Method 2's a bit of winner.

We got an email today from our IT head, subject was "Method 2's a bit of winner."

In the email, it had a link to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/168702

Firstly, the symptom:

When you try to return data from Microsoft Query 97 to a Microsoft Excel 97 worksheet, the spinning globe icon (which signifies that a query is processing) may appear for a long time, and then the query returns no data to your worksheet.

And now, possible solution 2:

Method 2: Move Your Mouse Pointer

If you move your mouse pointer continuously while the data is being returned to Microsoft Excel, the query may not fail. Do not stop moving the mouse until all the data has been returned to Microsoft Excel.

NOTE: Depending on your query, it may take several minutes to return the results of your query to the worksheet.