Tip #4828 - Document Lock Ups
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Document
Lock Ups
Have you ever
been almost completely done with an MS Office project when it suddenly
froze up on you? Perhaps it disappeared or you just couldn't do anything
with it. That experience is a real downer, but there are some reasons
why it might be happening. When a document keeps locking up, that's
usually a sign that something is corrupt within your document or that
another program is causing a problem.
So, what causes
all of that and more importantly, how can you fix it or prevent it
from ever happening again? Well, there are many probable causes why
Office documents may lock up, but today, we're just going to go over
some of the more common ones. Are you ready? Then let’s get
the ball rolling!
Your computer
may not be up to it. That may seem vague, so allow me to
clarify! First of all, do you meet the system requirements for Microsoft
Office? There is a minimum system requirement for each version of
Microsoft Office. If your computer does not meet that, the software
may not work as you expected, including the lock ups. Visit each link
below to get the system requirements for each Microsoft Office version:
Microsoft
Office 1997
Microsoft
Office 2000
Microsoft
Office 2003
Microsoft
Office 2007
If you do meet
the minimum requirements, you also have to consider what other applications
are running on your computer. Your computer's resources (like the
processing speed and hard disk space) will be shared by those running
applications. So, you can either upgrade your hardware by increasing
your RAM size or you can close out any unnecessary running programs
(more on that later).
The saying
"the more, the merrier" does not work with computers.
The more programs you have running on your computer, the less memory
you will have for each of them, which can cause your Office documents
to lock up. You should avoid opening different programs at the same
time unless you absolutely have to.
You should also
stop applications from running automatically when you boot up your
computer. To do that, you have to delete the shortcut to run those
applications in two locations: your startup folder and the All Users
startup folder. To get started, go to Start, Run
and type in the path indicated below:
Stay updated.
In the Microsoft realm, Microsoft is the master. That means we have
to do whatever Microsoft tells us to do, including the Windows Updates.
The Windows Updates are useful, because not only do they address security
threats, but they also install hot fixes for software issues. You
can read more about the Windows Updates here.
Working
with files on the network. If your files are saved on a network
server, you should avoid working on them directly. Network servers
are shared by many users and there's a chance that latency could cause
your Office documents to lock up. It doesn't matter if you have the
latest and fastest computer, because network latency will always be
the same. Whenever you're working with your files on a network, it's
highly recommended that you copy the file to your computer, work on
it and then save a copy on the server afterwards.
Save often.
The Save option is your best friend and it only takes a few seconds
to do! However, we sometimes get too caught up in our work and forget
to save it. Then when one of your Office documents locks up, you have
to go back to the last saved state and redo everything. So, remember,
a few seconds can save you a lot of time!
There you have
it. I hope this tip saves you from any future lock ups!
~ Cory Buford
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