Excel causes system freeze

Thanks very much for your offer of help! At this point, though, we have
reported a bug to Apple and they've told us they are working on a fix for
it. Unfortunately, I don't know when they will release an update that fixes
the problem. Hopefully soon!

Pat


On 4/16/08 9:59 PM, in article ee8e637.47 RemoveThis @webcrossing.caR9absDaxw,
"gizmatage" <isad RemoveThis @mac.com> wrote:

> Hi Pat,
>
> I've been using Excel 2008 since last week with no issues, and half an hour
> ago I encountered the same issue the users here have. I did just check my
> Software Updates preference, and saw that just today, the "Leopard Graphics
> Update" was just installed today.
>
> I have Mac Book 2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, OSX 10.5.2, and do NOT have
> Parrallel installed. At the time this happened, I only had Entourage 2008,
> Safari, and Excel 2008 running.
>
> Let me know if there's any other information you want me to give you that
> might be of help.
>
> Cheers!
>
>> One question for anyone who's been encountering this issue: Has anyone run
>> into this issue who has *not* installed the "Leopard Graphics Update"?
>> (Check the Installed Updates tab in the system's Software Update pref.)
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Pat
>>
>>
>> On 06/03/2008 09:52, in article
>> 364235e3-614e-4a5b-95da-98198465fb0c RemoveThis @c33g2000hsd.googlegroups.com,
>> "usenetname@gmail.com" wrote:
>>
>>> On Mar 6, 8:39&#65533;am, thorga... RemoveThis @gmail.com wrote:
>>>> On 6 mrt, 01:13, Pat McMillan wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Thank you. Would you be able to send me a System Profile? It would be a
>>>>> big
>>>>> help in narrowing this down, since we have several systems here running
>>>>> Parallels and Excel 2008 and have not seen this. If so, please send to
>>>>> patmc... RemoveThis @microsoft.com.
>>>>
>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>
>>>>> Pat
>>>>
>>>>> On 05/03/2008 07:23, in article
>>>>> 958f0343-51ba-4616-86fd-e84295fb0... RemoveThis @s19g2000prg.googlegroups.com,
>>>>
>>>>> "thorga...@gmail.com" wrote:
>>>>>> Sorry, the other thread does not seem related to the problem : posters
>>>>>> in the other thread get random system freezes, I only get them with
>>>>>> Excel. Maximizing windows within Excel is mostly the problem, but also
>>>>>> adding to a custom menu bar caused a freeze here.
>>>>
>>>>>> System : Mac Pro with 10Gb ram / 8800GT / MS Office 2008
>>>>
>>>>>> Solution upon a freeze is hard reset. By the way : freeze means :
>>>>>> beachball of death, mouse still moves, but no forced quit possible.
>>>>
>>>>>> I'm hoping for a quick fix, cause I'm on the brink on going back to
>>>>>> office X here. My business cannot function on 3-4 freezes a day.
>>>>
>>>>>> On 3 mrt, 23:35, Pat McMillan wrote:
>>>>>>> Hi,
>>>>
>>>>>>> We are looking into the CGBitmapContextGetData: invalid context output
>>>>>>> to
>>>>>>> the console. But the system freeze looks like it may be an OS issue. You
>>>>>>> might want to check out this discussion:
>>>>
>>>>>>> <http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=6706148>
>>>>
>>>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>
>>>>>>> Pat
>>>>
>>>>>>> On 03/03/2008 18:47, in article
>>>>>>> 678153c7-38e1-49bc-b5cf-ec15d2273... RemoveThis @d62g2000hsf.googlegroups.com,
>>>>
>>>>>>> "gguba...@gmail.com" wrote:
>>>>>>>> Hi, same problem here... I found that symptoms appear more likely if I
>>>>>>>> open an xls saved with Excel 2000 rather than Excel 2008.
>>>>
>>>>>>>> OS X 10.5.2, all updates, MacBook Pro 2,6 GHz, 4 GB RAM
>>>>
>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>> Pat McMillan
>>>>>>> Macintosh Business Unit
>>>>>>> Microsoft Corp.
>>>>>>> This posting is provided &#65533;AS IS&#65533; with no warranties, and
>>>>>>> confers no
>>>>>>> rights.
>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> Pat McMillan
>>>>> Macintosh Business Unit
>>>>> Microsoft Corp.
>>

--
Pat McMillan
Macintosh Business Unit
Microsoft Corp.
This posting is provided ³AS IS² with no warranties, and confers no rights.
 >> Stay informed about: Excel causes system freeze 

Hi,

The problems you're reporting here don't sound like the system freeze
problems others are reporting. Would you be able to send me a system profile
and explain in more details exactly what behavior you're seeing? Also, it
would be helpful to know if you're experience the slowness and stalls in
other Office 2008 applications, or just in Excel.

Thanks,

Pat McMillan
patmcmil.RemoveThis@microsoft.com


On 4/13/08 3:59 PM, in article ee8e637.46.RemoveThis@webcrossing.caR9absDaxw,
"shenry@officeformac.com" <shenry.RemoveThis@officeformac.com> wrote:

> I have a similar problem. Excel is basically useless because it is so slow and
> stalls. I have Powerbook G4 with all OSX updates including the Leopard Graphic
> update. But I have ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 graphics. I can send you a system
> profile if you like.

--
Pat McMillan
Macintosh Business Unit
Microsoft Corp.
This posting is provided ³AS IS² with no warranties, and confers no rights.
 >> Stay informed about: Excel causes system freeze 

Hello everyone,

I own a brand new MacBook Pro with a Penryn processor, so a GeForce 8600M GT. And guess what!? I have exactly the same problem as reported: a nice system freeze when maximizing the document using the green button.

BUT WAIT... I HAVE FOUND A WORKAROUND!

Yes, after many tries and system freezes, I have found the exact steps to follow to change the default behavior of Excel when it opens a document, here they are:

1) Open Microsoft Word
2) Open Microsoft Excel
3) Open any existing XLS document, a simple one without macros, etc.
4) Change the size of the document window manually by dragging its lower right corner
5) Navigate through the document, do at least a Page Down then a Page Up
6) Click on the green button to maximize the document window
7) Close Excel
8) Close Word

After that, any Excel document will be opened into a maximized window by default and will not produce a system freeze. That's it!

FYI, I have reinstalled my system two times after having found this solution and it has worked each time. Also, here is how I have installed Office, note that I did not start any application before the final step:

1) Installation of Microsoft Office 2008
2) Reboot
3) Installation of the 12.0.1 update
4) Installation of the AutoUpdate 2.1.1 update
5) Reboot

I hope that all of you will fix this issue like I did... I cross my fingers for you! :smile:
 >> Stay informed about: Excel causes system freeze 

Pat you are right! I posted to the wrong thread. I will email an example file with the problem. Basically its when I try to make a simple line chart with froma data sheet with 622 rows by 13 columns of data. Pretty simple and worked fine in 2004 but in 2008 once the chart is FINALLY finished drawing (get the beachball for a long time) then if you try to do anything like open/close the gallery, resize the chart, even just select a menu Excel hangs for a long time (beachball). I will send you example file, samples of the running excel process using Activity Monitor and also the Profile of my system. Thanks.
> Hi,
>
> The problems you're reporting here don't sound like the system freeze
> problems others are reporting. Would you be able to send me a system profile
> and explain in more details exactly what behavior you're seeing? Also, it
> would be helpful to know if you're experience the slowness and stalls in
> other Office 2008 applications, or just in Excel.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Pat McMillan
> patmcmil DeleteThis @microsoft.com
>
>
> On 4/13/08 3:59 PM, in article ee8e637.46 DeleteThis @webcrossing.caR9absDaxw,
> "shenry@officeformac.com" wrote:
>
> > I have a similar problem. Excel is basically useless because it is so slow and
> > stalls. I have Powerbook G4 with all OSX updates including the Leopard Graphic
> > update. But I have ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 graphics. I can send you a system
> > profile if you like.
>
> --
> Pat McMillan
> Macintosh Business Unit
> Microsoft Corp.
> This posting is provided &#65533;AS IS&#65533; with no warranties, and confers no rights.
>
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: Excel causes system freeze 

That would be great. I'll watch for your mail and file.

Pat


On 4/20/08 3:20 PM, in article ee8e637.51 DeleteThis @webcrossing.caR9absDaxw,
"shenry@officeformac.com" <shenry DeleteThis @officeformac.com> wrote:

> Pat you are right! I posted to the wrong thread. I will email an example file
> with the problem. Basically its when I try to make a simple line chart with
> froma data sheet with 622 rows by 13 columns of data. Pretty simple and worked
> fine in 2004 but in 2008 once the chart is FINALLY finished drawing (get the
> beachball for a long time) then if you try to do anything like open/close the
> gallery, resize the chart, even just select a menu Excel hangs for a long time
> (beachball). I will send you example file, samples of the running excel
> process using Activity Monitor and also the Profile of my system. Thanks.
>> Hi,
>>
>> The problems you're reporting here don't sound like the system freeze
>> problems others are reporting. Would you be able to send me a system profile
>> and explain in more details exactly what behavior you're seeing? Also, it
>> would be helpful to know if you're experience the slowness and stalls in
>> other Office 2008 applications, or just in Excel.
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Pat McMillan
>> patmcmil DeleteThis @microsoft.com
>>
>>
>> On 4/13/08 3:59 PM, in article ee8e637.46 DeleteThis @webcrossing.caR9absDaxw,
>> "shenry@officeformac.com" wrote:
>>
>>> I have a similar problem. Excel is basically useless because it is so slow
>>> and
>>> stalls. I have Powerbook G4 with all OSX updates including the Leopard
>>> Graphic
>>> update. But I have ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 graphics. I can send you a
>>> system
>>> profile if you like.
>>
>> --
>> Pat McMillan
>> Macintosh Business Unit
>> Microsoft Corp.
>> This posting is provided &#65533;AS IS&#65533; with no warranties, and
>> confers no rights.
>>
>>
>>

--
Pat McMillan
Macintosh Business Unit
Microsoft Corp.
This posting is provided ³AS IS² with no warranties, and confers no rights.
 >> Stay informed about: Excel causes system freeze 

Hello,

I can confirm the Excel freezes.
On two Macbook Pro's running MacOSX 10.5.2 I have encountered the same problem: complete system freeze on opening Excel files and also when maximizing the window.
In one occasion the problem seemed to be solved after flushing the fontcaches.
 >> Stay informed about: Excel causes system freeze 

Nico_Bos RemoveThis @officeformac.com wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I can confirm the Excel freezes.
> On two Macbook Pro's running MacOSX 10.5.2 I have encountered the same problem: complete system freeze on opening Excel files and also when maximizing the window.
> In one occasion the problem seemed to be solved after flushing the fontcaches.

Hi Nico,

Microsoft has hinted that a service update is on the horizon for Office
2008. Is that the version of Office that you are running? If so, use
Help > Check for updates once or twice a week so that you get the update
as soon as it is released (could be a while before it comes out, who
knows?) Whether the update fixes your problem or not, please reply with
a follow-up message with the results.

If you are using Office 2004 make sure that your copy of office is up to
date. There have been many updates. Use Help > Check For Updates and
keep checking until you have installed all of the updates.

-Jim

--
Jim Gordon
Mac MVP

MVPs are independent experts who are not affiliated with Microsoft.
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
 >> Stay informed about: Excel causes system freeze 

I know that there is no official fix yet... but did someone try my workaround posted 5 posts above?

Just to confirm that it does work because you could forget about system freezes while Microsoft works on this issue.
 >> Stay informed about: Excel causes system freeze 

On Apr 28, 8:27 am, fontace <font... RemoveThis @skynet.be> wrote:
> I know that there is no official fix yet... but did someone try my workaround posted 5 posts above?
>
> Just to confirm that it does work because you could forget about system freezes while Microsoft works on this issue.

Like many others here I am having repeated problems with Excel
freezing when trying to maximise or re-size the screen. System is a
new MacBook Pro running OSX 10.5.2 and Office 2004.
I've tried this workaround from fontace - unfortunately it didn't work
for me. I'd be interested to know if anyone else has had any success
(or otherwise) with this suggestion. If others get it to work I'll try
it a few more times.
I've also tried re-installing Office, setting up new user profiles, re-
installing OSX.
Frequently I change something (re-installing, changing the dock
settings, only using previously saved workbooks...) and for a few
minutes I think it's worked but then the same old freeze. Any
workaround that seems to give an improvement may last a short while
but then gets worse again - almost like a virus.
I've contacted both Apple and Microsoft. Apple weren't interested -
it's not their problem! Microsoft have been very helpful and at least
score some points for attempting a good customer service but have no
fix.
Any more bright (or dim) ideas out there? A sledgehammer or the office
window may be my next attempt at a fix.

- Dave
 >> Stay informed about: Excel causes system freeze 

On 4/30/08 9:57 AM, in article
3237de01-e2e2-4d8b-8279-a25591771580 DeleteThis @x41g2000hsb.googlegroups.com,
"dave.tmccl@googlemail.com" <dave.tmccl DeleteThis @googlemail.com> wrote:

> On Apr 28, 8:27 am, fontace <font... DeleteThis @skynet.be> wrote:
>> I know that there is no official fix yet... but did someone try my workaround
>> posted 5 posts above?
>>
>> Just to confirm that it does work because you could forget about system
>> freezes while Microsoft works on this issue.
>
> Like many others here I am having repeated problems with Excel
> freezing when trying to maximise or re-size the screen. System is a
> new MacBook Pro running OSX 10.5.2 and Office 2004.
> I've tried this workaround from fontace - unfortunately it didn't work
> for me. I'd be interested to know if anyone else has had any success
> (or otherwise) with this suggestion. If others get it to work I'll try
> it a few more times.
> I've also tried re-installing Office, setting up new user profiles, re-
> installing OSX.
> Frequently I change something (re-installing, changing the dock
> settings, only using previously saved workbooks...) and for a few
> minutes I think it's worked but then the same old freeze. Any
> workaround that seems to give an improvement may last a short while
> but then gets worse again - almost like a virus.
> I've contacted both Apple and Microsoft. Apple weren't interested -
> it's not their problem! Microsoft have been very helpful and at least
> score some points for attempting a good customer service but have no
> fix.
> Any more bright (or dim) ideas out there? A sledgehammer or the office
> window may be my next attempt at a fix.
>
> - Dave
These are known issues. Microsoft is aware of them. Expect some changes and
fixes when an update is released. Make sure you have autoupdate set to check
for updates. Also periodically check Mactopia for the latest news.

--
Bob Greenblatt [MVP], Macintosh
bobgreenblattATmsnDOTcom
 >> Stay informed about: Excel causes system freeze 

I was having the same issue on a new MacBook Pro running Mac Office 2008. I found most of the files causing the issue were 2004 or earlier and when trying to maximize, system would freeze. I started saving the files upon opening into the latest Office format (.xlsx) and the maximizing issues went away.

> Excel is causing the whole system to freeze -- requiring a restart. Seems to be related to maximizing the document window.
>
> MacBook Pro 15" C2D 2GB RAM
> MacOS X 10.5.2
>
> We have:
> - archive / installed OSX
> - applied all OS updates
> - reinstalled Office 2008
> - repaired permissions
>
> Problem is reproducible, though not every time.
>
> While Excel is running, we see the following message repeated in the log multiple times per second:
>
> 2/21/08 5:15:22 PM Microsoft Excel[214] CGBitmapContextGetData: invalid context
>
> Right before the freeze, we usually get the following message one or more times in the log:
>
> 2/21/08 4:57:25 PM kernel NVChannel(GL): Graphics channel timeout!
 >> Stay informed about: Excel causes system freeze 

That's of no help when you need to share Excel files with those who
CANNOT open .xlsx format.

I've been waiting for a fix since January and have reverted 100% to
2004. All the other 2008 Office apps are fine and stable.

- Jim


On May 2, 4:48 pm, "D McClain" <dan2....TakeThisOut@cox.net> wrote:
> I was having the same issue on a new MacBook Pro running Mac Office 2008. I found most of the files causing the issue were 2004 or earlier and when trying to maximize, system would freeze. I started saving the files upon opening into the latest Office format (.xlsx) and the maximizing issues went away..> Excel is causing the whole system to freeze -- requiring a restart. Seems to be related to maximizing the document window.
>
> > MacBook Pro 15" C2D 2GB RAM
> > MacOS X 10.5.2
>
> > We have:
> > - archive / installed OSX
> > - applied all OS updates
> > - reinstalled Office 2008
> > - repaired permissions
>
> > Problem is reproducible, though not every time.
>
> > While Excel is running, we see the following message repeated in the log multiple times per second:
>
> > 2/21/08 5:15:22 PM Microsoft Excel[214] CGBitmapContextGetData: invalid context
>
> > Right before the freeze, we usually get the following message one or more times in the log:
>
> > 2/21/08 4:57:25 PM kernel NVChannel(GL): Graphics channel timeout!
 >> Stay informed about: Excel causes system freeze 

On May 2, 9:48 pm, "D McClain" <dan2....RemoveThis@cox.net> wrote:
> I was having the same issue on a new MacBook Pro running Mac Office 2008. I found most of the files causing the issue were 2004 or earlier and when trying to maximize, system would freeze. I started saving the files upon opening into the latest Office format (.xlsx) and the maximizing issues went away..
>
> > Excel is causing the whole system to freeze -- requiring a restart. Seems to be related to maximizing the document window.

Have tried saving files as .xlsx but unfortunately (and inevitably)
the freeze issue remains. Also, I think I was having the problem
before I reverted to using .xls files.
Spoke to someone from microsoft yesterday who assures me they have
booted this up the priority ladder and are taking it seriously.

- Dave
 >> Stay informed about: Excel causes system freeze