During startup, Word loads the following components:
The global template (Normal.dot)
Any add-in templates in the Startup folder
Any add-in libraries (.wll files)
User settings that are stored in the Data subkey in the Windows registry
If any of these items is damaged, Word may fail to start. To temporarily bypass these items, you can start Word with the /a switch. Starting Word by using /a on a command line causes Word to use the default settings for all options and prevents add-ins from being loaded.
NOTE: When you start Word with the /a switch, changes that you make that affect any of the components listed above are not written to the hard disk when you quit Word. The changes are lost.
To use the /a switch to start Word, follow these steps:
Click Start, and then click Run.
Click Browse.
Locate the folder where the Winword.exe file is located.
NOTE: The default location is the following:
C
Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office
Select the Winword.exe file, and then click Open.
Click in the Open box, and then press END to move the insertion point after the closing quotation mark that follows the path and file name.
Type a space and then type "/a" (without the quotation marks), so that the command line looks like the following example:
"C
Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\WinWord.exe" /a
Click OK.
If Word starts correctly, the problem is with a damaged Registry Data key, a damaged add-in template or *.wll file, or a Normal.dot global template.