Computer fell of the counter...Now Word doesn't work...

[Craddosk]

I have a question, this morning, my computer slipped off the counter, and fell (turned on) about 3 feet, landing on it's monitor, closed.

The computer functions almost perfectly. Seems to not have done much beyond a basic rattling.

However, there is one problem.
Microsoft Word (2004) does not function. It will open, and permit a few words to be type (occasionally), but that is it. This is a legit copy of Office, but the install discs are 800 km away.

I have tried switching the Microsoft User Data with an older backuped copy, but this doesn't do anything. What happens in Word is it will freeze, cause the beach ball of death, then crash, resulting in a screen offering "ignore" and "Report to Apple".

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in Advance.

Also, I now get SUID file in the Permissions repair (According to Apple, they are harmless), and my mouse button doesn't function like it's new.

 

[Overread]

Report to Apple?
so your running an emulating software to get word to run on a mac then.
The fall I would expect to cause physical damage, but no digital, so this problem could be with your emulation software

 

[Craddosk]

No, It's running Microsoft Word 2004, from Microsoft Office for Mac 2004. Unfortunately, Apple doesn't cover this type of damage, and it is outside it's warranty period anyway.

The weird thing is that all other Office applications (Excell, Powerpoint) work just fine.

 

[Lord_Nikon]

If all else fails, run Open Office

When the computer fell the head on the hard drive might have dinged a sector where word is stored.

 

[rmh159]

I could also be a case where when the PC fell (do Apple users get offended when you refer to a computer as a PC???) the drive head physically scratched the disc and that part of the disc is where MS Word was. I know in Windows there's a program that will look at the physical structure of the disc and if part of it is messed it'll attempt to the move that data to a safer part of the disc... not sure if Apple has something similar.

I also thought there was an accelerometer in Mac's so that if you dropped it the computer would realize it's falling and quickly pull the drive head out so it doesn't scratch the hard disks. Not sure though... I'm not an Apple guy. <fights the urge to say "I'm a PC"... wait... i just did>

 

[toofpaste]

Put it in the freezer for 2 hours.

 

[Craddosk]

I've check the file permissions, which just shows that the SUID files have been modified, and will not be repaired. According to an Apple bulleting, that's something to ignore.

The verify disk function using Disk Utility shows the HD as being in working order, so I don't know if the drive is actually damaged or not.

Hey, call it a PC, call it whatever you want, I'm not all that worried. I occasionally refer to it as a "Crapintosh" when it's not function due to my incompetence, so it's all good.

If only the freezer would perform such miracles......:hail:

Oh, and there is an accelerometer, from what I understand, but I don't know if it functions when the computer is shut down.

 

[toofpaste]

dude....freezer cures cancer.

 

[tasman]

Sounds like your harddrive is damaged by the fall. And most warranties will not cover and sort of misuse like that.

 

[Craddosk]

Sounds like your harddrive is damaged by the fall. And most warranties will not cover and sort of misuse like that.

Wouldn't that show up using the Verify disk in disk utility? Laptop is not under warranty, and I wouldn't even try claiming as such, as it was my fault. Would a damaged hard drive only affect the operation of a single program? Shouldn't it be a much larger problem?

 

[monkeykoder]

Not necessarily a single sector may have been the only thing damaged which would only affect whatever was written on that sector I don't know that that would cause the problem you're having but the freezer trick wouldn't work for that it only works for frozen bearings and such in the hard drive and should only be used as a last resort to get the data off.

 

[JohnMF]

maybe try unistalling word then reinstalling it

 

[mrodgers]

maybe try unistalling word then reinstalling it

This is a legit copy of Office, but the install discs are 800 km away.

.....

 

[Craddosk]

Figure this out, last night I changed the Office User Data, which did not work. So I tried finding a "different" copy of Office to see if it would fix the problem. Well, this afternoon, once it had downloaded, I tried my own (bought) copy of Word, which, while being slightly slow, now seems to work just fine. No clue what I did though.