Error when starting excel

[Mike Rogers]

I get the following error when I start excel:

"Microsoft excel for windows has stopped working. A problem caused the
program to stop working correctly, windows will close the program and notify
you if a solution is available."

This is XL2K running on Vista Home

I have tried:

1. Uninstalling and reinstalling
2. Repairing
3. Unreg & reg
4. Restore
5. it will load in safe mode

I have not add any new programs, but the normal updates are done
automatically.

Any one got any ideas?

Mike Rogers

 

[Dave Peterson]

Just an initial guess...

First, with excel closed.
Clean up your window temp folder
Windows start button|run
type:
%temp%
and clean up as much as you can.
Then try opening excel.


If that didn't work, maybe it's your excel toolbar file that's causing the
trouble.

With excel closed
windows start button|search
look for *.xlb
Keep track of what you find and where you find them and move the files to a
temporary folder.
Then try opening excel.


If that didn't work, maybe it's an addin that's causing the trouble.

Chip Pearson has some notes on how to diagnose startup errors:
http://www.cpearson.com/excel/StartupErrors.htm

And Jan Karel Pieterse has more notes:
http://www.jkp-ads.com/Articles/StartupProblems.asp

 

[Mike Rogers]

Dave

Thanks for the direction, unfortunately what I have tried has not worked.
Here is an updated list of things I have tried.

1. I cleaned up the temp folder
2. I have unchecked all addins
3. removed all files from XLSTART folder
4. Removed all files from Library folder
(I stored these files, item 3 & 4, in a different folder because I do not
want to loose them when I get this problem sorted out)
5. I did a search for *.xlb and found nothing, I never have used anything
other than the standard toolbars that come with excel. Should I have an xlb
file?


Now when I close the window exclaiming the error, it closes the excel
application that was trying to open and gives me another error window that
says "there was a problem sending the command to the program".

Thanks again for the input!!

Mike Rogers

 

[Mike Rogers]

Dave

Here is another new one, when I tried to re-register it get the following
error: "One of your object libraries (stdole 32.tlb) is missing or damaged.
Please run set up to istall it". I have run set up twice and it is not
getting installed/repaired.

All other MS programs that are in the disk work just fine. Access, Power
point, Word, Publisher, and Outlook

Mike Rogers

 

[Dave Peterson]

You should have a *.xlb file. And depending how you upgraded, you may have
multiple *.xlb files.

If you can't find your files using windows start button|Search, then you could
use an old DOS command to search and delete/move them.

Windows Start button|Run
type:
CMD
(to get to the Command prompt)

C:
(to get to the C: drive--change this to the drive that excel is installed on)

cd\
(to get to the root directory)

dir *.xlb /s

The /s says to search subfolders, too.

Make a note of the locations of the found files.

 

[Dave Peterson]

I'm not sure what you'll have to do with this problem. I googled and didn't
find anything that would help.

(I would have tried repairing, reregistering or reinstalling.)

It kind of looks like this is a windows file--not necessarily excel (just a
guess!). Maybe it's time to think about repairing windows?

(or maybe the problem will go away once you clean up that *.xlb???)

And can you still start excel in safe mode?

 

[Mike Rogers]

Dave

Yes, I can still start in safe mode. But I still can not find the .xlb
file. In the command prompt search all I got was "Volume in drive C has no
label. Volume serial number is 23AC-4107". Which means absolutly nothing to
me. I am with you on trying to repair windows. This laptop came with all
programing installed and no back up disks. The back up is on a separate
drive (D. Can I do a repair without formating and starting over?

Mike Rogers

 

[Gord Dibben]

Mike

To search for a file you must go to Start>Seach>Files and Folders.

Do not search from the Command prompt

Make sure that your settings are to "Not" hide known file extensions in My
Computer>Tools>Folder Options>View


Gord

Dave

Yes, I can still start in safe mode. But I still can not find the .xlb
file. In the command prompt search all I got was "Volume in drive C has no
label. Volume serial number is 23AC-4107". Which means absolutly nothing to
me. I am with you on trying to repair windows. This laptop came with all
programing installed and no back up disks. The back up is on a separate
drive (D. Can I do a repair without formating and starting over?

Mike Rogers

 

[Mike Rogers]

Dave

I googled stdole32.tlb and got:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/296114/en-us?sd=gn

The only problem I have now is to find the instruction for xl2k on vista home.
It looks like you were on track <vbg>. Thanks!!! any other comments would
be welcomed.

Mike Rogers

 

[Mike Rogers]

Gord

I did try that first, and found "no items match your search". Dave gave me
that command prompt stuff to search in a different way, it also provided
nothing. Is there a trick to searching in this "Vista" operating system to
search all files including "hidden" files. I have yet to find an option for
that.

Mike Rogers

 

[Mike Rogers]

Dave

The latest in the forensic search for "WHY ME"!!!!! If I drill down to
excel.exe and open as administrator it opens a new excel program, from there
I can open my files. So.....for now it is a pita, but that is my fix.

Thanks for all your help Dave, as usual it is greatly appreciated.

Mike Rogers

 

[Dave Peterson]

Just make sure you either backup the registry first--or write down the settings
you change. I know when I leave it to my brain to remember stuff, it lets me
down!

Dave

I googled stdole32.tlb and got:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/296114/en-us?sd=gn

The only problem I have now is to find the instruction for xl2k on vista home.
It looks like you were on track <vbg>. Thanks!!! any other comments would
be welcomed.

Mike Rogers

 

[Dave Peterson]

I'm still betting on the *.xlb file.

My guess is (and this is still a guess--since I don't use Users and I don't use
Vista very often) that excel/windows knows that the admin would use the admin's
*.xlb file--not your *.xlb (as a user).

And since that *.xlb file isn't bad (or may not have even existed before you
started excel as the admin), excel works perfectly.

I can do this to find my *.xlb (windows XP Home and xl2003).

Windows start button|Run
%appdata%
and traverse to
microsoft
then
Excel

or even type this in the Run dialog:
%appdata%\microsoft\excel

Notice the path that you go to. For me, it's:
C:\Documents and Settings\David Peterson\Application Data\microsoft\excel

If you're in the admin path, then I bet you're not seeing the bad *.xlb file.

Dave

The latest in the forensic search for "WHY ME"!!!!! If I drill down to
excel.exe and open as administrator it opens a new excel program, from there
I can open my files. So.....for now it is a pita, but that is my fix.

Thanks for all your help Dave, as usual it is greatly appreciated.

Mike Rogers

 

[Mike Rogers]

Dave

It has to be a vista thing. I just went into control panel>users accounts>
and turned off the user account control. Now excel works as intended. Now
it does not need permissions from the administrator to change things that
only the administrator would normally have to change. This is definately a
Vista thing, as all previous versions did not incorporate this level of
control for the administrator.

I will continue to seek the fix in the registry but until then I will forgo
the controls as administrator. After all I am the only one useing this
machine.

Thanks again for your help

Mike Rogers

 

[Dave Peterson]

Thanks for posting back your workaround.

Dave

It has to be a vista thing. I just went into control panel>users accounts>
and turned off the user account control. Now excel works as intended. Now
it does not need permissions from the administrator to change things that
only the administrator would normally have to change. This is definately a
Vista thing, as all previous versions did not incorporate this level of
control for the administrator.

I will continue to seek the fix in the registry but until then I will forgo
the controls as administrator. After all I am the only one useing this
machine.

Thanks again for your help

Mike Rogers