I love trying to repair something I have never been challenged with before. The only fear is the possibility of not being able to fix the issue after I play around and break it further. Let me explain this. A computer geek has to not only diagnose the issue, but has to use trial and error often in order to fix the situation.  Given that explaination, I would like to share what recently happened to my husbands PC computer.

Backup Blackberry

While driving home one night I mentioned to my husband, “you should probably backup your Blackberry contact information onto your computer in case something ever happens to your phone.” Just like most individuals, his entire personal & business contact list is inside this little piece of metal. Nothing is wrote down anywhere, and he has never used the software that came with the phone to back it up.

He agreed I was right (rarely happens). After he found the USB connection and the CD which came with the Blackberry phone, he then proceeded to install everything on his own. Outlook was his method of choice on his PC, to sync (backup) his contact list with.

Not only did he backup his Blackberry contact list, but he decided to clean house on his computer desktop. He started throwing as much as possible into his “Recycle Bin.” I am sharing this information with you because the result of what happens next cannot be precisely explained. I am uncertain if the installation of the Blackberry software (my guess) caused the problem, or the vast amount of mixed matched files/icons he disposed of caused the issue.

Delete Everything but the Kitchen Sink

After dragging everything but the kitchen sink into his “Recycle Bin,” he then tried to open a MS Word document and received an error message; “Microsoft Word has encountered a problem and will open in Safe Mode.” There was no alternative to opening MS Word, other than in “Safe Mode.” No matter what I tried to do/not do - MS Word was not starting up other than in Safe Mode!

My first reaction was for him to try and shut off the computer and turn it back on. This did nothing. During my research on the Internet, I found (or didn’t find) out there is not a great deal of supporting material to help fix this error within MS Word. What I did find, I would like to share with you in hopes it will save you more time in fixing the issue than what I had to spend fixing it.

What? Word in Safe Mode…

First off, I learned through others comments - the installation and reinstallation of MS Office will not fix the problem (which was something as a last resort, I was willing to try). Therefore, I didn’t wast my time trying this option. I did however try to “Restore” his computer to an earlier time. This did nothing except put back the ugly icons on his desk which were in the Recycle Bin.

Second, I found a website which recommended backing up the registry and navagativing deep in the Registry, where Word’s Registry key lives. The website suggested to delete a certain folder. I love to live on the seat of my pants - so guess what… I did this one, and I hate to tell you this, but I didn’t work.

Third, further research on the subject mearly explained a hiccup in MS Word’s hidden “Normal.dot” file.  The “Normal.dot” file can become corrupt for unknown reasons.

To Technical ~ Dumb it down please…

The least “geeky” way for me to explain this phenomia would be this: MS Word uses the hidden file “Normal.dot” to create blank documents. It is a Global Template which Word uses when it starts. If ”Normal.dot” becomes a corrupt file - you’ll receive the wonderful error message “Microsoft Word has encountered a problem and will open in Safe Mode.” Not only will you receive this message, but “Safe Mode”  is the only option for MS Word to startup in.

Quick Fix

Delete the hidden file “Normal.dot” which is corrupt, and upon the restart of MS Word, it will create a new file because it cannot locate the old one.

1. Select My Computer -> Tools ->  Folder Options -> View -> UNCHECK “Hide Protected Operating System Files” (close Folder Options window)
2. Select Start -> Search -> All Files/Folders 
3. Select More Advanced Options -> make sure “Search hidden files and subfolders” IS checked
4. Type normal.dot in the search box -> select Search

Once the “Normal.dot” appears in the search results window, delete the file. As stated earlier, Word will recreate this file upon startup. There may also be a file “~Normal.dot” as well. I deleted both files just to make sure, and the issue was resolved. You choose…

Start MS Word. Just a note, you may or may not have to re-enter your name/initials upon restart of the program, in a pop-up box. If so, enter the appropriate information and enjoy MS Word without having to work within “Safe Mode.”

The information which I have provided serves as a diary for my future reference in case of a similar situation. If you benefit from my research, please leave a comment.

Tags: OS, Operating System, PC //