PowerPoint Powerpoint 97-2003 Files FREEZE when opened in 2003

[VitoAllday]

I work on a helpdesk at a hospital and Im noticing 3 or 4 separate users experiencing the following issue.

A PP file is created in Office 2007 and saved as a 97-2003 file format. The file is able to be opened and edited without issues on any computer running office 2007 (obviously). but when the file is attempted to be EDITED on a PC with office 2003 the file freezes and gives the program not responding error. These computers have the compatibility pack.

Any light you can shed on this issue is greatly appreciated!!!

 

[kpsmith]

I have the exact same issue in Powerpoint and all my old files were created with Powerpoint 97. I get an error as follows:

Powerpoint was unable to display some of the text, images, or objects on slides in the file (xxx.ppt), because they have become corrupted. Affected slides have been replaced........

It locks up at opening or shortly after opening while trying the edit.

Please be clear on technical instructions since I'm a novice.

Thanks

 

[kpsmith]

Reply From Microsoft Answers User Group Rohn007 is below

It sounds like you have have been bitten by a defect in the April patches. Take a look at these links and see if they fit your problem. They also include possible fix
2011 04 15- Latest PowerPoint security patch KB2464588 has problems - http://www.h-online.com/security/news/item/Latest-PowerPoint-security-patch-has-problems-1228732.html
http://www.pptfaq.com/FAQ01108.htm
15 April 2011, 15:57
On its recent patch day, Microsoft released security updates to fix vulnerabilities in multiple versions of its Office products. The patch for PowerPoint 2003 can, however, have negative consequences – after installation existing presentations may be unable to be opened or may cause an error message stating that the file is corrupted and cannot be fully displayed. In the latter case, the content of the presentation can only be partially read and any non-displayed elements, in particular background images, are lost for good after saving.
Microsoft is working on the problem and has published a knowledge base article which confirms the existence of the problem. Until the bug is resolved by a new update, users who experience problems are advised to uninstall the security patch from the control panel. Its designation is: Security Update for PowerPoint 2003 (KB2464588).
Update from MS - http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/office/forum/office_2007-powerpoint/windows-update-breaks-powerpoint-2007-2003/ef6b447b-da65-e011-8dfc-68b599b31bf5?page=2

 

[VitoAllday]

@KPSMITH

Thank you for your suggestion. Unfortunately we've already had problems with that security update went through a phase of removing that update and eventually received a hotfix from Microsoft. The issue that was occurring was that users were getting a corrupt files error when attempting to launch powerpoint files.

Basically it appears certain files that I believe are created in 2007 freeze\crash PP when they are being edited in PowerPoint 2003. I’m able to recreate this issue from any PC running 2003 on these particular files. When these files are opened in Powerpoint 2010 they open in “Protected Mode”. Once protected mode is disabled and the file is saved from PP 2010 the user is then able to successfully edit the file with out issues.