Microsoft OFV Breaks Excel 2003 Over the Network
July 18th, 2011By Brian McMurtry
Senior Network and Systems Engineer
On-Site Computer Solutions
Recently, one of my clients brought it to my attention that suddenly, Excel 2003 took several minutes to open spreadsheets stored on a network share. After a bit of fruitless searching, I finally ran across an article that noted that this was a new issue with no easy fix other than some changes to the registry.
It all started when Microsoft released a patch (KB2501584) that integrated Office File Validation (OFV) for older versions of office- basically it is an add-on to Office that enhances security before opening files. The unfortunate effect was that after installation, Excel would take 7-8 minutes to open a file that opened instantly just the day before.
In the last few days, Microsoft acknowledged that this was an issue, so they released a bulletin (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2570623 ) with a “Fix It For Me” link that will disable OFV. After running the Fix it, Voila! Excel returns to the normal behavior for networked spreadsheets.
Microsoft does provide two other “workarounds” other than disabling the patch- first, you could save the file locally and work on it on your own PC. Second, they encourage you to upgrade to a newer version of Office, which is not affected by this bug. However, in my opinion, as long as your antivirus is up to date, I see little harm in disabling OFV.


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So you have a nice new HDTV, wouldn’t it be cool to see your computer screen on it? Well you can, and it is super easy. Most new HDTV’s come equipped with a Standard VGA input spot on the back that allows a standard monitor cable (VGA) to plug into the back. If you are a lucky one and your computer came with an HDMI output spot then you can connect with an HDMI cord for a better display.
Look for the trapezoid-shaped port with 15 pinholes within it and a screw hole on each side–just like the port on the back of a computer monitor. Plug a VGA cable into your HDTV and your computer. Select the VGA input on your HDTV and your computer should recognize your HDTV as a monitor. When connecting with a VGA cable your audio will not be sent through your TV, you will need a separate male to male audio cable to put into your audio ports.
output then all you would have to do is connect an HDMI cord from your HDTV to your computer. Your computer should recognize your HDTV as a monitor and switch views. A good thing about connecting through HDMI is that your audio is processed through this cord so you get HD audio as well.