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

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For business | Windows

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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
    2023-02-11T20:46:01+00:00

    The folder is empty. There is nothing in it including hidden files.

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  2. 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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  3. Anonymous
    2023-02-13T12:06:19+00:00

    This is what is in File Locations. I see nothing with that extension,

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  4. Stefan Blom 353.5K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2023-02-13T12:31:14+00:00

    The File Locations dialog box will give you the path to the Startup folder, that is, the folder from which Word loads template files into memory on startup. Often you have to click Browse to see the whole path. This is just a way to confirm that you are looking in the correct place, in case the Startup path had been customized on your system.

    If you find that you have been looking in the correct place and there is still no sign of the template, you will have to consider the possibility that the template is loaded into memory because it is used as the document template for a document you are editing.

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