Notepad Appears to Hang When You Open Large Files (314235)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
  • Microsoft Windows XP Professional
This article was previously published under Q314235

SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to use Notepad to open a large text file, Notepad may seem to stop responding (hang). If you attempt to close Notepad, one of the following error messages may appear:
  • NOTEPAD.EXE has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience.
    You choose to end the nonresponsive program, Notepad.
If you view the data that is contained in the error report, one of the following sets of detailed error signature information may be displayed: 
   App Name      App Version   Module Name    Module Version   Offset
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
   NOTEPAD.EXE   5.1.2600.0    Kernel32.dll   5.1.2600.0       00017df0
   NOTEPAD.EXE   5.1.2600.0    various        various          various

CAUSE

This behavior may occur if Windows determines that Notepad has stopped responding (hung) when it is trying to open a large file.

WORKAROUND

To work around this behavior use one of the following methods:

Method 1

Wait until Notepad finishes opening the file, and then quit Notepad.

Method 2

Use Wordpad to open large text files. To do so, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Wordpad.
  2. On the File menu, click Open.
  3. In the Files of type box, click Text Documents (*.txt).
  4. In the Look in box, browse to the location of the text file that you want to open.
  5. In the list of files, click the text file that you want to open, and then click Open.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:11/4/2003
Keywords:kbenv kberrmsg kbprb kbProd2Web kbui KB314235
©2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.