Images causing MS Word to crash

MarcYamaha · 09-15-2005, 11:28 PM

A while back, Jimmex posted this problem:

Quote:

I've a prob thats been bugging me for months and wonder if anyone has come across this and has any ideas how to cure it.

I work as a translator and regularly work on fairly large documents (400 pages plus) which usually have loads of sections (like a new section every 3 or 4 pages) basically of text but which incorporate a number of imported full page size images - usually brought in as jpeg format. I find when I open such a document and then scroll through it fairly quickly to a page containing an image - a) the image seems to take a longish time to load and sometimes causes word to crash b) if I accidently select the page before the image has appeared word almost always crashes.

I also find this problem occurrs frequently when I use images within tables.

Ive tried various Office installations - currently Im using Office 2000 Premium, but Ive had the same problem using Office XP and Office 2003 beta. Ive also tried running under different OS - currently Im using WinXP SP1 but ran on Win2000 for a long while with the same probs.

I wonder if I dont have enough available memory for Word but truth is Im not sure....

My PC setup is as follows: Athlon XP 1.8, 256 DDR, Asus A7V8X mobo, 80 Gb Seagate Barracuda drive, Nvidia (Siluro) 64 Mb GF4 Ti4200 video card running double monitors (extended desktop mode).

Appreciate any comments that might throw some light on this -

btw - this is bugging me so much Im thinking of switching to Star Office!!

thanx
/Jimmex

Funnily enough I'm doing the exact same job, and am encountering the exact same problem. Has anyone else encounted and solved this? Am becoming rather despeate as this problem is costing me money.

Thanks in advance,

Marc

hopper · 09-16-2005, 06:19 AM

I have never seen that thread. Lets assume you are working with similar files, and a similar PC setup. 400 pages + with heavy graphics is an absolutely huge Word file. I can't even fathom how many megs such a file would be. The resolution (size) of the jpegs also affects this behavior. I make training files with multiple screenshots, and it is fairly normal for the graphic to take a few seconds to appear. This is worse when scolling. Graphics appear faster if you use "Page Up" (or Down), or GoTo (page).

I would say it is a memory issue. 256mg on XP is not enough memory for working with these types of files. 512 to 1 Gb for sure. The graphics card/graphics memory looks OK.

The best resolution is to break up the files if they are 400 pages. Word is not necessarily intended for publishing books. If the files can't be broken into smaller pieces, perhaps some more specialized software is what you need. I use Adobe PageMaker alot, and it has alot of book publishing related tools. I haven't worked with files of that size with it, and I'm sure you would need more RAM to work with that too. But definitely increase the memory and give it a try.

I don't know if I'm generalizing your issue, but I hope this helps.

Ironically enough, I am also -
Marc

MarcYamaha · 09-18-2005, 07:04 AM

Hey there Marc,

Thanks for the help, and sorry for being tardy in my reply. I should have put more detail in. My current system:

P4 2.8 1Gb ram, Radeon 9600Pro 256 mb running dual monitors, using Windows XP pro and Office 2003 pro.

It does this even on small files, and the particular one I am having the most problems with is only 40 pages long, using screenshots I have cut down to Jpegs...

hopper · 09-18-2005, 09:59 AM

Hi again Marc,

I was basing my comments on the previous posters system. Yours, on the other hand, should have no problems in that regard. What is the exact size of the 40 page file?

**Glaswegian** · 09-19-2005, 02:42 AM

Hi

Have a look here and see if any of the suggestions will help

http://www.officearticles.com/word/a...osoft_word.htm

Regards

MarcYamaha · 09-22-2005, 05:13 AM

Well, I tried a lot of the solutions on those pages, but nothing seems to work. I've run out of time and have been forced to switch to open office. Thank you all for your help!

09-19-2005, 02:42 AM	#5 (permalink)
Glaswegian Moderator/ Rangemaster TSF Academy; Analyst, Security Team; Oor Wullie; TSF Surgeon and Resident Comic Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Glasgow Posts: 25,481 OS: Win XP Pro SP3 / Win 7 Pro My System Blog Entries: 10	Hi Have a look here and see if any of the suggestions will help http://www.officearticles.com/word/a...osoft_word.htm Regards __________________ Iain - Defender of the Haggis and all things Scottish. I don't help by PM - post in the Forums. PC Safety & Security::PC running a bit slow?::Donate::Photographers Corner

09-16-2005, 06:19 AM	#2 (permalink)
hopper Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 169 OS: XP / Ubuntu 6.10	I have never seen that thread. Lets assume you are working with similar files, and a similar PC setup. 400 pages + with heavy graphics is an *absolutely huge* Word file. I can't even fathom how many megs such a file would be. The resolution (size) of the jpegs also affects this behavior. I make training files with multiple screenshots, and it is fairly normal for the graphic to take a few seconds to appear. This is worse when scolling. Graphics appear faster if you use "Page Up" (or Down), or GoTo (page). I would say it is a memory issue. 256mg on XP is not enough memory for working with these types of files. 512 to 1 Gb for sure. The graphics card/graphics memory looks OK. The best resolution is to break up the files if they are 400 pages. Word is not necessarily intended for publishing books. If the files can't be broken into smaller pieces, perhaps some more specialized software is what you need. I use Adobe PageMaker alot, and it has alot of book publishing related tools. I haven't worked with files of that size with it, and I'm sure you would need more RAM to work with that too. But definitely increase the memory and give it a try. I don't know if I'm generalizing your issue, but I hope this helps. Ironically enough, I am also - Marc

09-18-2005, 07:04 AM	#3 (permalink)
MarcYamaha Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 3 OS: XP	Hey there Marc, Thanks for the help, and sorry for being tardy in my reply. I should have put more detail in. My current system: P4 2.8 1Gb ram, Radeon 9600Pro 256 mb running dual monitors, using Windows XP pro and Office 2003 pro. It does this even on small files, and the particular one I am having the most problems with is only 40 pages long, using screenshots I have cut down to Jpegs...

09-18-2005, 09:59 AM	#4 (permalink)
hopper Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 169 OS: XP / Ubuntu 6.10	Hi again Marc, I was basing my comments on the previous posters system. Yours, on the other hand, should have no problems in that regard. What is the exact size of the 40 page file?

09-22-2005, 05:13 AM	#6 (permalink)
MarcYamaha Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 3 OS: XP	Well, I tried a lot of the solutions on those pages, but nothing seems to work. I've run out of time and have been forced to switch to open office. Thank you all for your help!