I have recently been getting an error when I open MS Word in my
windows XP machine. An alert comes up: Microsoft Visual Basic  
Compile error in hidden module:autoexec

I would like this to not come up when I open the program. How can I
keep this alert at bay?

thinstructor...

This error message is connected with the presence of third-party
add-ins to the Microsoft Office Startup folder. This is addressed
in a Microsoft Knowledge Base Article here:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;328167


There are also other possibilites, which are explored in the
other Knowledge Base Articles listed on the page above, as
noted below:

The error can also be caused when "Goldmine is installed on the
computer, or when Symantec Norton Antivirus is installed and has
been used to clear a virus called Bloodhound":
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;313456

A similar message can occur when "the Microsoft Office Startup 
folder or the Microsoft Excel Startup folder contains either
(or both) of the following Adobe Acrobat PDFMaker add-in 
template files:
      Pdfmaker.dot
      Pdfmaker.xla
      -and-
Norton AntiVirus software is installed."
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307410

The message can also be caused when "Norton AntiVirus from
Symantec Corporation.
      -and-
GoldMine contact management software from First Direct Corp."
are installed on your system:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;314127


Solutions are provided to resolve the errors, in each of these
conditions, in the pages cited.


This should resolve your error message, but when troubleshooting
a technical problem at a distance, there is simply no guarantee.

Please do not rate this answer until you are satisfied that  
the answer cannot be improved upon by way of a dialog  
established through the "Request for Clarification" process. 
 
sublime1-ga


Searches done, on the Microsoft Support Website:

Compile Error in Hidden Module: Autoexec
http://support.microsoft.com/search/default.aspx?InCC_hdn=True&Catalog=LCID%3D1033%26CDID%3DEN-US-KB%26PRODLISTSRC%3DON&Product=&KeywordType=ALL&Titles=false&numDays=&maxResults=25&Queryl=Compile+Error+in+Hidden+Module%3A+Autoexec&Query=Compile+Error+in+Hidden+Module%3A+Autoexec&QuerySource=gsfxSearch_Query&srchExtraQry=

Good answer