Things to Try Before You Call Technical Support

Make sure that you have a printer installed.

Determine whether the behavior is document-specific.

Make sure that you are not using the Recover Text converter when you open the file.

Insert your document into another file.

Get an up-to-date virus scanner.

Start Word with the /a switch.

Empty the Startup folder.

Rename the global template.

Rename the Data key in the Windows registry.

Rename the Options registry key.

Check the printer driver.

Update the video driver.

Try to run in Safe mode (Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows 98, or Microsoft Windows 95) or VGA Mode (Microsoft Windows NT).

Remove and reinstall Microsoft Word or Microsoft Office.

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: