Re: Slow Mac Word 2004 - a possible solution?

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Pitch <pitchblackcoffee@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Regarding the speed of Word 2004, I've done some experimenting. Since I
> write every day in Word, speeding it up has been important for me. I am
> a stickler for keeping everything updated, so everything mentioned
> below is the latest version.
>
> Here's the base of my experiment:
> I have a G5 2Ghz, with 2.5 Gigs of Samsung original Mac RAM. I did a
> fresh install of 10.3.8, then reinstalled Office 2004, and the update.
> I then ran the following diagnostic and maintenance programs:
> DiskWarrior
> TechTools Pro
> Onyx
>
> After running the above, I repaired permissions one more time.
>
> I have no extra fonts installed anywhere on my Mac, other than what
> Word installed.
> I turned off Spelling, Grammar, all toolbars (*all* toolbars), all
> autocorrect features, Status bar, all Nonprinting characters and
> everything under the "Show" menu in the Prefs.
>
> I then took a document that I use quite daily (my "Master ToDo" list)
> which had 9,600 characters (including spaces). I copied it into text
> edit to remove any and all formatting. I then trashed the Normal
> template, opened a new Word document, and pasted the nonformatted 9600
> characters into this new document.
>
> Then, using the absolute default settings for H1, H2, H3, H4, and
> Normal, I set the document to Outline, and formatted this to-do list.
>
> I then quit Word, quit all the programs, ran permissions one more time,
> restarted my Mac, and opened up this Word document to test it.
>
> The results? In Outline view, this 10-page document took paused a full
> one second in order to scroll down. Scrolling back up was
> instantaneous, but scrolling down took a full 1 second each and every
> time.
> Bolding was a trip. I highlight a word, hit Command-B, and voilà,
> another 1 second pause. Italics (Command-I) was a little less of a
> pause.
>
> For me, and what I use Word for, that's enough. I don't use a whole lot
> of other features. These pauses are enough to drive someone crazy.
> Again: look at the machine I'm running. This is a very, very fast
> Macintosh. One of the top personal computers in the world. And yet,
> with only Word 2004 running, I get these kinds of pauses. All day long.

This is an excellent description of the phenomenon. Can you post this
document somewhere so that we can all perform exactly the same text? m.

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