Outlook freezing when Word used as editor ...

[zcacogp]

Chaps,

I have recently upgraded from Outlook Express to Outlook, on both my lappie and desktop. The laptop is an ultra-portable little IBM, slow as they come but works just as it should.

The desktop on the other hand doesn't. If you set the message editor in Outlook to be Word, it freezes when you try to create a new message or reply to an existing message. It doesn't always do this; sometimes it will work OK for a couple of days and then start freezing again. Changing the editor back to the built-in one makes everything OK again.

The funny thing is, when it does this it produces a small message in the middle of the screen saying "Starting Word as your Email editor", and then the processor load increases dramatically. It goes all the way up to 100%, and stays there. You need to Ctrl/Alt/Del to kill Outlook, and then the processor load drops back down to normal.

Anyone any ideas? (PC is home-built, about 18 months ago, running Win 2000 pro and Office XP. Everything else is as it should be.)


Oli.

[roadsweeper]

Hi

I experienced the same problem myself but I'm afraid I don't have a proper solution for it - I just stopped using Word as the editor and then got rid of Outlook.

I would suggest looking at Microsoft's web page as there may well be a fix out there. Alternatively, try reinstalling those two products.

Sorry I can't help more.

roadie.

[zcacogp]

roadsweeper said:

Hi I experienced the same problem myself but I'm afraid I don't have a proper solution for it - I just stopped using Word as the editor and then got rid of Outlook. I would suggest looking at Microsoft's web page as there may well be a fix out there. Alternatively, try reinstalling those two products. Sorry I can't help more. roadie.

Roadie,

Thanks for your comments. What do you now use instead of Outlook?

Microsoft are not very helpful. There is little on the website. A Google search reveals a couple of entries on forums around the world from people with the same problem, but no-one has yet posted a solution.

Re-installation is the next step.

Thanks for your help.


Oli.

[spivvy]

this seems to be a common problem ,when using word as an editor it may be a resource problem as you are calling word from outlook ,i don't think there is a fix


2 things you can do

make sure word/office is fully patched and service packed
and try again

or switch to rich text formatting in outlook (set in tools)it is quicker and handles most things

[zcacogp]

spivvy said:

this seems to be a common problem ,when using word as an editor it may be a resource problem as you are calling word from outlook ,i don't think there is a fix 2 things you can do make sure word/office is fully patched and service packed and try again or switch to rich text formatting in outlook (set in tools)it is quicker and handles most things

Spivvy,

Thanks for the comments.

I am inclined to doubt that it is a recource problem, as it all works very nicely on the laptop (1.1gig processor, 128mb RAM) and yet comes a cropper on the desktop (3.2gig processor, 1gb RAM). I suspect that it is calling some never-terminating process, which eats up the processor runtime and effectively stalls outlook.

The whole lot is fully service packed and patched (downloads from microsoft weekly) and this hasn't made much difference.

It looks like the RTF editor in Outlook has to be the answer ...

Thanks anyway.


Oli.

[gopher]

Oli

I had a similar problem with my machine in that it froze when moving large chunks of memory. (Oulook is n ot small and neither is word) It started happening after I went from 512 - to 1gb memory. The solution was to up the memory voltage (1 step at a time) in the bios - 2 steps up and the problem never re-occurred. This may also explain the DVD issue and as such may be worth ago.

Cheers

Paul

[zcacogp]

gopher said:

Oli I had a similar problem with my machine in that it froze when moving large chunks of memory. (Oulook is n ot small and neither is word) It started happening after I went from 512 - to 1gb memory. The solution was to up the memory voltage (1 step at a time) in the bios - 2 steps up and the problem never re-occurred. This may also explain the DVD issue and as such may be worth ago. Cheers Paul

Paul,

Now that *is* interesting. Upping the memory voltage? How do you do that? I've never even heard of it - you mean that the memory doesn't work on a standard voltage?

How do I set about chaging that then? (I'm not sure what BIOS I have, although I think it's PhoenixBios.)


Oli.

[gopher]

I'm not too sure about calculating the voltage requirements for memory, the advice was given to me by a hardware engineer I know who was comming across the problem as more and more people were getting memory upgrades. It seems the problem occurs more often when 2 or sticks are involved.

As for upping it...

When you boot up you will see a message such as "press F2 to enter setup" - they key is usually F2 or Delete.

You will then see a (usually) blue screen with a number of options - If you have not been into the bios before I would be very careful - Use your motherboard manual if you are unsure - and if supported you will see in one of the menu options an option for memory or DDR voltage. Select this (usually by pressing enter) and choose a new value.

It may be worth you posting on here which make and model motherboard you have.

Cheers

Paul

Good luck

[zcacogp]

Paul,

Thanks again for posting.

The machine is built in a Shuttle box (small silver thing) - built by a friend, with my watching and offering tea at judicious intervals. I am therefore not sure which motherboard it is, but do know it is the motherboard which came with the box (ready-installed.) Could it be Nvidia?

I did a google search on "Phoenix BIOS Memory Voltage" and got a very interesting site which seemed to talk me through it. However, when I then turned the machine off and on again and pressed "Del" to enter the BIOS, there wasn't any option to change the memory voltage. (You could see what it was at that time, but not change it.) Hence, I am about to go back to the site and look again ...

You are quite correct, there are two sticks of memory in it.


Oli.

ETA: The site with the apparent details is this:

www.benscustomcases.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=752&Itemid=40&limit=1&limitstart=2

>> Edited by zcacogp on Wednesday 20th April 17:10

[gopher]

This is the same System my Mrs has got so I'll take a look when I get home, however I think this is the screen you are looking for
Ram Voltage

Cheers

Paul

[zcacogp]

... update again.

Having re-read that site, and looked again at my BIOS, I have decided that he is talking about something different. While the screenshots look similar, I don't have a section in my BIOS called "Ratio/Voltage Control", and therefore cannot access all the bits he is talking about in there.

Perhaps I have an older/not-so-smart version of Phoenix BIOS.

However, this sounds like an interesting option, and I'll see if I can find anything else (via Google) which may help show how to up the memory voltage.

Thanks again for your posts. All help thus far greatly appreciated ... and any more appreciated as well!


Oli.

[zcacogp]

gopher said:

This is the same System my Mrs has got so I'll take a look when I get home, however I think this is the screen you are looking for Ram Voltage Cheers Paul

Paul,

You are quite right - it is. But I can't find this anywhere in my BIOS.

(Am I being thick? This is a strong possibility I tell myself. Are there different levels of BIOS access, perhaps, and I am only going in at "Noddy" level, whereas I need "Wizard" level, or something like this???)


Oli.

[gopher]

It seems my Wife's pc does have this option, so it seems you may have an earlier revision - it may be worth you looking to see if there is a bios update available.

If not - try running the pc with only 1 slot at a time and see if it works with with just one - this will help point to a faulty stick.

Cheers

Paul

[zcacogp]

gopher said:

It seems my Wife's pc does have this option, so it seems you may have an earlier revision - it may be worth you looking to see if there is a bios update available.

Thanks very much for looking. I appreciate it. Out of interest, when was your wife's PC built/bought? Mine goes back about 18 months (I think, although it may be older.)

Would BIOS upgrades be done in software or would I be needing another chip? (As in, could I download it, or is it more complex than this?)

gopher said:

If not - try running the pc with only 1 slot at a time and see if it works with with just one - this will help point to a faulty stick.

Interesting idea. When it boots, it does a memory test, and it all passes. However, I have been told that this memory test on boot is not a very through thing, so it may not be telling me much.


Oli.

[gopher]

zcacogp said:

Thanks very much for looking. I appreciate it. Out of interest, when was your wife's PC built/bought? Mine goes back about 18 months (I think, although it may be older.)

I built it about 12 months ago, the time difference may be indicative.

zcacogp said:

Would BIOS upgrades be done in software or would I be needing another chip? (As in, could I download it, or is it more complex than this?)

You should be able to download it, try the shuttle site - if there is an update available they will usually give instructions on how to do it . I would try the swapping of modules first.

Cheers

Paul

[roadsweeper]

zcacogp said:

Roadie, Thanks for your comments. What do you now use instead of Outlook?

Hi Oli

I use Mozilla Thunderbird. As a pure email client I find it much more powerful and secure than Outlook, but it doesn't have all the calendar/notes/tasks functionality and integration so if you're using that part of Outlook Thunderbird is probably not suitable.

Good luck.

roadie.

[zcacogp]

gopher said:

I built it about 12 months ago, the time difference may be indicative.

I suspect it may well be. I wonder when they swapped over? Mine claims to be Phoenix BIOS V6.00pg.

gopher said:

You should be able to download it, try the shuttle site - if there is an update available they will usually give instructions on how to do it . I would try the swapping of modules first.

I didn't think of trying the shuttle site - that's a good idea. Thanks again. Yes, I'll try the memory module swap trick.

Roadie,

Someone else was recommending the Mozilla client to me today - it may be worth a look. However, I would still like to have my PC working as well as it can (having the kit and not having full benefit from it irks me!)

Thanks again for the input.


Oli.