In Microsoft Word, Normal.dot is the master or global template from which all documents are created. It determines the margin defaults as well as the layout of the text and font defaults. Though, the Normal.dot is already set with default settings, you can change it to new parameters. This step will change the other documents created with this template. If Normal.dot is damaged or corrupt, you may encounter several bizarre errors, in addition to, sever data loss. To deal such issues, you must compensate the data loss by using an appropriate backup copy. However, if no backup is available, you must consider switching to a professional Word repair software.

Consider a scenario, wherein, you attempt to start Microsoft Word 2003, you may receive the following error message:

"Winword caused an Invalid Page Fault in module winword.exe."

Problems starting MS Word are often traced back to problems with a Normal.dot file.

Cause

The above error clearly indicates that the Normal.dot file is corrupt.

Resolution

To overcome the problem and perform Word recovery, you must execute the following steps:

1.Click Start, go to Find, and then click Files and Folders
2.In the Named box, type Normal.dot, and then click Find Now
3.When the search gets complete, right click- Normal.dot, and then click Rename
4.Type Normal.dot, and then press Enter
5.You will receive the following error message, click Yes
If you receive the following message, click Yes:
If you change a file name extension, the file may become unusable.
Are you sure you want to change it?
6.Click Start, go tot Accessories>System Tools, and click Disk Cleanup
7.In the Select Drive box, click C:, and click OK
8.In the Files to delete box, click to select Temporary files check box, and then click OK
9.When the clean-up process is completed, start MS Word

If Word starts correctly, you have resolved the problem. Since corruption in Normal.dot file might have affected the documents based on it, you must grab a third-party Word repair software to fix them.

Such tools repair corrupt Word documents effectively and employ improved scanning algorithms to retrieve data.