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You are here: MacNN Forums > Software - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Applications > Microsoft Office 2008 won't open after Lion update

Microsoft Office 2008 won't open after Lion update
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Ron K
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Nov 26, 2011, 07:39 AM
 
It seems like for every new issue that I resolve with Lion, two new ones appear. Now, my 2008 Microsoft Word program will not open, and I have all of my wp files there. There is a message that appears that says there is a problem, duh... and that they will send a report to their MS HQ. But that does not help me now. Does anyone else have this problem? Is there a fix? Thanks.
2014 (mid) MBP: 15" with Retina display; 2.2GHz Intel quad Core i7, 16GB 1600 MHz DDR3, 256 Flash Storage
     
Waragainstsleep
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Nov 26, 2011, 09:52 AM
 
Is it up to date?
I have plenty of more important things to do, if only I could bring myself to do them....
     
Thorzdad
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Nov 26, 2011, 10:05 AM
 
This is from a Microsoft support page:
1. Quit all Microsoft Office for Mac programs.
2. On the Go menu, click Home.
3. Open Library. Note The Library folder is hidden in MAC OS X Lion. To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu.
4. Open the Preferences folder.
5. Look for a file that is named com.microsoft.Word.plist.
6. If you locate the file, move it to the desktop. If you do not locate the file, the program is using the default preferences.
7. If you locate the file and move it to the desktop, start Word, and check whether the problem still occurs. If the problem still occurs, quit Microsoft Word, and restore the file to its original location. Then, go to the next step. If the problem seems to be resolved, you can move the com.microsoft.Word.plist file to the trash.
8. Quit all Microsoft Office for Mac programs.
9. On the Go menu, click Home.
10. Open Library. Note The Library folder is hidden in MAC OS X Lion. To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu.
11. Open the Preferences folder.
12. Open the Microsoft folder.
13. Locate the file that is named com.microsoft.Word.prefs.plist.
14. Move the file to the desktop.
15. Start Word, and check whether the problem still occurs. If the problem still occurs, quit Word, and restore the file to its original location. Then, go to the next step. If the problem seems to be resolved, you can move the com.microsoft.Word.prefs.plist file to the trash.
16. On the Go menu, click Home.
17. Open Library.
Note The Library folder is hidden in MAC OS X Lion. To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu.
18. Open the Application Support folder.
19. Open the Microsoft folder.
20. Open the Office folder.
21. Open the User Templates folder.
22. Locate the file that is named Normal, and move the file to the desktop.
23. Start Word and check whether the problem still occurs. If the problem seems to be resolved, you can move the Normal file to the Trash
There are also suggestions that you repair Permissions and resolve any font duplicates.
     
Ron K  (op)
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Nov 27, 2011, 01:56 AM
 
I do not know if 2008 Office suite is up to date. It worked just fine before I installed the latest update to Lion, so there must be something in this recent update that is the problem. As far as being able to know if my Office 2008 is up to date, there is no way to find out since the program won't even open now to tell me if an update is needed or not.

I followed all of the instructions listed above without success. I was unable to locate com.microsoft.Word.plist. It was not in the folder you indicated, so I moved on to the next and last one and did as directed without success. What next?

BTW. I went to the Microsoft download site for Microsoft Office 2008 and tried to install the update listed there, but it would not install. I cannot be the only one where this problem exists, so I appreciate feedback from those who resolved this issue. Thanks
2014 (mid) MBP: 15" with Retina display; 2.2GHz Intel quad Core i7, 16GB 1600 MHz DDR3, 256 Flash Storage
     
pendragon
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Nov 27, 2011, 09:00 AM
 
If you create a new User account and then log-in to that, does Word work?
Harv
27" i7 iMac (10.10.3), iPhone 5 (iOS 8.3)
Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
     
jackiewayne
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Nov 29, 2011, 01:28 AM
 
this is happening to me as well. I installed Lion in my macbook pro a couple of weeks ago, and everything seemed just fine. However, tonight, when I attempt to open any program in office, a horrible scratching noise comes from inside the laptop, and the attempt to open the program (ie. word, excel, etc) will freeze everything, and eventually not respond. I will force quit, and the computer returns to normal. I have completely uninstalled microsoft office 2008, and reinstalled, and have the same issue. It my problem with Microsoft, or with Apple? Can the genius bar fix this? It's finals week, and I REALLY need access to Word so that I can finish my term papers! Please help!!
     
cybergoober
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Nov 29, 2011, 07:41 AM
 
Well, if you can't resolve your Office issue in a timely manner, and absolutely need Word for your finals, there is always OpenOffice. Should be able to handle your Word documents without issue.
     
deharlow
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Nov 29, 2011, 05:31 PM
 
Originally Posted by jackiewayne View Post
However, tonight, when I attempt to open any program in office, a horrible scratching noise comes from inside the laptop,
Anytime you hear a scratching noise from the hard drive, this typically means the drive is failing, I would back up your work ASAP and get the laptop looked at by an repair shop.

Daniel
     
P
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Nov 30, 2011, 06:46 AM
 
This. Your HD is failing, and the only thing you can do about it is back up everything and get it replaced.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
Spheric Harlot
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Dec 6, 2011, 12:47 PM
 
Originally Posted by sc2mac View Post
Use openoffice,why stick in microsoft??
—Because OO looks and feels even worse than MS Office.
—Because one might actually be stuck in Office-based workflows, and that leaves you with no real options beyond MS Office.

There's probably other reasons, as well, but those are off the top of my head.
     
   
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