Error: The last time you opened BasicSimple.dotx, it caused a serious error

Anonymous
2023-01-28T14:48:37+00:00

When I am typing in Word, I will hover the mouse over the toolbar and spin the wheel and as it goes back to the right toolbar (Home for example from view) I get this error: Error: "The last time you opened BasicSimple.dotx, it caused a serious error. Do you still want to open it?"

I do not understand why it keep popping up only when i spin the scroll wheel when i am trying to switch between toolbar menus. Any advice?

Moderator's note: BasicSimple.dotx is a built-in [Quick] Style Set.

[Quick] Style Sets and Word Themes in Microsoft Word

[Quick] Style Sets

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Anonymous
2023-07-24T15:55:25+00:00

Can you please give me a step by step description of what you did. I am the one who created this thread and so far nothing I have tried or seen here has worked. I still get the same error.

Hi sidscrat,

Your Normal.dotm file should be at this locaition: C:\UserName\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates.

Rename Normal.dotm to Normal.dotm_old or something similar. After that, restart the computer.

That process seemed to fix the issue for some of us.

James

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  1. Anonymous
    2023-03-03T05:49:39+00:00

    Yes I do. This must have something to do with an update and will go away when they do one to fix the issue. `

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  2. Anonymous
    2023-02-14T20:01:45+00:00

    I am not able to replicate the issue now. In our case, it is not caused by scrolling the wheel. It is happening to multiple documents and when it does it, it doesn't stop at BasicSimple.dotx, we also get follow up windows for BWCapitalized.dotx, BWNumbered.dotx, Word2013BW.dotx, Casual.dotx, & Centered.dotx.

    The only thing that is similar in all cases, is the files are synced to SharePoint.

    We've looked at the Com Add-ins and the Startup folder. We ran an Online Repair yesterday, but the problem persisted. I'll try and delete the Normal folder and report back tomorrow.

    I don't want to hijack this thread, but I think the error is similar enough that I'll post some of my findings here as they come up.

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  3. Stefan Blom 353.5K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2023-02-12T09:53:38+00:00

    Thanks for the follow-up.

    Since the Startup folder is empty, the template is loaded into memory in some other way. (Just in case, you can verify that %appdata%\Microsoft\Word\Startup is defined as the Startup folder for Word on your system. In Word, go to File > Options > Advanced > File Locations.)

    See if a document you are using frequently is based on BasicSimple.dotx.

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  4. Stefan Blom 353.5K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2023-02-03T08:04:07+00:00

    If it appears to be document-specific, check if the document is based on a template by that name.

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