. The slide finder window opens
but when I type in the command line to the "problem"
presentation or browse to it and click it all the
thumbnails in the slide finder window stay blank and I
get a program not responding message. Other
presentations open in the slide finder window so the
problem has to lay with the "Problem" Presentation. When
I try to open it in Powerpoint I am really not sure that
it is actually opening because I see none of the slides
in the Left side window where all the thumbnails of the
program should show. Only the title slide is showing in
the the center normal view window. Everything else is
frozen and gives me the program not responding
message.

--
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
================================================
Featured Presenter, PowerPoint Live 2004
October 10-13, San Diego, CA www.PowerPointLive.com
================================================

 

[Bowdrie]

Ok Steve:
I took a look at your two links. The presentation is not
in my Temp folder - as least under a name I can find. The
two Microsoft articles are not found in the given links
so I don't know what to say about them. Rather than
downloading a new and unfamiliar program, I do have a
backup of the Title slide and Text portion of the
presentation that thankfully I put on a disk. I have
already tried the Title Slide and several from the new
master and inserted several things and animations to them
just as a test. It seems to reopen ok so I guess it is
not the old title slide that is the problem. I guess my
only option is to open the Text slides and start over
with the animations and add in's saving under a different
name after each slide until I identify where the problem
is located. Not what I had hoped for but I see no other
option at this point. Maybe I have a bad .wav file or
something. I'll post again if I don't solve it.
Thanks for your help.
Bowdrie.

 

[Kathy J]

Bowdri,
Do you have Fast Saves turned on? (Tools--> Options--> Save tab) If so,
uncheck the box, close the options, and re-save the file under a new name.
It may shrink enough that you can work with the file again....

--
Kathryn Jacobs, Microsoft MVP PowerPoint and OneNote
Author of Kathy Jacobs on PowerPoint - Available now from Holy Macro! Books
Get PowerPoint answers at http://www.powerpointanswers.com
Featured Presenter at PPT 2004 - http://www.pptlive/com

I believe life is meant to be lived. But:
if we live without making a difference, it makes no difference that we lived

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

I took a look at your two links. The presentation is not

in my Temp folder - as least under a name I can find. The
two Microsoft articles are not found in the given links
so I don't know what to say about them.

Sigh. They've moved the furniture around, and us here with blindfolds and the
lights out. I notice that the links to this on their own pages are busted too.

Rather than
downloading a new and unfamiliar program, I do have a
backup of the Title slide and Text portion of the
presentation that thankfully I put on a disk.

Whew! Good!

already tried the Title Slide and several from the new
master and inserted several things and animations to them
just as a test. It seems to reopen ok so I guess it is
not the old title slide that is the problem. I guess my
only option is to open the Text slides and start over
with the animations and add in's saving under a different
name after each slide until I identify where the problem
is located.

Were you saving to removable media (floppies/zips/direct to CD/thumb drive/etc)
when this happened? Or to a network drive? If so, stick to the local HDD.
That might have been the problem.


Not what I had hoped for but I see no other

option at this point. Maybe I have a bad .wav file or
something. I'll post again if I don't solve it.
Thanks for your help.
Bowdrie.

--
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
================================================
Featured Presenter, PowerPoint Live 2004
October 10-13, San Diego, CA www.PowerPointLive.com
================================================

 

[Bowdrie]

Kathy J and Steve:
One slide at a time and save. I found the problem.
It did not want to open after saving a slide that had a
AVI Video clip inserted with a .WAV file that played when
the Video clip ran. Without the .WAV it opens fine. I
don't understant that because the option to insert the
sound is in the program, and it worked fine when tested
after making the slide.
Kathy - My Fast Save was turned on and it is now
turned off. But, what does that do? I could not find
anything about it in the Powerpoint Help section. I did
also note that there is a feature called Auto Recovery
also there, and it IS turned on to save every 10
minutes. According to the Help Section it is suppose to
save to the Application Data -- Microsoft -- Powerpoint
file. There is nothing there, so it is apparently not
working, or I don't understand its function.
Thanks, Bodrie.

-----Original Message-----
Bowdri,
Do you have Fast Saves turned on? (Tools--> Options--> Save tab) If so,
uncheck the box, close the options, and re-save the file under a new name.
It may shrink enough that you can work with the file again....

--
Kathryn Jacobs, Microsoft MVP PowerPoint and OneNote
Author of Kathy Jacobs on PowerPoint - Available now from Holy Macro! Books
Get PowerPoint answers at http://www.powerpointanswers.com
Featured Presenter at PPT 2004 - http://www.pptlive/com

I believe life is meant to be lived. But:
if we live without making a difference, it makes no difference that we lived

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

One slide at a time and save. I found the problem.

It did not want to open after saving a slide that had a
AVI Video clip inserted with a .WAV file that played when
the Video clip ran. Without the .WAV it opens fine. I
don't understant that because the option to insert the
sound is in the program, and it worked fine when tested
after making the slide.

Very nice detective work!

Can you repeat this on a single-slide presentation with the same files and have
it break again? If so, MS might want to have a look at the files, assuming
they're not proprietary. How big are they?

Kathy - My Fast Save was turned on and it is now
turned off. But, what does that do?

With Fast Saves on, PPT sort of tacks on any changes to the end of the existing
PPT file rather than storing the changes where they occur in the file. So you
have whatever you did PLUS whatever you've redone in the file. Bigger, more
complex files (and more susceptible to corruption, it seems).

With Fast Saves off, it doesn't do this.


I could not find

anything about it in the Powerpoint Help section. I did
also note that there is a feature called Auto Recovery
also there, and it IS turned on to save every 10
minutes. According to the Help Section it is suppose to
save to the Application Data -- Microsoft -- Powerpoint
file. There is nothing there, so it is apparently not
working, or I don't understand its function.
Thanks, Bodrie.

--
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
================================================
Featured Presenter, PowerPoint Live 2004
October 10-13, San Diego, CA www.PowerPointLive.com
================================================

 

[Bowdrie]

Steve:
Re your questions...
I was saving directly to a PowerPoint folder within
My Documents on my "C" Drive, the hard drive on the
computer when it occurred. Using the same file name with
which it was created so the whole file was lost. Always
afraid of a computer crash - storm, virus, or something.
Never figured the Program was going to corrupt me -
particularly when it worked while constructing the slide
and didn't bust until I did a normal save when
completed. But, prior to adding the animations I had
burned a CD-R with the file - something I do "sometimes"
when I am working on something that has a lot of work in
it. Lucky me.
No, nothing Proprietary. The .AVI (File Size: 531
KB) and the .WAV (File Size: 32 KB) were clips downloaded
off the internet. It is a short clip of a guy pounding
his fist on a table and his coffee cup jumps up and
down. The sound is a machine gun - the closest thing I
could find to a fist pounding sound. You are
probably wondering at this - It was to be used with a
Chapter Title Slide and a statement "This chapter is
important so wake up and pay attention."
After reading your message and question this
morning, I tried to re-create the slide in a single slide
presentation. Same Design Template - same text - Insert
Movie from file - (enlarge the movie area on the slide
with the corner handles) Custom Animation Window - Effect
Options - Effect tab - sounds - other sound - inserted
sound from file. Well, by its self it plays well, saves
to Power Point file on hard drive and also OPENS back up
and still works. - Go figure. In the middle of the 65
slide presentation I had to remove the sound from the
clip before it would save and then re-open.
For my own education and future use - Can you tell
me anything about the Auto Recovery feature in Power
Point. Mine is on and set for every 10 minutes.
According to the help window everything that I did on
this presentation should be recoverable from the Auto
Recover file and task pane, except the last 10 minutes.
A search reveals a number of presentations under my
problem file name some, under My coputer, some under
C/Recycler, and some in the documents file but none will
open properly or provide me any information on them.
Perhaps I am not in the correct file, or I am not
understanding its function.
Bowdrie.

-----Original Message-----

I took a look at your two links. The presentation is not
in my Temp folder - as least under a name I can find. The
two Microsoft articles are not found in the given links
so I don't know what to say about them.

Sigh. They've moved the furniture around, and us here with blindfolds and the
lights out. I notice that the links to this on their own pages are busted too.

Rather than
downloading a new and unfamiliar program, I do have a
backup of the Title slide and Text portion of the
presentation that thankfully I put on a disk.

Whew! Good!

already tried the Title Slide and several from the new
master and inserted several things and animations to them
just as a test. It seems to reopen ok so I guess it is
not the old title slide that is the problem. I guess my
only option is to open the Text slides and start over
with the animations and add in's saving under a different
name after each slide until I identify where the problem
is located.

Were you saving to removable media (floppies/zips/direct to CD/thumb drive/etc)
when this happened? Or to a network drive? If so, stick to the local HDD.
That might have been the problem.


Not what I had hoped for but I see no other

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Well, we've disposed of a couple likely causes of corrupted presentations.

And can't re-create the problem at will in a new presentation.

Once in a while, something ... a power glitch, cosmic rays, whatever ... causes
odd system problems. It's possible that something like this affected your
presentation, corrupted it in some way before you saved it.

Sometimes saving to HTML and then reopening the HTML into PPT can clean up
problems like this. It might be worth a try.

As to Auto-Recover ... if that's enabled and if PPT crashes, then the next time
you start PPT, it will attempt to open the last-saved auto-recover file. Since
your problem occurs when opening the file in the first place, this won't
happen, I don't expect. The Auto-recover isn't the same as an Auto-save
feature though.

Steve:
Re your questions...
I was saving directly to a PowerPoint folder within
My Documents on my "C" Drive, the hard drive on the
computer when it occurred. Using the same file name with
which it was created so the whole file was lost. Always
afraid of a computer crash - storm, virus, or something.
Never figured the Program was going to corrupt me -
particularly when it worked while constructing the slide
and didn't bust until I did a normal save when
completed. But, prior to adding the animations I had
burned a CD-R with the file - something I do "sometimes"
when I am working on something that has a lot of work in
it. Lucky me.
No, nothing Proprietary. The .AVI (File Size: 531
KB) and the .WAV (File Size: 32 KB) were clips downloaded
off the internet. It is a short clip of a guy pounding
his fist on a table and his coffee cup jumps up and
down. The sound is a machine gun - the closest thing I
could find to a fist pounding sound. You are
probably wondering at this - It was to be used with a
Chapter Title Slide and a statement "This chapter is
important so wake up and pay attention."
After reading your message and question this
morning, I tried to re-create the slide in a single slide
presentation. Same Design Template - same text - Insert
Movie from file - (enlarge the movie area on the slide
with the corner handles) Custom Animation Window - Effect
Options - Effect tab - sounds - other sound - inserted
sound from file. Well, by its self it plays well, saves
to Power Point file on hard drive and also OPENS back up
and still works. - Go figure. In the middle of the 65
slide presentation I had to remove the sound from the
clip before it would save and then re-open.
For my own education and future use - Can you tell
me anything about the Auto Recovery feature in Power
Point. Mine is on and set for every 10 minutes.
According to the help window everything that I did on
this presentation should be recoverable from the Auto
Recover file and task pane, except the last 10 minutes.
A search reveals a number of presentations under my
problem file name some, under My coputer, some under
C/Recycler, and some in the documents file but none will
open properly or provide me any information on them.
Perhaps I am not in the correct file, or I am not
understanding its function.
Bowdrie.

--
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
================================================
Featured Presenter, PowerPoint Live 2004
October 10-13, San Diego, CA www.PowerPointLive.com
================================================