Word is slow to start, print, or load documents http://support.microsoft.

com/kb/280821
Article ID: 280821 - Last Review: January 29, 2007 - Revision: 4.5
Word is slow to start, print, or load documents
This article was previously published under Q280821 For a Microsoft Word 97 and an earlier version version of this article, see
123210 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/123210/ ) .

SYMPTOMS

Microsoft Word starts very slowly, or other operations, such as opening or printing documents,
also are very slow.

CAUSE

This issue may occur if one of the following conditions is true:

Microsoft Windows is using a printer driver that is located on a network print server, instead of a local printer driver on your
hard disk. When you use a remote printer driver, you may notice that it takes longer to change your default printer setting,
and sometimes Word may print documents more slowly than you may expect.
Word is installed on your computer, but Word was once running from the network. When the computer is not connected to
the network, there is a long delay when you are opening documents.
Fonts that are used in the Word document are damaged or missing from the system, and Word cannot substitute other
fonts in the document.

When you start Word, it gathers information to use for document formatting and printing
operations. If the files, drivers, or fonts are damaged, missing, or located on a remote server, Word can require more time to
connect to the server and gather the information that it needs.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Reinstall the printer driver by using a local port

Delete and reinstall your printer driver by using a local port. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Quit all Windows programs.

2. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Printers.
3. Right-click your printer, and then click Delete on the shortcut menu. You receive the following message Are you sure
you want to delete the printer 'printer name'? where 'printer name' is the name of your installed default printer.
4. Click Yes.
5. You may also receive an additional message when you delete your printer driver: Some files were used only for this
printer and are no longer needed. Would you like to delete these files now? If you receive the message, click Yes.
6. After Windows removes your installed default printer and its associated files, reinstall the printer. To do this, use one of the
following procedures, depending on the version of Windows that you are using.

Microsoft Windows XP
a. Click Start, click Control Panel , click Printers and Other Hardware, and then click Printers and Faxes.
b. Double-click Add Printer to start the Add Printer Wizard, and then click Next.
c. Click Local printer, clear the "Automatically detect and install" check box, and then click Next.
d. Click Create a new port, and then click Local Port in the Port type section.
e. In the Port Name box, type the path to the printer in the following format where server is the name of the print
server and printer is the name of the printer:
\\ server \ printer
f. Click Next, and then select a Windows 2000 or Windows XP driver for your printer.
g. Click Next, and then follow the instructions to finish the wizard.
Microsoft Windows 2000
a. In the Printers dialog box (click Start, point to Settings, and then click Printers), double-click Add Printer. When
the Printer Wizard appears, click Next.
b. Click to select Local Printer, and then click Next.
c. Click Create a new port, select Local Port in the Type box, and then click Next.
d. Type the network share name for the printer in the Port Name box. For example, type \\Server name\My printer,
and then click OK.
e. Click Next, select your printer manufacturer and model from the list, and then follow the remaining steps in the
wizard to reinstall your Windows printer driver.
Click Next, and then use the disk that was provided by your printer manufacturer, and then install it according to
the installation instructions. For more information about how to install the printer driver that was provided with your

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Word is slow to start, print, or load documents http://support.microsoft.com/kb/280821
printer, please contact your printer manufacturer.

For information about how to contact your printer manufacturer, click the appropriate article number in the following list to view
the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 65416 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/65416/ ) Hardware and software vendor
contact information, A-K

60781 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/60781/ ) Hardware and software vendor contact information, L-P

60782 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/60782/ ) Hardware and software vendor contact information, Q-Z For more information about
troubleshooting steps that may help you solve printing problems, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the
Microsoft Knowledge Base: 870968 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/870968/ ) How to troubleshoot general printing problems in
Windows Server 2003 when you use Office products 870622 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/870622/ ) How to troubleshoot
problems that you may experience when you try to print to a local printer by using Office programs in Windows XP
871146 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/871146/ ) How to troubleshoot general printing problems in Windows 2000 when you
are using Office products 826864 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/826864/ ) How to troubleshoot damaged Word documents

Method 2: Reset the Word data key in the Windows Registry

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might
occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back
up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to
back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
322756 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756/ ) How to back up and restore the registry in Windows
If Word is installed on your computer but the program was once running from the network and there is a long delay when you
open documents when you are not connected to the network, try the following procedure.

The Word Data key stores information that is specific to the printer that is installed. To remove this printer information from Word,
rename or delete the Word Data key in the Windows registry. When you restart Microsoft Word, Word recreates the Word Data key
automatically.

Note After you rename or delete the Word data key, some settings in Microsoft Word are reset to their default settings.

To rename or delete the Word data key in the Windows registry, follow these steps:

1. Quit all Windows programs.

2. Click Start and then click Run.
3. In the Open box, type Regedit and then click OK.
4. Open the following registry key that is for your version of Word:

Word 2003 HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Word

Word 2002 HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Word Word 2000
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Word
5. Under the Word key, click the Data subkey.
6. On the Edit menu, click Rename or Delete.
7. Click Yes if the following message appears: Are you sure you want to delete this key?
8. On the Registry menu, click Exit.
9. Start Word.

Method 3: Repair or replace damaged or missing fonts

Damaged or missing fonts can cause the problem that is described in the "Symptoms" section.
To correct this problem, remove or reinstall the fonts, or do both, in your version of Microsoft Windows.

For more information, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 234749
(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/234749/ ) How to restore the Windows default fonts 314960 (http://support.microsoft.com
/kb/314960/ ) How to install or remove a font in Windows 306870 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306870/ ) How to add a new
font to your Windows Me-based computer 131943 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/131943/ ) TrueType font limits in Windows
95/98/Me

MORE INFORMATION

Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact
information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.

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Microsoft Office Word 2003
Microsoft Word 2002
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