How to fix Excel hanging on exit?

Question

I am working with a user that has Office 2007 installed. When they open Excel with a blank workbook and then try to close Excel without having done anything, it hangs for about a minute or two and then gives the warning message:

"Microsoft Office Excel is waiting on another application to complete an OLE action."

Has anyone ever seen this happen before?

It doesn't matter what Excel file they open or if it is a blank/new workbook.

Answer 1

Excel Addins

I'd guess there's an add-in doing something. With a workbook open, press Alt+t+i (or Excel Options - Add-Ins - Manage Excel Add-ins - Go). Make a note of which Add-ins are checked. Uncheck them all and see if the problem persists. If not, add them back one-by-one (fun, I know).

COM Addins

COM Addins are little harder to find, but can still cause problems. In Excel 2007, Excel Options - Add-Ins - Manage COM Add-ins - Go (In Excel 2003 or earlier, right click on any toolbar and choose Customize. On the Commands tab, go to the Tools category and find the COM Add-Ins control. Drag it to any toolbar and close the Customer box. Now click that button to see all of the COM Add-ins.) Do the same thing with COM Addins that you did with Excel Addins, i.e. uncheck them all and add back on at a time.