FINALLLY! Resolution of the WindowServer crashing problem while using Excel 2004 and lessons learned along the way:
I owe this forum community a huge thank you for your various suggestions that led to a resolution of my problems discussed at length in this thread. I'm declaring at least a temporary victory based upon two days of blissful computing without even a hiccup from my previously troubled Mac Pro. Although I do not understand the why, the following are what I finally did to overcome the problem:
1. Add 2Gb more RAM (new total 4Gb). Price $72 plus shipping from OWC.
2. Use both Disk Utility and DiskWarrior 4.2 by booting from their original installation disks instead of using the applications installed on my hard drives.
3. Reinstall MSOffice 2004 from original installation disks and then update Office before opening any Office applications. Update from Office Update 11.5.5. I finally realized that Microsoft has a practice of issuing a few updates that do not include all previous updates and then, periodically, issuing an update that has them all. 11.5.5 has them all. This is a tremendous time saver over installing a large number of updates one at a time in the proper order.
Along the way, I encountered two issues that need mentioning here. First, I experienced an Apple Error number 1407 that prevents deletion of some files. The cure is to run Disk Utility from the Snow Leopard installation disk and use both Repair Disk Permissions and Repair Disk. The error goes away. Second, messages popped up in both Disk Utility and DiskWarrior 4.2 that read as follows:
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/MacOS/ARDAgent" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file"System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/DesktopServicesPriv.framework/Versions/A/Resources/Locum" has been modified and will not be repaired.
A little research revealed that these two messages should be disregarded. They give a frightening impression of imminent danger. If they really are harmless, I hope Apple fixes the bug asap.
Again, thanks for all the input. This is a great place to troubleshoot. Sorry I got so desperate late last week and started venting frustration and anxiety. It was a very unfortunate confluence of computer trouble and very important work deadlines that were negatively affected by my troubled Mac Pro.
