Safe Mode avoiding the problem implies an addin or macro is responsible. Thanks for the screenshot to confirm the COM addins are disabled. The next thing to look at is whether there are any macros sitting around that could be coming in to play. If you open the VBA editor, are there macros in any of the loaded templates?

I also note the header of the screenshot shows you have Word for 'Non-commercial use'. Is that saying that you haven't got a paid version and it is disabled in some way. It may just be a 'teachers and student' version which shouldn't be knobbled. I haven't used Word 2010 for a long time and I don't recall how it was licensed and activated and whether it disabled save but it might be worth checking out.

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Andrew Lockton
Chrysalis Design, Melbourne Australia