Sorry, the site has been down all day, so here's the next step in the
troubleshooting
procedure:
With Word closed down, use Windows Explorer to open the folder
%appdata%\Microsoft\Templates
Rename the file Normal.dot to OldNormal.dot. (Some people recommend deleting
the file, but just renaming it lets you save any customizations it contains
and move them to the new file you're about to create.)
Restart Word, without the /a switch. When it fails to find Normal.dot, it
will create a new one from the defaults that are internal in the program. If
Word now starts without a problem, then the old Normal.dot was damaged. You
can use the Organizer (Tools > Templates & Add-Ins > Organizer) to copy
styles, toolbars, macros, and AutoText from OldNormal.dot to Normal.dot, and
then delete OldNormal.dot.
If rebuilding Normal.dot doesn't solve the problem, then shut down Word,
remove the new Normal.dot, and rename OldNormal.dot as Normal.dot. The next
step is to find and remove all add-ins, then restore them one at a time
until (we hope) you find the one that causes the problem. For the method of
locating various kinds of add-ins, see
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA011514521033.aspx. (There's
one more step beyond this, if the add-ins aren't the cause -- post back if
you need that.)
--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
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