WD2000: "Invalid Page Fault" Error Message When You Start Word 2000 (812138)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Word 2000

SYMPTOMS

When you start Word 2000, you may receive one of the following error messages:
Invalid Page Fault in module winword.exe at 015f:303e4fbd
Invalid Page Fault in module winword.exe at 015f:30410428

CAUSE

This issue may occur if a temporary file that is created by one of GoldMine Business Contact Manager's GoldMine templates, Gmlink.dot, still remains in the Word Startup folder. Because this temporary file does not contain complete file information and structure, it causes Word 2000 to fail with an "Invalid Page Fault" error message when Word 2000 tries to open the file.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, you must manually delete the temporary file from the Word Startup folder. To do so, follow these steps:
  1. Right-click Start, and then click Explore.
  2. On the Tools menu, click Folder options.
  3. Click the View tab, click Show hidden files and folders, and then click OK.
  4. Locate the following folder:

    C:\Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Word\Startup

  5. On the View menu, click Details, point to Arrange icons by, and then click Name.
  6. Click to select all files that start with the tilde (~) character, especially the ~$Gmlink.dot file.
  7. On the File menu, click Delete.
  8. Close the Windows Explorer window, and then start Word 2000.
If the issue still occurs, the Normal.dot file in Word 2000 may have been damaged because of the "Invalid Page Fault" error message. To determine if the Normal.dot file is damaged, start Word 2000 by using the /a switch on a command line. When you start Word 2000 by using the /a switch, Word 2000 uses the default settings for all options and prevents add-ins and global templates from being loaded. The /a switch permits you to start Word 2000 without loading 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 key in the Windows registry
Note When you start Word 2000 by using the /a switch, the changes that you make may affect any of these components. The changes are not written to the hard disk and are lost when you quit Word 2000.

To start Word 2000 by using the /a switch, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, click Run, and then click Browse.
  2. Use the Look in box to locate the Winword.exe file.
  3. Click the Winword.exe file, and then Click Open.

    Note Step 3 fills in the Open box that is in the Run dialog box.
  4. Click in the Open box after the Winword.exe file.

    Note The path to the Winword.exe file in the Run dialog box is enclosed in quotation marks. Make sure that you click to the right of the closing quotation mark.
  5. Type a space, and then type /a.

    The statement in the Open box looks similar to the following example:

    "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Winword.exe" /a

If Word 2000 starts correctly, rename the Normal.dot file to bypass the error message, and then create a new Normal.dot file.

Note When you rename the Normal.dot file template, you can quickly determine whether the Normal.dot file template is causing the issue. Renaming the Normal.dot file template also resets several options back to the default settings, including custom styles, custom toolbars, macros, and AutoText entries. For this reason, Microsoft strongly recommends that you rename the Normal.dot file.

MORE INFORMATION

Specific configurations may create more than one Normal.dot file. These situations include:
  • When multiple versions of Word are running on the same computer.
  • When several workstation installations exist on the same computer.
In these situations, make sure that you rename all copies of the Normal.dot file. To rename your global template (Normal.dot), follow the appropriate steps for your computer's operating system.

Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows 98, and Microsoft Windows NT 4.0

  1. Quit all versions of Word. If you use Word as your e-mail editor, make sure that you also quit Microsoft Outlook.
  2. Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files or Folders.
  3. In the Named box, type Normal.dot.
  4. In the Look in box, click your local hard disk or a different user template location if you are running Word 2000 from a network server.
  5. To search for the file, click Find Now.
  6. For each occurrence of the Normal.dot file that appears in the Find dialog box, right-click the file, and then click Rename.
  7. Give the file a new name, such as OldNormal.dot or Normal-1.dot, and then press ENTER.
  8. On the File menu, click Exit to close the Find dialog box, and then restart Word 2000 without using the /a switch.

Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me) and Microsoft Windows 2000

  1. Quit all versions of Word. If you use Word as your e-mail editor, make sure that you also quit Outlook.
  2. Click Start, point to Search, and then click Files or Folders.
  3. In the Search for files or folders named box, type Normal.dot.
  4. In the Look in box, click your local hard disk or a different user template location if you are running Word 2000 from a network server.
  5. To search for the file, click Search.
  6. For each occurrence of the Normal.dot file that appears in the Search dialog box, right-click the file, and then click Rename.
  7. Give the file a new name, such as OldNormal.dot or Normal-1.dot, and then press ENTER.
  8. On the File menu, click Close to close the Search dialog box, and then restart Word 2000 without using the /a switch.

Microsoft Windows XP

  1. Quit all versions of Word. If you use Word as your e-mail editor, make sure that you also quit Outlook.
  2. Click Start, and then click Search.
  3. Under What do you want to search for, click All files and folders.
  4. In the All or part of the file name box, type Normal.dot.
  5. In the Look in box, click your local hard disk or a different user template location if you are running Word 2000 from a network server.
  6. To search for the file, click Search.
  7. For each occurrence of the Normal.dot file that appears in the Search dialog box, right-click the file, and then click Rename.
  8. Give the file a new name, such as OldNormal.dot or Normal-1.dot, and then press ENTER.
  9. On the File menu, click Close to close the Search Results dialog box, and then restart Word 2000 without using the /a switch.
If Word starts correctly, you have resolved the problem.

In this case, the problem is a damaged Normal.dot template. You may have to change a few settings to restore your favorite options.

If the Normal.dot file that you renamed contains customizations, such as styles, macros, or AutoText entries that cannot be easily recreated, you may be able to copy those customizations from the old Normal.dot file to the new Normal.dot file by using the Organizer.

For more information about how to use the Organizer, click Microsoft Word Help on the Help menu, type organizer in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topics returned.

GoldMine Business Contact Manager is manufactured by Prior Analytics. If the issue persists when you use the GoldMine Contact Manager software and templates, contact Prior Analytics for support of their software. For more information about how to contact Prior Analytics, visit the following Prior Analytics Web site:

http://www.prior-analytics.com/services/support.html

Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information. The third-party products that are discussed in this article are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:1/6/2006
Keywords:kberrmsg kb3rdparty kbprb KB812138
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