WD97: Word Hangs Opening Print or Page Setup Dialog Boxes

• Microsoft Word 97 for Windows on the following platform: Windows NT

SYMPTOMS

Microsoft Word 97 may appear to stop responding when you open either the File Print dialog box or the File Page Setup dialog box.

CAUSE

This problem may occur when all of the following conditions are true:

• You are running Word 97 on a computer running Windows NT Workstation.

  -and-

• The default printer is using a printer driver on a print server computer running Windows NT Server.

  -and-

• The network connection to the print server is lost.

CAUSE

Word 97 is trying to access the printer driver on the print server. Windows NT is continuously trying to access the server and takes a long time to send an error message back to Word.

WORKAROUND

If you wait long enough, Word receives the error message from Windows NT, and then Word continues to run properly (with the exception of printing).

To prevent this problem from occurring, select another printer that does not use the lost connection as the default printer, until you reestablish the connection.

In some cases the printer with the lost connection does not have to be the default printer to cause a delay when opening the File Print dialog. In this case, you need to delete the printer, modify, or reestablish the connection.

To Delete a Printer

1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Printers.

2. Right-click the icon of the printer that you want to delete.

3. Click Delete on the shortcut menu, and click Yes when you are asked if you want to delete the printer.

To Modify a Printer Connection

1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Printers.

2. Right-click the icon of the printer whose connection you want to modify.

3. Click Properties on the shortcut menu, and then click the Details tab.

4. In the "Print to the following port" list, click to select a valid printer path.

5. Click OK

To Install a New Printer

1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Printers.

2. Double-click the Add Printer icon, and then click Next.

3. Click Local Printer or Network Printer as appropriate, and then click Next.

   NOTE: If you click Network Printer, you are prompted for the network path for the printer. If you do not know the correct path, click Browse, or check with your network administrator.

4. Click either Yes or No in the "Do you print from MS-DOS-based programs?" area, and then click Next.

5. Click the appropriate manufacturer and model for your printer, and then click Next.

6. If you chose to install a local printer, click the correct port and then click Next.

7. Type a name for the printer (or accept the default name), and then click either Yes or No in the "Do you want your Windows-based programs to use this printer as the default printer?" area. Click Next.

8. To print a test page, click Yes.

9. Click Finish.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.