When EndNote X2 fails

The connection between EndNote X2 and Microsoft Word 2007 seems to get corrupted on a regular basis on my Vista setup. Based on hours of web searching and trial and error, here is a short summary of ways of getting it working again. Use these when you get error messages such as ‘server threw an exception’, ‘server execution failed’, and ‘invalid class string’.

In prioritized order:

  • Run EndNote as an administrator (for Windows Vista).
  • Reset EndNote defaults (“Edit -> Preferences -> EndNote defaults”). This seems to work most of the time. Make sure to close Word first. After having reset EndNote, close it, and then try launching it from Word.
  • The library may be corrupted. Try running “Tools -> Recover Library”.
  • If all else fails, reinstall EndNote

There are other possible problems, especially when upgrading from older versions, but these actions usually work for me.

(For Norwegian readers: If you are using the Norwegian version of EndNote, the error messages will be ‘ugyldig klassestreng’ or ‘serverutføringen mislyktes’.)