Slow Office file opening

I double click file it takes about 30 seconds to open, if I open it from file
menu, choose open and then select file from list it opens super fast.

This is NOT network releted problem

It doesn't matter is file on local computer or network.
It doesn't matter if network cable is unplugged or not.
It doesn't matter if NIC or TCP/IP is disabled or not
PDFs open without problems and any other non office files too.

Workstations are WindowsXP with servicepack 2

--
Ibe U

any virus scanners installed with realtime scanning enabled?

If the problem is ONLY when you double-click on a file to open it. the
problem is likely due to DDE. It can be fixed by reinstalling, OR this
workaround.

Go to Control Panel, Folder Options, File Types, scroll down to and
select (DOC for Word files) or XLS (for Excel files), click Advanced,
select Open entry, click the edit Button.
Now uncheck "Use DDE" and then put your cursor in the Application box,
arrow all the way to the right and put in "%1" (include the quote
marks), IF there is /dde remove it. Then OK you way out. Things should
work quickly again.

Guess I don't understand how this could be broken right out of the box. With
21 workstations to go back and modify - and 41 to modify as I install - it
doesn't make sense...??? But thanks for posting the fix...

No idea what you mean "right out of the box". Are you saying the vendor
shipped the PC's to you that way? If so what "3rd party" software was
installed after Office by the vendor?

Purchased Volume Licenses of 2007 Professional Plus (70 licenses to be exact)
to upgrade our office. Currently having the same problem with Access opening
existing databases - using a similar fix - File type recognition issue. I
have very little other software in our facility - Predominantly Microsoft XP
Pro (fully patched) on Dell machines, which I run quite lean. No active
directory as of yet - coming in February.

Been searching on google and the forums for a way to reinstall DDE and
haven't found it. Is it needed for anything or is more of a legacy type of
thing?

Is there anyway i can disable DDE through a group policy or globaly on a
system without having to change one file extension at a time per machine?

I don't know, you could prowl around in the registry in this location

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Word.Document.12\shell\New\command

Bob,
Thanks for the in-sight.
However, I have an similar problem that didn't go away after this fix.
I called DELL to get more memory (only they sell the memory that my machine
uses), and they asked what I was trying to accomplish with more memory. I
said I wanted Excel and Word to open faster. They took control of my machine
and changed some settings. Now instead of 5-10 seconds to open, it takes 3-4
minutes to open. I tried un-install and re-installing Office, but no change.
DELL suggests I re-install Windows. I don't want to do that, yet. I have
Windows XP Home Edition SP-3, and Office 2000 Pro. I thought I saw Dell
change a setting from 2000 to 200, but I don't know what it was. Any ideas?
Thanks, Bernie

I'm not convinced that Ibe U has done the fix correctly.

My Open setting is: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\EXCEL.EXE"
/e

I think Ibe U could try again using something like this: "C:\Program
Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\EXCEL.EXE" /e "%1" even though it doesn't
have the same switches (modifying the path as necessary), or post back and
show what that full line is so that this group can advise further.

This is a great thread - thanks to everyone who participated.

I'm running Office 2007 under Windows 7 Beta, and having the same
double-click problem. I checked in Win 7 and in Vista and the file
associations in these OSes has moved to the Control Panel Default Programs
dialogs. However, none of the program-related dialogs has a DDE option or
even a custom command-line option - it seems that all you can do is select
the registered application as-is, or not at all.

Is anyone aware of an equivalent fix that works in Vista/Windows 7? Thanks.

[gfsound]

Bump- Having the same issue with Windows 7 Professional, Office Pro Plus 2007. Same story, if I open word/excel and navigate to file, it opens right up. Problem is with double clicking a document - it takes sometimes as much as 15-20 seconds to open. Have tried repair install of Office, disabling ALL anti-virus/firewall, turning off wireless, logging off network- all to no avail. Just switched from XP where I was able to use the DDE fix, but cannot access that in 7.

Let's see......
September 25th, 2007, eh?
The techarena morons strike again.