Office 2007 using Word - problem

When I open Word I can use my mouse to select and open a file - it works on the menu bar etc., but in the actual document displayed in the window the mouse will move the floating cursor about but or right clicking has no effect - so that to edit a document I have to move the fixed cursor around with the arrows on the keyboard.
My e-mail uses Oulook using the same Word programme, and there is no problem there ; the mouse also works perfectly normally in other programmes, eg. Excel in the Works suite.
It's not the mouse, since I also have a Wacom tablet and the mouse with that has exactly the same problem pattern.
I keep getting messages saying that Word has stopped working, the problem will be reported etc, and the programme will close ( and often opens again automatically).
It's a recent problem, although the " Word has encountered a problem and needs to close" is not uncommon) but the mouse problem is new today.
Presumably one of them many downloads installed automatically quite recently is causing it.
How do I get to a list of the downloads to try deleting them one at a time? Or any other advice please ?
My OS is Vista Ultimate 64 bit version.

 

Hi,

Start word in safe mode. Start, run and then type winword.exe /safe and hit enter. See if it happens in safe mode.

I would check to see what third party plugins you have and disable them all and see if the problem persists. For Word 2003, it's Tools, Templates and add-ins.

 

solved it myself, but thanks

I found that an update ( SP1) for Windows Office 2007 had been automatically installed just before the problem arose ; when I uninstalled it - and remembered to disable the automatic update installer too so that it did not reonstall as soon as the necessary reboot happened - the problem was solved.
But thanks for your suggestion anyway.