Solved Cursor not working Word after automatic update

billsall · Jun 11, 2009

Last night, I had a doc open in Word 2007 - to be finished in a.m. This morning, I found my system had rebooted, installing some "fix/upgrade/"... My document in word had been saved in a recovery type format. After trying to work with that doc, and noticing that I could not highlight any text using my cursor...I opened a new doc and still had the same problem.

As of now, when I open Word, and then go to close Word, I get a Word system error problem - trying to recover... So Word apparently is corrupted... IDEAS?!

PLEASE HELP!

Telm · Jun 13, 2009

I too had this problem last night. I found your post when I was looking for a solution and thought I should come and tell you I did find one!

Close Word and Outlook completely (everything else, including internet explorer can stay open)
Click Start and type regedit in the 'start search' box.
Hit enter and the Registry Editor will open.
Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Word\Data by double clicking on 'HKEY_CURRENT_USER' on the left hand side, then 'Software' then 'Microsoft' and so on.
Right click on the 'Data' folder, on the left hand side, and click rename and call it 'Baddata'
Close the registry editor and restart word.

That should solve your problem. It involves editing the registry which, if you're worried about it, it's always advised you ask someone with experience to help. However, if you follow the above instructions exactly, there is nothing that can go wrong.

Good luck, I hope it solves the problem.

mdaviswolfe · Jun 14, 2009

A huge amount of appreciation, Telm. I had the same issue with the cursor not working in Word and used you fix instructions. It worked perfectly. Thank you so much!

Mattie

billsall · Jun 15, 2009

Thanks for answer - I'd already figure this out...so the question is - when is Microsoft going to FIX THIS PROBLEM...

tiflo · Nov 26, 2010

Hi,

I'm having a similar problem but the suggested fix does NOT work. For me, the mouse pointer works when I open word (2010 on Windows 7 x64) but after some time (about 3 minutes after opening word?) it stops working as described in the other posts (I can't click or select text, but the mouse work for the menus and everywhere outside of word). i do NOT have the same problem with excel as far as I can tell.

I've deleted the data entry, but it is (of course) regenerated once I've open word again and the problem comes up again. the only add in I have installed is Endnote X4. I sincerely hope that i don't have to deactivate it. that would kinda defeat the purpose of having word to write papers.

cheers for any pointers.

Imperfect1 · Nov 26, 2010

As we well know, updates can and do occasionally cause problems, so to minimize (or hopefully avoid) these problems in the future, it's a good idea to follow this advice:

1. Set your updates preferences to always notifiy you prior to any installation of updates;
2. Prior to downloading any new update always close EVERYTHING (i.e all programs, apps, browsers, messengers, etc.); and
3. Only download one update at a time, and wait a day or so until you're sure that update hasn't caused any problem on your system before downloading the next update.

If, in spite of all of the above, the update does cause a problem, you can always uninstall it and try re-installing it. Sometimes the problem isn't with the update itself - the downloading process becomes corrupted. So redownloading the update can sometimes be successful.

Lorien · Nov 26, 2010

tiflo said:
Hi,

I'm having a similar problem but the suggested fix does NOT work. For me, the mouse pointer works when I open word (2010 on Windows 7 x64) but after some time (about 3 minutes after opening word?) it stops working as described in the other posts (I can't click or select text, but the mouse work for the menus and everywhere outside of word). i do NOT have the same problem with excel as far as I can tell.

I've deleted the data entry, but it is (of course) regenerated once I've open word again and the problem comes up again. the only add in I have installed is Endnote X4. I sincerely hope that i don't have to deactivate it. that would kinda defeat the purpose of having word to write papers.

cheers for any pointers.

Do you know when this problem began? Try a System Restore to a point in time BEFORE the problem began. Here's the procedure: http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/76905-system-restore-how.html. Be sure to check the box to show more than 5 days of restore points. If the first attempt fails, then try an earlier point or two. NOTE: You will have to re-install any software and updates you installed between now and the restore point, but you can use Windows Update for the updates.

I hope this helps.

Good luck!

tiflo · Nov 28, 2010

Hi guys,

sorry for the slow reply. I had replied but somehow it didn't post. So, to be clear. I hadn't done any updates. only word was installed. endnote had already been installed and, as far as i can tell, word had that problem from the start.

i then uninstalled and installed endnote again. the problem is still there. i've now downloaded all recent word updates, since i thought it might be related to something like that. but no luck.

i think as soon as the word window looses focus (e.g. from switching to another window), the cursor stops working. any other ideas (since system restore won't really help given that the problem occurred right after the word install)?

cheers!

Imperfect1 · Nov 28, 2010

This is a long shot, but what about updating your mouse driver? And by the way, what kind of mouse do you have?

niemiro · Nov 28, 2010

Does this happen on other accounts on the same computer?

tiflo · Nov 29, 2010

there is only one account (it's an admin account).

oh, and the mouse is a lenovo trackpoint (the build in red thingy in the middle of the keyboard in the thinkpad series)..

I've been able to pretty exactly pin point the problem now: the mouse works ok, until I press ENTER or insert a page/line break via the menu. At that moment it stops working. I've replicated that behavior. typing is fine as long as I don't press ENTER/insert a line break.

it's also ok to insert e.g. a figure, table, etc. - just not a line break.

again, this is only in word.

Florian

Lorien · Dec 2, 2010

Assuming that updating the device drivers for the mouse didn't work, create another user account (another administrator) and see if you have the same problem using Word with that account.

If so, your user account may be corrupted and may need to be repaired. To fix this use http://windows.microsoft.com/en-AU/windows-vista/Fix-a-corrupted-user-profile. If not, then I recommend you uninstall Word (or Office if it was part of a Suite) and then re-install it again to see if that resolves the problem.

I hope this helps.

Good luck!

tiflo · Dec 2, 2010

I've tried a whole bunch of additional things. The problem persists in Window 2007. It persists after reinstalling Endnote (though there is some key that apparently can't be removed from the machine). It persists after reinstalling the mouse/trackpoint driver.

I then followed your suggestion and created a new (admin) user account. Word seems to work in there. So maybe it's as you're suggested and my account is corrupted (although I had this problem before and then I reinstalled windows and got it again ....). is that the only interpretation?

The link you provided doesn't seem to work.

Lorien · Dec 3, 2010

Hi tiflo,

It probably isn't the only interpretation (though I can't come up with another that hasn't already been tried) - but since we know now that it isn't a problem with Word or Vista or Endnote (since it works with the other account), it is a very likely possibility and has a very good chance of fixing the problem. And it really isn't a long or complicated process - though perhaps a bit more than the link suggests after reviewing it again based on your comment (but still probably considerably less than you've already done in your efforts to resolve the issue). There's absolutely no reason to re-install Windows to fix this - and doing so will not guarantee that it won't happen again in any event (it sometimes - not often, but on occasion - just happens no matter how well you care for and maintain the system).

I've used and recommended that link for years with hundreds of people and this is the first time anyone has had a problem with it - I wonder if there is something more serious with your user profile than just this word problem. If you created a new administrator user account, you already did half of the link that I provided (though you may want another user account just to be on the safe side and you do need at least 3 accounts on the system for this to work so creating another account may be necessary). The remainder is essentially just moving information, files, and folders. What part of it is not working? Actually, I now see several problems and hope the following will fix whichever part might be causing you trouble. I can see I'm going to need to write up my own procedure rather than use this link anymore.

Are you unable to show hidden files and folders? If so, I see the problem (and I'm surprised now that others don't have it as well). Instead of what they suggest (you can't get to the My Documents folder because access is denied), go to Start / Control Panel / Folder Options / View and click Show hidden files and folders and uncheck the box to hide system or protected operating files. Save the changes and it will have accomplished that task.

What error do you get when you attempt to copy over the information? Is it the e-mail part that's the problem - if so, what e-mail program do you use (name and version)? I don't know how to help if I don't understand what isn't working. There are many ways to copy folders and files - and essentially whichever you are most familiar with should do the trick (two examples: after selecting, right click then click copy and move to the new account and right click and click paste; or hit CTRL-C to copy and CTRL-V to paste). Just make sure you exclude the three files they suggest not be moved. If you're a bit more specific about where you're having trouble, I'll do my best to assist you.

Are you having access denied problems? If so, go to the username folders (on both accounts - the old and the new in turn) and right click on them and click on properties and click the security tab. Add both usernames with full rights. Then click on advanced and do the same under the Special Permissions section at the bottom. When doing this, be sure to check the box to apply the changes to all sub-directories and files. That should resolve any access problems that might be happening.

I hope this helps.

Good luck!

tiflo · Dec 3, 2010

Hi Lorien,

I should have been clearer. All I meant is that the LINK you gave wasn't working yesterday. Apparently the servers were down or I had some local provider issue (though other websites worked). So I am working on your suggestion now. More later.

tiflo · Dec 4, 2010

So, I followed the guidelines in the post you forwarded me. First, I should mention that only then did I notice that I somehow landed in the Vista Forum, although my OS is Windows 7. Sorry! So maybe the rest won't be relevant. Just in case it is, I am summarizing my experience.

I found the instructions to fix user profiles for windows 7 (Fix a corrupted user profile) and followed those. here's the strange thing: at the beginning when i create a new account, the problem isn't there, but when i copy stuff over (except for the nt* files at the root of my user profile), the problem resurfaces. doesn't this mean that some file in my user profile related to something i installed causes the problem?

I should also mention that I had plenty of problems with sharing and security. by default many directories weren't readable and I followed you directions to change that. I followed your suggestions and made all subdirectories fully accessible to the relevant users. That solved the problem with almost all directories. I have one shortcut/link, "Local Settings", that never managed to copy it over. When I try to change the permissions for that file (being an admin) I just get an error message that this isn't possible.

As for my email program, that doesn't seem to be the problem. It works fine copying those files (Mozilla Thunderbird; Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 6.1; en-US; rv:1.9.2.12) Gecko/20101027 Thunderbird/3.1.6).

I am lost about what's going on, but in any case, your help has narrowed in down to something that is in the user profile, but NOT related to the three nt* files that one shouldn't copy.

Cheers

tiflo · Dec 4, 2010

I found it! After a lot of trial and error, I narrowed it down to a folder that seems to have been created by Lenova (my laptop is a lenovo x201 thinkpad). The folder was in C:\Users\[UserName]\AppData\Roaming\Lenovo. It contains two subfolders "Client Security Solutions" and "TSS". Both are empty for new profiles, but the former contained files. Client Security Solutions is a software by Lenovo that handles links to the built in security chip, as I understand it, including interactions with the finger print reader. After removing the contents of that folder, the finger print reader and other features continue to work and the problem with Word has vanished.

I've worked in very small steps, so I am sure this is it.

A while back I had to reinstall the Client Security Solutions software (prior to even installing word) because ZoneAlarm, which I was using back (not anymore) then kept crashing the computer and we figured out that ZoneAlarm and Client Security Solutions did not get along well. It seems that this caused some problem that somehow interacts with some feature of word.

Thanks, guys, for your pointers. and sorry again for posting in the wrong forum.

Lorien · Dec 4, 2010

Excellent work! Well done. I'm glad we were able to help - though we just provided the method (changing the user profile) - YOU found the true cause.

Thanks for letting us know and for the feedback - it is appreciated. It may help others with the same problem.

I will request that this thread be marked solved.

Good luck and best wishes!

niemiro · Dec 4, 2010

Really glad that your issue is finally solved! Vista and 7 are basically the same. Fixes and tutorials for one work for the other. It doesn't really matter which of those two OSs you have, because we are the same people providing the same instructions either side! Well done!

Richard

Solved Cursor not working Word after automatic update

New Member

My Computer

New Member

My Computer

New Member

My Computer

New Member

My Computer

My Computer

My Computer

Account Suspended

My Computer

My Computer

My Computer

Banned

My Computer

My Computer

Account Suspended

My Computer

My Computer

Account Suspended

My Computer

My Computer

My Computer

My Computer

Account Suspended

My Computer

Banned

My Computer