How to fix Running virus test in word 2003 on windows 7, Normal.dot 1499 kb, enormous lag both on opening and on closing.

Krasimir Paskulov 35 Reputation points
2026-10-13T14:49:53.4733333+00:00

Hi, for about 20 days now I've had this problem:
Word opens with a Running virus test... in the lower left corner, opening after 4-5 seconds, and taking the same time to close, which, in my work, is impossible to tolerate, because it's difficult as it is for me to keep up to schedule.

I've tried whatever I found on the net, including /a switch (it starts immediately, but without any of my special settings, macros, etc.).
Renamed Normal.dot (which is enormous, 1.5 mb almost) to .old, it starts immediately, again, empty, of course.

Can I save my current configuration in any way, or I should transfer whatever settings I can (auto text, etc.) to a new Normal.dot?

Best regards,
Krasimir

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows
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Answer accepted by question author
Rukshan edirisinghe 1,645 Reputation points
2026-10-13T15:36:57.11+00:00

Hi @Krasimir Paskulov

Your tests already point to the cause. Word starts fast with a fresh template, so the 1.5 MB Normal.dot is what's slowing things down (Word's virus check goes through it, and a template that size has usually picked up a lot over the years). You don't have to rebuild it by hand. Word's Organizer lets you copy your macros, AutoText and styles into a clean Normal.dot.

  1. First make a backup copy of Normal.old somewhere safe (a USB stick or another folder).
  2. With Normal.dot still renamed, start Word so it creates a new, small Normal.dot.
  3. Go to Tools > Templates and Add-Ins, then click Organizer.
  4. On the left side, click Close File, then Open File, set the file type to All Files, and open your Normal.old. The right side should show Normal.dot.
  5. Go through the tabs (Styles, AutoText, Toolbars, Macro Project Items), select only what you actually use, and click Copy to move it across.
  6. Close Word, reopen it, and check the startup time.

One thing to know: changes you made to Word's built-in toolbars can't be copied this way, so you might need to redo a few of those.

Also worth mentioning, Word 2003 and Windows 7 are both well past end of support, so there won't be updates or fixes from Microsoft if something else breaks. Keeping a backup of that template is a good habit either way.

Roughly how much of the old template is macros, compared with AutoText entries?

If this resolved your issue, please consider accepting it as the answer. If the lag comes back after copying everything, let me know and I'll be happy to keep helping.

Reference:

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