MS Office 2000 weirdness -- can't save because document is being edited???

[AndrewR]

My wife is working on a Word document on her system using Office 2k (a newsletter with some charts, pictures and many text boxes -- using an MS supplied template). She has been working on this for some time now without any problems but starting today, the system was preventing her from saving the document because it kept saying that "[username -- hers] is editing the document. Click Notify if you want to open the document read-only until document is available." If you click Notify, it never actually notifies that the doc is free. Using Save As you can save the doc under a different name.

Does this sound strange to anyone?? I have ABSOLUTELY ZERO idea what's going on, and it's driving her nuts (and me, consequently). I am scanning for virii right now, but I really don't think that's it since the vast majority of the work has been done here and the computer at her workplace is a piece of shiite unconnected to any network (or phoneline).

Any ideas?

 

[OZEE]

Haven't seen this in Office2K, but have seen it in Office97... The 'puter thinks there's another instance of Word open with that document. When you open a document it creates a "locking" file somewhere in one of the temp directories. First, make sure Word isn't open twice... I'm sure you've already done that... Then, if not, a reboot should probably take care of the problem.

Not likely a virus...

 

[AndrewR]

Is there some way to clear out the temp directory in case there are lingering instances of that "locking" file? I tried a reboot, but it didn't do anything. Well, let me clarify. The document would open again normally, but my wife was having to create another Word document to craft a table that she would then insert into the newsletter. Once the table was transferred, the original file wouldn't save.

Bizarre. At least it isn't a virus (though I'm running a follow-up scan since I updated Norton -- just like to be sure), but it seems awfully strange. Could it be something in Win98? I also can't get 98 to connect to the WindowsUpdate page.