Microsoft Word Crashing Frequently on Mac OS X

Hi Anne -

Your friend Robb asked me to email you regarding some issues you’ve been experiencing with Microsoft Word on your Mac computer.

Two things come to mind.

1) Make sure you’re using the latest version of Microsoft Office – version 2008. 2004 and X weren’t particularly reliable & even less so on these newer Intel-Based Macs.

2) Make sure Microsoft Office has been patched. Microsoft constantly releases bug fixes issued through freely downloadable patches. You can obtain them two ways:

a) Open Microsoft Word and select ‘Check for Updates’ from the ‘Help’ menu. This will initiate the process to automatically download & install the patches. The steps are easy to follow. More information about this process is available here: http://www.microsoft.com/mac/help.mspx?CTT=PageView&clr=99-0-0&ep=7&target=ffe35357-8f25-4df8-a0a3-c258526c64ea1033 b) Download them manually. I wouldn’t recommend this method, but Office 2008 SP2 is available here. This update is the most critical. http://download.microsoft.com/download/C/5/3/C534F078-E9E8-4AAE-B845-AF88CD0FFC8E/Office2008-1220UpdateEN.dmg

We have found that without these updates, Microsoft Office is unreliable & crashes without warning. This has been noticed on both Mac OS 10.4, 10.5 & 10.6.

There is one other major glitch with Office (there are lots of little glitches, but that’s Microsoft for you) – None of the programs, especially Word, like long documents (ie + 50 pages). They have a hard time rendering & updating the pages quickly & as such are more prone to crash because of it. If possible, we recommend keeping documents as small as possible – even breaking up a novel into individual files, one per chapter.

Hope that information helps -

Best,

hunter greene Brainspiral Technologies, Inc.