A Microsoft Word question

jonahpwll

So I've got this stand-alone computer that I use for writing. I use it exclusively as a word processor. It ain't hooked up to anything except a printer.
The Word dictionary file is damaged. It came that way. I have no way to spell check my Word documents.
I don't know how entangled the program files are.
My hope: I can copy a dictionary database file from the Microsoft Word disc (any version) onto my hard drive and somehow point my Word program at that dictionary database file as the tool for spellcheck.
Do I have any hope? I would prefer not to reinstall Windows on my computer, though quite frankly, it wouldn't be the end of the world. I have very little on that computer. I could probably just copy everything to a zip drive and overwrite with a new installation.
Any thoughts or advice?

jackedUPjazz

Nice try jonah

You feel my hot breath breathing down your neck and you think maybe you will try to put a little distance between me and thee Mr. 462 posts.

I'm coming for you. Get your affairs in order. The bell tolls for thee

jonahpwll

Is it a dinner bell? I hope so. I'm hungry.

jonahpwll

By the way, my response creates a wash with yours.

Oh! Now I'm ahead by one!

jonahpwll

But seriously, I am hungry.

Dr. Mutex

If you have the CD for that version of word you can run it in repair mode. Otherwise you can just uninstall that version and install the version you have if you've got the license key. If you don't have a key for Word you could consider downloading OpenOffice for your writing needs.

jonahpwll

Will look into that repair mode. Thanks.
Un-reinstall, however, is probably gonna be my best option.

thomnottom

If you do uninstall, run something like CCleaner afterward and then try to delete any remaining Word directories. Really clean the system out from anything that might be left behind.

And definitely look into OpenOffice or Google Docs as an alternative. We don't want you losing your book to a bad installation disc!

Dr. Mutex

Whatever good intentions the google may have, they aren't on the hook to save your bacon, Francis. Free service seems nice, and it's worth every penny. That's the extent of their obligation to keep your data safe. Even if you fork out for the Premier service, the maximum you can get out of them for loosing all your work is one year's fee, but at least they're on the hook to try to get your stuff back for you.

jonahpwll

Okay, got another question, though it's more Microsoft computer than just Word...

So, if I drag my mouse to the top or bottom of a word document, it immediately begins scrolling in that direction. This is especially convenient if I'm deleting a large portion of test. I can begin highlighting a section and the screen scrolls and continues to hilight for me. Here's the problem...

I want to slow that scroll. It goes way to fast and hilights a lot of stuff I don't want to delete. I know how to alter the speed of my mouse cursor, but I can't seem to find anything that addresses the scroll speed.

Someone here has got to know this. It's been going on a year of occasionally searching through the options and preferences, and nothing.

xtrev

If there's nothing in the prefs you could try holding a modifier key (control, alt, shift etc) while it scrolls.
Knowing Microsoft it'll either do something useful, something bizarre, or crash.
Or all 3 randomly.

Good luck!

mommio

I don't know how to slow the scroll, or if you can. I put the cursor on the beginning (or end) of the part I want to delete. Then. using the mouse wheel or the scroll bar, I scroll to the other end of the material. Hold down the Shift key while placing (clicking) the cursor at the other end of the delete section. Highlights the entire block.

jonahpwll

What's odd is that the scroll speed isn't the same on Word software on different computers even though it's the same Word version, which makes me think the problem is on a My Computer level. But still, haven't found anything... yet.

thomnottom

I think it is an issue with mouse/trackpad drivers, which is why it is so wildly inconsistent (either too slow or too fast).

Dr. Mutex

If you move the mouse downwards slightly it should slow down the scrolling (you made it scroll by "pushing" against the top. if you back off a little, you aren't pushing as hard). You should be able to speed up and slow down according to the direction you move the mouse.

Katrina

I know how to alter the speed of my mouse cursor, but I can't seem to find anything that addresses the scroll speed.

The touchpad on my Win 7 laptop has a setting for how many lines to scroll at a time. I think it depends on your device and its drivers whether you can change it or not. I'm pretty sure I never saw this setting on my XP machine.

jonahpwll

I got a feeling that my computer is old and won't give me the option of changing it. Plus, since it's not hooked up to anything, there's really no way for me to check online for updated drivers. Oh well, not the end of the world.
Thanks for everyone's suggestions and advice.

Katrina

You could always look in your registry. I'm on a Mac right now, but I can post back if you want to know where the registry keys for mouse settings are.
Some people don't like messing around in the registry, though.
Now you have me curious, and the next time I'm on that XP machine, I will take a look.

Dr. Mutex

If you have a mouse with a wheel, you can hold the left button and turn the wheel to highlight text.

jonahpwll

If you have a mouse with a wheel, you can hold the left button and turn the wheel to highlight text.

Okay, I just went out and bought one...



..but it still isn't working. Maybe I have an outdated driver? I'm still not sure I have the usb plugged in right.