Macro Virus for Microsoft Word 2003?

Question

Whenever I try to open a saved Word document (or even a PowerPoint), the file doesn't open and I get the following message:

"The file ____ is not available.

You may be encountering this message because an anti-virus program is not allowing the file to open. This can be caused by one of two conditions. Either the anti-virus program needs to be updated (due to a compability problem with this application) or there is a virus in the file but the anti-virus program cannot properly remove or process the virus it has found....etc."

Then when I close the document, I get the following message:

"The file Normal already exists. Do you want to replace the existing file?"

I've tried deleting the file. I've restarted my computer, deleted "normal.dot" through my computer's search engine, and then opening word. I've tried renaming the file to "normal.old", and followed the instructions after that like I found on a website.

Also, I went to Tools > Macro > Macros and gone to the "Macros in" list, clicked "All active templates and documents", but there weren't any macros listed there.

I tried using the Macro Organizer, and there weren't any macros listed there either.

Many websites suggested that I open the file through MS word and then hold shift before opening it. The problem is that I can't access the file through MS Word--it only works when I use the search engine. The file/template is in users\____\appdata\roaming\microsoft\tem... Through Word, I can get to my folder, but that's it. I don't see an "AppData" file.

Oh, and I'm running on Windows Vista.

Is there anything I'm doing wrong? What can I do to resolve my problem and get MS Word back to normal?

Thanks.

Answer 1

Appdata is a hidden directory.  To see it, turn on Hidden directories this way:

1. In Windows Explorer, click your Documents folder.

2. Click the Organize->Folder and Search Options menu item.

3. Click the View tab.

4. Select the Show Hidden Files And Folders radio button.

5. Click OK.

Appdata will now show up in Windows Explorer with a different icon.  You'll also be able to see it in MS Word's File Open dialog box (if you currently have that dialog open, you'll have to close it and reopen it first).

Unfortunately, I can't help you further, but I hope this will give you a leg up on finding a solution.