Question : I can open Excel in Safe mode but I cannot open excel in normal mode

I was working on a worksheet the other night and playing around with adding a combo box.  I deleted the combo box out and closed the worksheet and my computer.  Next day when I tried to open Excel 2000, it crashes right away.

I deleted Excel, reinstalled Excel etc.

Found I could open Excel in Safe mode (Excel.exe /s)  along with any worksheet but I can't open excel normally.  What can I do to fix the problem

Answer : I can open Excel in Safe mode but I cannot open excel in normal mode

You will need to do some repairing...

On rare occasions Excel can become unstable and start exhibiting unwanted behavior, crashing, or not even starting. Below are several steps to take to try and get Excel back to a stable state. Try to reproduce the problem after each step and, if resolved, there is no need to continue to the next step.

Step 1 - Install Updates

Go to http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/default.aspx, click on "Check for Updates", and follow the instructions.

Step 2 - Repair the Excel Installation

This option is only available in Excel 2000 and later. To repair the Excel installation, start Excel and choose the menu command Help->Detect and Repair. The product CD may be required.

Step 3 - Remove/Reset the Tool Bar Configuration File

Reset the toolbar settings file by deleting the Tool Bar Configuration File while Excel is not running. This file is usually located in the folder

   C:\Documents and Settings\Your Login Name\Application Data\Microsoft\Excel

and is named "Excel*.xlb".

Step 4 - Reset the Registry Entries

Instruct Excel to reset the Excel registry entries. Do this by opening the Start menu and selecting Run. Enter "Excel.exe /UnRegServer" and click OK, wait for the process to finish, then enter "Excel.exe /RegServer" and click OK. The full path to Excel may have to be entered for the command to work.

To get the command to work the full path to the Excel application may be required. If so, the path usually looks like:

   C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE\Excel.exe

or

   C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICExx\Excel.exe

where xx is the Excel version: 10 for 2002, 11 for 2003, and 12 for 2007. So the commands for Excel 2003 are:

   "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\Excel.exe" \UnRegServer
   "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\Excel.exe" \RegServer

Step 5 - Clear the Option Settings

Run RegEdit (Start->Run, enter "regedit", and press ENTER) and navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\x.0\Options where x is 9 for Excel 2000, 10 for Excel 2002 or XP, and 11 for Excel 2003. Delete all entries except for "(Default)".

Step 6 - Remove Custom Add-Ins

Remove any custom add-ins from the XLStart folder and the folder that is specified in the "At startup, open all files in" box on the General tab in the Options dialog box. A custom add-in is any Excel workbook created by the user and saved as an Add-In in an Excel startup folder.

Step 7 - Reinstall/Remove Third Party Add-Ins

This step involves looking for and removing third party add-ins until all add-ins have been dealt with and either removed or determined to not be the cause of the problem. Adobe Acrobat and Norton Anti-Virus are known to have conflicts with Excel. Upgrading to the latest version of these programs usually solves most problems.

The easiest way to remove an add-in is to, from within Excel, choose the menu command Tools->Add-Ins. In the Add-Ins available box, clear the check box next to the add-in to unload and click OK. To remove the add-in from the menu, restart Excel.

To completely remove an add-in use the add-in manufacturer's uninstaller. Uninstallers are found in the Add or Remove Programs control panel.

Without an uninstaller, completely removing an add-in from a computer is possible but not easy. First look in all known XLSTART folders. The most common locations of these folders are:

   C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office11\Xlstart
   C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10\Xlstart
   C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Xlstart
   C:\Documents and Settings\User Name\Application Data\Microsoft\Excel\XLSTART
   C:\Winnt\Profiles\User name\Application Data\Microsoft\Excel\Xlstart
   The folder that is specified in the "At startup, open all files in" box on the General tab in the Options dialog box.

Look for any file that might be the add-in. After quitting Excel, move the targeted file to another location (do not delete it until sure it is the desired add-in.) Start Excel and confirm that the add-in is removed. If not, return the moved add-in to the original XLSTART folder and try again with another.

Some add-ins are not stored in XLSTART folders and are loaded into Excel using Registry entries. If the correct Registry entry can be found then it can be used to locate and delete the add-in. The Registry entry should also be removed but only after making a backup of the Registry and confirming that the add-in identified is the correct add-in. The most common Registry locations where add-ins are located are:

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Excel\Add-in Manager
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Excel\Options (add-ins are listed in the OPEN and OPENn entries)
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Excel\Add-in Manager
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Excel\Options (add-ins are listed in the OPEN and OPENn entries)

Step 8 - Completely Remove and Reinstall Excel/Office

This is the most drastic measure and, if done correctly, is the last possible step short of tossing the box out the window. The idea behind completely removing an Office/Excel installation is to purge any and all files and registry entries that might be causing the problem. The normal Office/Excel uninstaller function is not designed to do this. Each version of Office/Excel has different procedures for complete removal. These are listed by version below.

Office 2003
There is no official documented technique for completely removing Office 2003. Open the Add or Remove Programs control panel, locate Microsoft Office, and click Remove. Additional steps follow below to manually purge Office remnants.

Office 2002/Office XP
There is no official documented technique for completely removing Office 2002/Office XP. Open the Add or Remove Programs control panel, locate Microsoft Office, and click Remove. Additional steps follow below to manually purge Office remnants.

Office 2000
Run this cleanup utility: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/239938/en-us.
Run this cleanup utility: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;EN-US;q247674&ID=KB;EN-US;q247674

Office 97
Follow these instructions: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;254250.
Run this cleanup utility: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q176823.

After completing the above instructions for the specific version of Office, do the following:

Run this cleanup utility to clean up Windows Installer remains for Office: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;290301&Product=offxp

Open the Registry (click Start and select Run, enter RegEdit and click OK) and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE->Software->Microsoft and delete the "Office" node.

Open Windows File Explorer, navigate to C:\Program Files and delete the "Microsoft Office" folder.

Download, install, and run CCCleaner (http://www.ccleaner.com). Caution: This utility clears the browser cache so, if that is NOT desired, make sure that option is off or all saved website cookies will be removed. Cookies contain login status, preferences, etc. Select Cleaner and click Run Cleaner. Select Issues and click Scan for Issues. If any issues are listed make sure they are all checked and click Fix selected issues. Save a copy of the registry if desired. Click Fix All Selected Issues when the first confirmation prompt is displayed. Repeat scanning and fixing issues until no new issues are found.

Reinstall Office.

Kevin