# Solved: Word 2007 can't edit, copy, paste or scroll



## reinharv

I have the Office Home and Student 2007 version of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. Suddenly my Word application does not work properly. I tried to open documents I have already created and Word sharts to shut down (looking for solutions on line). If I do get it open, I cannot edit it in that I cannot double-click on a word to select it, or right-click on it to select it. It won't let me add anything to it, I can't scroll down to the end of the document or anywhere else for that matter--nothing. If I open a new document, I can type but cannot edit (same as above). I tried to "repair" it but loading the CD again. Then I uninstalled all of it (Excel, Word, PP, etc.) and reinstalled it and still nothing. I have downloaded the recommended stuff (fixes) off the Microsoft sites and still nothing. When Word was orginally acting up and shutting down on itself--I would get the dreaded blue screen. At least it hasn't done that today after reinstalling it, but I still don't know why suddenly Word (as of yesterday) has stopped working like it used to.

I would really appreciate any help. Microsoft was no help whatsoever.


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## slurpee55

Try opening Word in Safe mode. Hold down the Ctrl key and then open Word, say yes to the pop-up.
Let us know if you have the same problem then.


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## reinharv

slurpee55 said:


> Try opening Word in Safe mode. Hold down the Ctrl key and then open Word, say yes to the pop-up.
> Let us know if you have the same problem then.


Thanks for the reply. Actually, I did some more digging around and googled around and found a site where someone was experiencing the same problem as I was. It was actually caused by an automatic update for Word 2007. It was caused by a registry subkey that was loaded due to this update. You had to go to the start menu and type "regedit" and search for that then locate HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Word\Data and then on the Edit menu, click delete. You restart Word and all your problems are solved. Microsoft gave instructions on their site to fix this error yet they still have the automatic update for Word which will cause this problem in the first place. Wasted so much time with this. I turned off the "autoupdate" feature now and won't allow these to occur unless I choose it but first will have to see if these update will cause future problems.


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## slurpee55

Just for others - and there will probably be others, from the sound of the cause - could you post a link to the page that has the instructions for the fix?
Then, could you please use the thread tools at the top of the page to mark this thread as solved.


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## reinharv

If you are experiencing any problems with Word 2007, it is due to an automatic update you may have downloaded for Word 2007. I know people who could not find a way to fix it so they went and tried to reload vista and then literally crashed their harddrive. It does not help to uninstall and then reinstall word either.

The following is a list of things that may happen to Word 2007:
The mouse does not work when you use Word 2007. 
• You cannot open a Word document from the Search window in Windows Vista. 
• You cannot open a Word document from Windows Desktop Search. 
• Word crashes when you try to start or to exit Word. 
• Word stops responding when you open the Open dialog box. 
• Word stops responding when you save a document. 
• Word stops responding when you close a document

Go this this site and follow the instructions. After you do, restart your computer and Word should work again.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;940791


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## reinharv

I should have bought a Mac!


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## slurpee55

No, just should have stayed with XP, like I did. 
Ah, Vista....


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## reinharv

My computer died last December and so I said "Might as well wait until the new PCs come in that are Vista compatible..." Well Now I will buy a iMac and forget the computer which has so many blue screen incidents like I've never had before.


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## ChuckUFarley

I had the same kind of issue with Word'07 not scrolling and being unable to edit documents, but the registry key fix did not work for me. What I ultimately discovered was that the user of this computer had installed some scanner software that was causing problems with Word. I deleted the laserfiche add-in and after that, Word began functioning normally again.


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## Jhazzi

slurpee55 said:


> Try opening Word in Safe mode. Hold down the Ctrl key and then open Word, say yes to the pop-up.
> Let us know if you have the same problem then.


Hi Slurpee, 

I am having this problem but the solution to regedit etc isn't the one for me, I'm afraid. The file opened but Current User etc with Word etc . . . was not shown and I feared deleting the file.

I did, however, open in safe mode and that solved the problem. :up: Now what? In the future, must I always open Word in safe mode? 

Thanks for your reply. A really GREEeeeeaaaaaaaat site!!

Jhazzzzzzi


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## slurpee55

I am afraid that the best fix seems to be the regedit one.
First, go to here:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756/
and learn how to backup your registry. Do that.
Then follow the rather simple edit outlined in the page at:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;940791
(It really is simple - just delete one item)
But you say you don't find this line "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Word\Data"
??? There should be something like that up to at least ...\Office\
What do you find?


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## Jhazzi

Slurpee,

I am exhausted from building a site and didn't think clearly when I first tried this. I did not follow the entire tree of extensions. I stopped at HKEY_CURRENT_USER . . . didn't proceed farther. Now I have. I just restarted my computer about 20 minutes ago and will do so a bit later. I have too many programs open. I am sure that worked. If not, I'll be back. 

Thanks again.


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## slurpee55

Good luck - been at that exhausted place myself....


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## Penny77

Hello!

I have the same problem...sort of. If I try to save a document and/or close word, then it gives me this error.

I tried the registry fix, but no dice. Is the safe mode a permanent fix, or do I always have to use the program in safe mode? I would rather not use this as a solution since I don't have any problems with the program except for when saving--I can scroll, edit, etc.

Is there some sort of driver that could fix this?  If so, what should I try?

Thanks for any help!

Also, I've been having some other issues w/ my computer (see link below). I don't know if that matters or not, but I figured being fully informed never hurts!

http://forums.techguy.org/windows-vista/744499-blue-screen-error-bios-update.html


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## slurpee55

Frankly, after reading all that Rollin Rog did with you previously, he seems to have a darned good handle on what is happening with your PC - why don't you just ask him? (I realize, another "one last question" seems embarrassing!) - he is a very nice guy.


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## Penny77

Thanks  I did ask him in that post, and he advised:

The "stopped" working error is enigmatic and there isn't much you can do to troubleshoot it except to look for a pattern. It may be due to a program conflict and you could "clean boot" the machine -- but if it is not fairly predictable this isn't practical to test >> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135

Unfortunately, that didn't seem to work. So I searched the forum to see if anything else popped up and found this


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## slurpee55

Well, you can always run in safe mode, but it is a pain, to say the least. Did you try running word as winword.exe /a - which prevents any add-ins from running when it starts? (note the spaces between "exe", "/", and "a")
(Go to here for one of many, many pages about this...
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/pub0009/LPMArticle.asp?ID=282 )


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## Penny77

That seems to work--running it from the "run" menu.

That page has wonderful instructions, but I'm having difficulty navigating because it's for XP and Word 2003, and I have Vista and Word 2007.

I tried googling, but I can't find anything Vista specific that works. I guess the main problem is that I cannot find--for the life of me--my Word template or the startup files, even though I have addresses for them to type in:

C:\Documents and Settings\<your user name>\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates

Also, even when I search for normal.dotm (what it's called in Word 2007), nothing shows up--even when I told it to show all hidden files and folders.

FRUSTRATION. (Not at you, but at the program)


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## slurpee55

In Windows Vista (I'm assuming), Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Open.
Click Templates, and then double-click the Normal.dotm file to open it.


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