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Rare Bigfoot sighting, er ah, Office crash

Nov. 11, 2008 Paul Thurrott | Paul Thurrott's Supersite for Windows

You know, there are certain staples in the world of Microsoft bashing. The publicly-located informational flat-screen display showing a blue screen. The jokes about what it would be like if Microsoft made cars. You know, the usual.

But one thing you don’t see very often is Microsoft Office crashes. Well, maybe you do. I’m guessing someone will inevitably chime in with a complaint in this area, which is of course a third staple in the world of Microsoft bashing: Disagreeing with a readily provable fact. But anyhoo, I actually had Word crash on me today. And I have to tell you, that never happens. Never. And I use Word every single day. Obviously.

So which are you more unlikely to see? This:

Or this?

Actually, I can think of one exception the “Office never crashes” rule. If you install iTunes and use it to sync Outlook with an iPod or iPhone, Outlook crashes all the time, thanks to Apple’s buggy sync software.

I’m sure there’s a commercial in there somewhere.

Discuss this Article 61

mikegalos@msn.com
on Nov 11, 2008
There is a certain class of self-enforcing truisms Apple: "Microsoft software is unstable (when you run Apple software on it)" Bush administration: "Government is the problem (when we're the government)"
jsx
on Nov 11, 2008
Oh, jeez, you're just a Micro$oft fanboy. My Microsoft Office crashes every hour. Ok... obviously, you're not running Symantec on your system. Certain versions of their virus scanner seem to be responsible for just about any application crashing on a regular basis.
Dipsh t Admin
on Nov 11, 2008
I've never really had Word crash in a long time, but I don't use it that often. Outlook is a different story, but, once again, those are usually related to third-party add-ins. Mike, how about the upcoming Obama administration: Government is the problem, so let's expand it!
kalewallace
on Nov 11, 2008
Someone ate their Wheaties this morning. With this post and the last one, the gates are wide open for hate-posting. Ok.... go.
Delmont
on Nov 11, 2008
Hey Mike, Your boy won. Ok? So, how about you move on with the Bush jokes? I mean, you're boy won...and it only cost him what....$800 million? By the way, how come since each day you're boy won, the stock market continues to crash? I thought with the second messiah here now everything would be roses? Heck too, now back here in Detroit, seems GM is about to close too. How come the sun isn't blue, we all have jobs and million dollars in the bank with Obama wining?
mikegalos@msn.com
on Nov 11, 2008
Dipsh The class of statements requires both: A) that the person discussed is the one complaining about something B) that the same person discussed is the one causing (or at least increasing) the very problem they're complaining about Your Obama suggestion involved neither.
mikegalos@msn.com
on Nov 11, 2008
Dipsh They're a variant of the classic definition of the Yiddish word chutzpah: A child who murdered his parents asking the court for mercy because he's an orphan.
lehenbauer
on Nov 11, 2008
One thing you don’t see very often is (are) Microsoft Office crashes? That's fantastic!
Lindy
on Nov 11, 2008
@delmont the term "boy" is probably not a good one in this case. Here comes the right blaming the economy problems on Obama before he even has taken office. I think that Bush knows the economy is far worse off than it really is and he is not letting it out for a few reasons. #1 Pure panic. #2 pass the trash, he does not have to deal with it. The moves the FED has made under bush in the last 90 days are quite amazing to be honest. So much done in so little time. The problem is bigger than we think make such moves even possible. If Obama cant fix it in his first two years he will be blamed for it and he will not be re-elected. That genius Pallin will ride into office on her white horse, you know the one she got from the country Africa:)
mikegalos@msn.com
on Nov 11, 2008
delmont Who's joking?
Delmont
on Nov 11, 2008
Hey Lindy, Uh...but the Dems have been in control of Congress for 2 years. Why is their approval rating LOWER than that of the President's? What major legislation have they passed to rescue the economy? Also, I don't understand your comment about the term boy. Oh wait, I just asked someone sitting next to me. They say that you're inferring a racial issue. Oh, sorry...I don't play that game. I'll use "your hero"? "your saviour" better? By the way, this is very rare the WSJ has said about the Dow tanking 500-600 points every day since a new President Elect. That's my point. Facts Lindy, facts. But come on! Obama won! Every loves the USA now. No war, no hate...I mean Obama had woman weeping when he spoke, women even fainting when he spoke during the campaign season. Why is the sky still cloudy?
Waethorn
on Nov 11, 2008
"I mean, you're boy won...and it only cost him what....$800 million?" And your party lost, and it still cost YOU 1 Trillion dollars.
sunco
on Nov 11, 2008
That happend to me when i install OmniForm. You can start it with holding Ctrl key and then disabling the plugin.. and happend with another plugin but can't remember wich one
shark47
on Nov 11, 2008
Paul, can you do something to stop this nonsense, please?
Lindy
on Nov 11, 2008
"Uh...but the Dems have been in control of Congress for 2 years." Yeah they did. So out of 8 years 6 of which was fully controlled by the republicans you make that statement. LOL! Not to mention it was the republicans that removed the final great depression laws put in place to stop this kind of problem in 1998. No need for names at all, President Elect Obama works just fine. All that said, shark is right this is the last place for politics of this kind.
Ocean
on Nov 11, 2008
Just ignore it, Carp47.
tayme
on Nov 11, 2008
Oh, boy...I think that I need another vacation!!! DRWAM...where are you? I need you to post a tidbit or 2 about that ACER Laptop!!! --tayme
kadarzsolt
on Nov 11, 2008
Ways to crash Office 2007 apps: Word: loading document from the web/server and encountering lags/delays in response (Word thinks its process stopped responding) - solution: save document to HDD first Excel: working with large datasets and array formulas (adding, multiplying... entire ranges of data) determines long computation time even on powerful P4/Dual Core systems, and causing the system to signal "Application not responding" Outlook (bit ironic): Exchange server timeout in the middle of the authentication process (login window displayed, user entering *domain* password, Outlook trying to display offline messages, while communicating with server) Any Office app: third party add-ons (usually sync tools, antivirus/antispam toolbars, import/export filters)
geogray
on Nov 11, 2008
Ok, back on topic... I've had Word 2007 crash...repeatedly...when I've tried to insert certain images, namely gif's. When I don't insert those images, it runs fine. However, that is just on my desktop. On my laptop, those same images work just fine. I"ve tried copying those images from the laptop to the desktop, but Word will still crash, so I am guessing it is a filter/converter issue on my desktop. I am too lazy to try to pinpoint it further. I LOVE Office 2007, especially OneNote.
Dipsh t Admin
on Nov 11, 2008
Lindy, that's a little rich. I look back to 1999 at a certain piece of legislation as the start of all of the current problems, which was in all fairness something that was widely supported by both parties, and then President Bill Clinton. Plenty of blame to go around, folks. Moves by the Fed didn't help things at all either. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE7DB153EF933A0575AC0A... This paragraph should sound familiar, and was quite prophetic: "In moving, even tentatively, into this new area of lending, Fannie Mae is taking on significantly more risk, which may not pose any difficulties during flush economic times. But the government-subsidized corporation may run into trouble in an economic downturn, prompting a government rescue similar to that of the savings and loan industry in the 1980's." The even use the term "subprime borrowers" in the article. And let's not forget this as we look at the new cabinet, and a certain new Chief of Staff who "served on the board of directors of the federal mortgage firm Freddie Mac at a time when scandal was brewing at the troubled agency and the board failed to spot "red flags," http://www.abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Story?id=6201900&page=1 Well, enough of my political rantings. Plenty of blame to go around. I certainly don't expect, or am even trying, to change Mike's mind about this. That would take an act of God.
shark47
on Nov 11, 2008
"Just ignore it, Carp47." Of course you'll say that Trollalot. It suits you that way. On topic, browsers are usually the most crash-prone applications on Windows. (And not just IE, I've had crashes on FF, IE, Safari, and Chrome.) That, for me at least, raises questions about the stability of online applications. I hate it when Word crashes when I'm in the middle of something. Browser crashes don't annoy me as much, because most of the time, I'm only browsing. As more applications move online, I expect that to become a bigger issue - at least for me.
chuckb84
on Nov 11, 2008
I don't think I've ever had an Office crash on my PC at work. It's Office 2003, and I don't use it that much, but it is very stable. It has all the interface horrors of a Windows program, but it doesn't crash. The same cannot be said for any version of Office for Mac. The 2008 was just awful on release, especially Excel, and after two(?) major service pack releases, can be regarded as tolerable, but no more than that. Office 2008 is also excruciatingly slow compared with Office 2003/Windows/Parallels running on the same Macbook Pro hardware. Of course, Microsoft intends for it to be that way. However, Open Office, Pages and other alternatives are getting quite close to replacing Word, if not yet Excel.
whiplash55
on Nov 11, 2008
Why the hell does a comment about Office crashing and Bigfoot have to do with Bush, or Obama? I'm sick of politics and frankly detest both major parties. The worst governing always happens when one party, (either one) is in complete control. So a pox on both their houses. Anyone who thinks the Democrats are better at governing need only look to every major city in the US. They're the most dysfunctional part of our society and they're almost all run by liberals. As for the sub-prime issue, sub-primes first became securitized in the early 90s. They performed well as investments until 2006. What happened to them? Too many people didn't treat them as speculative investments. The bond rating agencies often gave the AAA ratings when they never deserved them. Mostly, Greenspan first dropped interest rates fast in an effort to revive the post 9-11/ tech bust economy, he then raised them too high, too fast. At the same time he first encouraged Wall Street and the banks to be more"creative" with mortgage products and in their loaning practices. Mortgages became way to easy to obtain for people who had no business owning homes. The rest everyone knows, cab drivers who started buying tech stocks in 1999 now started buying investment properties, prices spiked, then the bottom fell out when interest rates adjusted and people who were barely paying their mortgages at the teaser rate found their mortgages going through the roof. The Bush administration blew it when the allowed Lehman Brothers to collapse, that started the financial markets panic that's going to do more harm to the economy than the whole sub-prime debacle that started it. The Chairman of the SEC deserves blame as well, the idiots changed the short selling rule last year to allow a short sell on a stock without an uptick. I have no doubt that this contributed to much of the huge slide of the stock market in the US which caused a global panic. At least we don't have a President who wants to impose a massive tax increase or start a trade war like we did in 1929 right? Or do we? People give FDR credit for saving us from the great depression, fact is in 1940 we had a 20% unemployment rate. WWII ended the great depression...
mikegalos@msn.com
on Nov 11, 2008
I'm always amused when someone says something like "I'm sick of politics and frankly detest both major parties" and then writes paragraphs and paragraphs that are nothing but one party's talking points bashing the other party. Really, do you think we're really that stupid?
mikegalos@msn.com
on Nov 11, 2008
Or, to put it in the context of this actual blog I'm sick of computer partisans and frankly detest both major companies. The worst tech always happens when one company, (either one) is in complete control. So a pox on both their houses. Now, let me tell you all the things that are screwed up about Apple and why Microsoft's products are always better... :-)
tayme
on Nov 11, 2008
mikegalos must have missed this paragraph in whiplash's post - not surprising. "The Bush administration blew it when the allowed Lehman Brothers to collapse, that started the financial markets panic that's going to do more harm to the economy than the whole sub-prime debacle that started it. The Chairman of the SEC deserves blame as well, the idiots changed the short selling rule last year to allow a short sell on a stock without an uptick. I have no doubt that this contributed to much of the huge slide of the stock market in the US which caused a global panic." --tayme
tayme
on Nov 11, 2008
DRWAM...where are you...come on man, more on the laptop, please. Does Office crash on it? It hasn't on my Sis's yet...I just asked her. In fact, she said that she has had no problems with it and absolutely loves it... My nephew, on hte other hand has a Mac Book running OS X Leopard. He loves it and laughs at his Mom's $400 lappy. Imagine that...different people in the same family liking different things. What is the world coming to? --tayme
mikegalos@msn.com
on Nov 11, 2008
tayme Actually, I didn't miss it. It would have been the equivalent of an Apple fan saying "notebooks that don't have a cast chassis are inherently bad" since the latest models made the older ones obsolete since bashing older models is an acceptable means of Apple fandome.
mikegalos@msn.com
on Nov 11, 2008
DRWAM The problem for the consumer is that Apple is locking in that only one company's product can exist in that niche and that means that nobody can offer an improved version and there's no pressure for Apple to offer a better version. And, of course, there's the fact that Podcaster was available long before iPhone 2.2.
mikegalos@msn.com
on Nov 11, 2008
Oops, posted that last one to the wrong thread...
tayme
on Nov 11, 2008
Wow, mikegalos...you make me laugh more and more every day! Thanks for that! --tayme
tayme
on Nov 11, 2008
As for Office apps crashing...Word will always crash on my home PC when I try to access a doc stored on my NAS device via a wireless connected PC or MAC. If I copy it to the HDD first or access it over the wire, no problem. Now, that is probably not a Word problem...more likely it is caused by the mixture of the wireless Gand N that I use in my house. --tayme
tayme
on Nov 11, 2008
FWIW, it is only Word that I have that problem with Excel and other file types, Office and others, open fine over the wireless. It has baffled me, and I gave up trying to pinpoint the problem. --tayme
robertsjoe
on Nov 11, 2008
What a surprise. Another post starting off on Microsoft software ends up bashing Apple. As per a lot of the posts on this blog.
robertsjoe
on Nov 11, 2008
Seriously guys. There has to be an unbiased, serious and responsible MIcrosoft blogger out there, who doesn't come across as being sponsored by MS. Can someone provide a link (or links), please?
whiplash55
on Nov 11, 2008
@mike I don't recall the Bush administration touting their failure to support Lehman or the changing of the short sell rules which had been in place since 1937, as talking points in their favor. But I plead guilty to first criticizing going down a political rat hole, then jumping in with both feat myself.
gavers
on Nov 11, 2008
I have never in the past 15 years had any Office application crash on me. I didn't realize that until reading your post. Office is probably the most stable piece of software ever written, version after version.
thegreatbitbucket
on Nov 11, 2008
I use many of the Office applications regularly. In fact, I switch between Word, Excel, and PowerPoint all day long. I have never seen it crash on my machine. Some of my friends, well, had some problems with Office. I had suspected that it had to do more with a problem with Windows or a corrupt install than a problem with Office. Office crashing is a rare sighting for me, unlike a few other apps...
whiplash55
on Nov 11, 2008
I don't detest Apple or Microsoft. One of my biggest complaints about their notebooks the difficulty to upgrade easily has been fixed in the last update. I prefer Windows just because it works better for me. I think the big debate over operating systems is akin to the argument over your favorite auto manufacturer. I prefer Honda's and Toyota's largely because the American made vehicles I bought were POS's. People use Macs because they work better for them or they had a bad experience on Windows. I stopped using Macs because I didn't like the limited hardware choice and I usually build my own desktops and prefer the upgrade-ability of PCs. I don't care who invented what feature first, I just like what works for me, and right now Windows 7 looks amazing. Especially when you consider its a pre-beta release.
pollycat
on Nov 11, 2008
@robertsjoe If you want a decent Microsoft blogger, try Mary Jo Foley. The main differences between her and Paul are: (1) She focuses entirely on Microsoft and its products and doesn't feel the need to bash Apple or other companies in order to drive hits. (2) She seems to have very good sources of information, something I think Paul may have lost a while ago. (3) She is a lot more knowledgeable generally on all things Microsoft than Paul seems to be.
chuckb84
on Nov 11, 2008
Mike "I'm sick of computer partisans and frankly detest both major companies. The worst tech always happens when one company, (either one) is in complete control. So a pox on both their houses. Now, let me tell you all the things that are screwed up about Apple and why Microsoft's products are always better..." That's the funniest thing you've ever posted :). You made one typo though, reversing the positions of the words "Apple" and "Microsoft" in the last sentence...or just drop the last sentence all together and then you're Richard Stalman. Seriously, hegemony in software is not good, no matter who the hegemon is. Open standards, I'm telling you. OpenGL not DirectX, open document formats, not doc,xls,ppt, etc.
mikegalos@msn.com
on Nov 11, 2008
chuck "Seriously, hegemony in software is not good, no matter who the hegemon is. " Then, of course, you're even more opposed to Apple's designs and policies than I'd ever be since Apple is the most closed company in the personal computer or personal electronics business. You raise doc, xls and ppt, but that's really silly since they were replaced years ago with the open and published docx, xlsx and pptx formats. Now, where is that equivalent cry for an open iPod that runs on competing stores? Or an open iTunes that works with competing devices? Where is the equivalent cry for OS X on generic hardware? Or, for that matter, where is the equivalent cry for Adobe to replace psd files with a psdx format that's as open as docx?
robertsjoe
on Nov 11, 2008
@pollycat: Thanks. I can digest Microsoft blogs, no problem. It's just when they are heavily laced with such hatred and outward biased that it's hard to stomach.
chuckb84
on Nov 11, 2008
Mike, I think the iPod SHOULD allow you to purchase from competing stores. In fact, it does, because the iPod plays MP3, but it is less convenient. Adobe should replace psd with psdx. Mac on PC, ie, OS X on generic hardware is more problematic. Apple doesn't make money, at least not much of their total revenue, from OSX, they make money from hardware sales. You will have to be content with the inverse, ie, PC on Mac, which works very well via Parallels, VMWare or Bootcamp. In any event, OSX on generic hardware is not the same thing as open document formats. Open formats are about USER data that is portable to wherever the user likes, while OSX on generic hardware is a call for Apple to make their "documents" portable. They don't want to do that, which is fine. Microsoft doesn't do IE for Mac any more, which is also fine (a relief, actually), since it is their IP. What I object to, from Apple, Microsoft, or anyone else (example: Recorded programs on my Verizon DVR can't be moved to my iPod. GRRR.) is attempts to restrict what I do with my own data. And, Mike, as a practical matter, most businesses are continuing to use ppt, xls, doc are still used, and will continue to be used, for quite some time for compatibility reasons. Of course, I could also mention ActiveX, a deliberate attempt to lock people in on IE. Both Apple and Microsoft should be taken to task for these behaviors.
DRWAM
on Nov 11, 2008
Office 2004 [and Vx before it] crashes frequently on my Macs, yes both. I could care less as I love Office so much, I just restart, and I save frequently. Entourage is one of my most favorite apps. It's a PIM and email client. I have not upgraded to 2008, which is sitting in a box, because I like 2004 just fine. Dipsh, MBF just called me since my lease is up at the end of the month. Siix weeks ago, they offered me the purchase price at $2,300 below the lease contract price, and now today took off another $5,100. The car has 22,000 miles and I love it so I'm buying it for more than $7,000 below the lease end contract price!! I guess a bad economy has a few upsides.
kalewallace
on Nov 11, 2008
Well, I've just got home from class and thought I'd check in on how far these posted comments have slid into a ner'-returnable rathole.... and it has. Mike's talking politics. @robertsjoe has tried to get it back on track before sliding both 'feat' into the sh*tpile. @pollycat is recommending Foley. Nice. Look, Paul posted on how stable Microsoft Office is. And he's exactly right. Can anyone argue that? Did he have to put in that last jab about iTunes? Nah... but I think Paul enjoys watching this (Hi Paul). He has a giant gambling ring set up that he clears a couple grand a day on people dumb enough to bet that these blog comments will stay on topic. Ha! Lets admit. Mobile Safari crashes. iTunes crashes. God knows Windows Crashes. Spinning beach balls, BSODs, it's all good. We all live in glass houses and it seems that we throw rocks in vein. On topic: Damn, Microsoft Office is stable. And Excel is the shiz.
lotsamystuff
on Nov 11, 2008
Please. A Republican is a person that insists government is the problem, then gets elected to prove it.
GRiNSER
on Nov 11, 2008
What bugs me most are Outlook hangs when it is downloading a mail from an IMAP account with a big attachment. This single threaded activity almost kills Outlook all the time, sometimes it doesn't unfreeze anymore... This should be really fixed!
mikegalos@msn.com
on Nov 11, 2008
chuck You seem quite willing to give Apple the benefit of the doubt and justify their actions but then complain about a "problem" that Microsoft fixed years ago. And then bring up the question about people restricting what you can do with your data (which Microsoft doesn't restrict) Doesn't seem that even handed.
DRWAM
on Nov 11, 2008
kalewallace, I can argue the point since Entourage crashed no less than 3 times within an hour yesterday. I do not sync with an iPhone. Still it's one of my favorite apps for which I will NEVER part, never. I rebooted twice, and after the second reboot, it stopped crashing. Why don't I use Leopard's similar apps you ask? I'm an Office fanboy is the answer. However, Entourage was definitely easier to setup with Exchange than Office 2007's Outlook. Go figure. Outlook gave me a few problems exporting and importing this week too. but you couldn't pry the disc from my trembling hands with a crowbar.

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