WD98: Word Appears to Stop Responding, Slow on First Start

When you first start Word, the Word splash screen may show for an extended period of time and Word may appear to have stopped responding. In addition, you may notice several messages on the splash screen similar to the following:

• Preparing to run for the first time
• Registering Internet Components
• Initializing Visual Basic Editor
• Optimizing Word Font Menu

This functionality is by design. When you start Word for the first time, the First Run Installer must perform certain tasks to complete the installation.

The First Run Installer is a separate program from the Office 98 Macintosh Edition Setup program. It may run at the completion of the Office 98 Macintosh Edition Setup program. Or, it may run the first time that you start any Office 98 Macintosh Edition program.

The First Run Installer performs the following tasks:

• Copies OLE and Type Libraries to the System folder.
• Copies fonts to the System:Fonts folder.
• Searches the Microsoft Office 98 folder for Office applications that require registration.
• Runs the self-registration programs for the Office applications it finds that require registration.
• Sets the memory partition size for the program.
• If necessary, creates aliases for the Office programs in the root of the Microsoft Office 98 folder. When the Office program files are found in a location other than the local hard disk (for example, shared from a network drive), a Microsoft Office 98 folder is created and an alias for each Office program is placed in the root of this folder.
  
  NOTE: Excessive network activity may be seen during this process while the First Run Installer searches for the Office source files if the applications are shared from the network.
• Prompts for User Name and Organization, if needed.