This problem started when we switched from our old computers running Office
97 and Windows 95 to our new Dell computers that run Office XP and Windows XP
(SP2).

The only times that this problem doesn't occur is after a reboot. It will
work for a while and then hang again. When everything works like it should,
the following messages appear:

Opening Source Document
Starting Excel
Waiting for Microsoft Excel to accept DDE Commands
Opening Data File
Requesting Query information from Microsoft Excel

When the system hangs, it does so during the third step - Waiting for
Microsoft Excel to accept DDE Commands. The dark blue bar at the top of the
screen turns into a faded blue bar. After rebooting the computer, if I want
to open the source document again, I get the following message: "The
document xxxx.doc caused a serious error the last time it was opened. Would
you like to continue opening it?" When I select "Yes", the file opens as it
should've in the first place and is ready to merge.

I have tried many things (including playing with the video settings), but
nothing has worked so far.

Any suggestons? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Nolan