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General discussion

Network file access very slow w/office 2003 apps

Sep 22, 2005 5:30AM PDT

This problem has only cropped up in the last 2 weeks. Any attempt to open, print, save, etc a file located on our network server (small office network) results in a wait of about 30-45 seconds. The app locks-up until process is complete. This occurs only with Office 2003 applications. FrontPage 2000 is not affected. The very same files can be opened with no trouble using Open Office.

I have deleted all normal.dot files, installed all available updates to Windows and Office, and have deleted every non-critical mapped network drive on every machine including the server. Still the problem persists. Also, the same issue is present on a machine that has AVG installed as opposed to Norton.

All PC's on network are running either Windows XP Pro or Home with SP2. All have 512MB ram or more with processors rated at 2.4Ghz or better.

Would appreciate any suggestions.

Discussion is locked

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Seems a well-known problem.
Sep 22, 2005 9:51PM PDT
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Indeed, so it seems...
Sep 22, 2005 11:20PM PDT

I see what you mean. Well, I took the advice and disconnected all mapped drives but the one I needed the most. Unfortunately the problem remained. I then disconnected all mapped drives then restablished connections one at a time. I discovered that only one mapped drive was causing the problem, however, it happens to be the one with most of our data resources.

OK, any ideas where to go from here? By the way, that server is running Norton AV and Sunbelt CounterSpy.

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Re: network trouble in Word
Sep 23, 2005 6:28AM PDT

Sorry to read your experiences. All I can say is the following.

If the trouble is one client only, don't spend any more time on it. Just replace it with a spare one. Business PC's should be interchangable and not contain any private data. Then do a clean install of everything and reuse the machine later on.

If the trouble is on all clients, it's a server problem. In fact, a problem between Office 2003 and the server (as Frontpage 2000 and OpenOffice are not affected). You can try Office 2002 to see how that works. I'm afraid you have to call in to Microsoft for an answer. That might even be free if it's their fault.

Good luck, and let us know what Microsoft has to say about it.

Kees