In a student activity I recently devised (characterizing filters and entering the measured values into a spreadsheet), I seem to have discovered a bizarre interaction of pd (extended, 0.42.5) and MS-Excel (2007 or 2010 versions) on Windows XP and Win7.

Namely, after a period of normal operation, the spreadsheet will become sluggish or freeze entirely. This is resolved immediately if pd is closed, and it happens with the console window alone; no patch needs to be opened, and no interaction like cutting and pasting between programs is necessary to make it happen. I have reproduced this behavior on several XP and Win7 systems.

Has anyone else experienced this, and can anyone offer an explanation?