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Useless Error Message

Exception Processing Message 0xc0000013 Parameters 0x75BE023C 0x8343FCBC 0x75BE023C 0x75BE023C

Pointless error message

Well here's a pointless error message from Microsoft Powerpoint 2007 running on Windows Vista.

What actually happened is that I picked from the list of recently opened files a presentation that was saved to a USB key which is no longer present. While the dialog title bar does give useful information to the user, the main message is filled with useless rubbish as far as a user is concerned.

Pressing cancel doesn't immediately help - It just repeats the message. You have to click cancel a fair few times before it eventually tells you something useful - Such as it can't actually find the file with the given path name.

Why wasn't the user told immediately that it couldn't locate the file instead of being presented with a bunch of hex?

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Print | posted on Monday, July 02, 2007 10:16 PM

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# re: Useless Error Message

Just goes to show how much more work is needed with Office 2007 to make it production ready! This is just one of the many signs that shows how near or maybe how far it was from being complete and ready for publishing to the public domain.

Expect SP1 to fix loads and complete many features. Personally, I can't wait.

Hope you have reported this issue to Microsoft PSS as a bug which may then result in it being fixed.
7/2/2007 11:44 PM | John A Thomson
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# re: Useless Error Message

What, you mean not everyone can read hex? :-)
7/3/2007 7:42 AM | Gary Short
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# re: Useless Error Message

Gary: No, not everyone can read hex. Which is lucky because I'm hoping to coin it in on my next birthday when I'll be 0x21.
7/3/2007 4:57 PM | Colin Angus Mackay

# re: Useless Error Message

Same here. Very peculiar behaviour.

Fire up Vista - no problem. Attach a USB Key (I tried 3) - most files ok. Powerpoint files will result in that annoying error above. Once I remove the key - even if I so much as launch powerpoint after the key is removed or open any ppt presentation I'll get that annoying error until I reboot.

Interestingly.. if I copy the contents of the USB key to a folder on the HDD it works fine.

When I reboot and launch the same presentations (not having put a key in - it's ok).

The moment I put a key in - powerpoint puts up this error.

Still getting used to Vista - but it would be much more useful if the error messages but some useful end-user info instead of pure hex.
8/25/2007 7:26 PM | Nagib

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