Problem with "powerpoint found a problem it can't correct"

[Shampoo]

Hi

I wonder if anyone can help with this...

I have OfficeXP installed on a server. A web application
allows users to upload Office documents, and these are
then opened using the relevant Office App (using COM), and
converted to PDF files (using ActivePDF).

All works fine for a while, but occasionally Powerpoint
stops working - when I try and manually open a file in
Powerpoint on the server, I get the "Powerpoint found a
problem it can't correct..." message. The file actually
opens fine once this message is cleared, but because of
the message, COM access to powerpoint fails. If I create a
new powerpoint presentation on the server, then I get this
message when I try to save it.

The only way to clear this message is to uninstall and
reinstall office - I have tried deleting the registry
settings, repairing, reinstalling - none make any
difference.

I have checked the various MS KB articles, but haven't
found anything which seems to be causing this problem. The
server does not have Norton Antivirus, or Adobe Acrobat on
it.

Any suggestions / help gratefully received!!!!

Thanks

Shamp

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Yes - I've checked that there are no instances of

powerpoint showing in the task manager,

I meant specifically the *process* list, not the list of running apps. Once
PPT nosedives, it won't show up in the app list. It's unclear which you
checked.

If in doubt, restart the computer. That'll clear any spare PPT bits out of
memory, no question.

Despite reinstalling office last night, the problem has re-
appeared about an hour ago today. I wonder if there is
some kind of corrupt / incompatible document which someone
might unknowingly upload could cause this?

OfficeXP is a bit fragile. There are things an addin may do or run into
that would throw an error in earlier versions of PPT, the addin traps and
deals with the error and trundles along. In XP the same problem might cause
it to simply crash or disappear w/ no error messages at all. Sounds like
you might have one of those.

 

[Shampoo]

Sorry if I wasn't clear - I had checked the processes
list, and I am sure there isn't another instance running.
If I reboot, and then after logging on, open another
powerpoint file, I get the same error straight away.

As far as I am aware, I don't have any plug-ins loaded
(or at least, none other than those that come with
powerpoint) - the PDF software we're using doesn't put
plugins into office apps, nor does the virus checker.

As I said before, doing a repair or a reinstall doesn't
clear it either - the only way I've found to clear it is
to uninstall office & then reinstall it.

Any other suggestions very welcome!

Thanks again for your help