Member Avatar for Greyhelm

I just setup a new Dell computer running Windows 7 64-bit copied over the data using Microsoft's Easy Transfer then installed Microsoft Office 2007. However, now when opening an existing Excel 2007 spreadsheet, Excel appears to hang for over a minute before any changes can be made.

Are there specific settings that need to be mande to ensure that Excel 2007 will respond normally? Word and Outlook both appear to be working fine and responding well.

One note, I did find that one of the two spreadsheets affected was being saved in the Excel 97-2003 format and I updated, thinking that it could have been the problem. However, both continue to be problematic. For reference, one of the spreadsheets just has data (no formulas, etc) and the other has a number of formulas, primarily =SUM.

Any help would be appreciated.

  • 3 Contributors
  • 6 Replies
  • 326 Views
  • 3 Weeks Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by Greyhelm

Dani AI

Generated

Because already confirmed the delay happens on migrated files and on a brand‑new tiny workbook (and Word/Outlook are fine, with no network drives involved), this points to an Excel startup/environment issue on that machine rather than workbook complexity or network latency.

As suggested, add‑ins and broken links are common suspects; the checklist below expands that to the less‑obvious causes that routinely produce the “Excel hangs for a minute” symptom (printer drivers, startup files, antivirus, COM add‑ins).

  • Start Excel in safe mode (excel.exe /safe or hold Ctrl while launching). If Excel opens quickly in safe mode, focus on add‑ins/startup files.
  • Disable COM add‑ins and Excel add‑ins (Office Button → Excel Options → Add‑Ins → Manage COM Add‑ins / Excel Add‑ins → Go) and retest.
  • Empty the XLSTART folders (C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\XLSTART and %appdata%\Microsoft\Excel\XLSTART) temporarily — any file there runs on startup.
  • Change the default printer to a local device (for example, Microsoft XPS Document Writer) — Excel queries the default printer on open and bad drivers/network printers often stall it.
  • Temporarily suspend real‑time antivirus scanning or add exclusions for .xls/.xlsx to test whether AV is slowing file open.
  • Run Office Diagnostics (Office Button → Excel Options → Resources → Diagnose) and, if needed, Repair via Control Panel → Programs and Features.
  • If the problem persists, perform a clean boot or test under a new Windows user profile to isolate third‑party services; collect an Event Viewer application log or a ProcMon trace for deeper analysis.

Typical fixes: starting in safe mode proves the cause quickly; disabling a single COM add‑in or switching the default printer often resolves it. If none of the above helps, the next step is a repair/reinstall with all Office updates applied.

Recommended Answers

All 6 Replies

Member Avatar for JorgeM

Is this happening only with existing files? Any problems when you create a new file? Network drives involved at any point here?

Member Avatar for Greyhelm

Network drives are not involved. This is happening to existing files and we have not tried creating new files yet.

Member Avatar for adam_k

Check what add-ins are loaded. I've had issues with addins after installing Excel 2007.
I can't remember if it was solved when I re-saved them as 2007 add-ins or not.

Member Avatar for Greyhelm

Okay, no clean install of Excel, there is nothing special about this spreadsheet and a new spreadsheet with <10 formulas (very simple =sum) is giving the same problem. Thanks for your input.

Member Avatar for adam_k

Does it have any hyperlinks? Especially ones that aren't valid? If you save an empty workbook and they try to open it, do you get the same delay?

Member Avatar for Greyhelm

I haven't tried a blank workbook yet. I'll try that and let you know.

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.