If you're seeing a message that Autorecovery is postponed for the Normal
template (and you haven't modified it) then the likely cause is something is
modifying your Normal template. That 'something' is probably a third-party
add-in since if you're not modifying your Normal template something else is.
If no modifications are being made then there's nothing to save.
Autorecovery is triggered only for files that have been modified.
In order to help troubleshoot your issue we need to know the version of Word
you are using. Note the steps for troubleshooting add-ins provided in the
"Problems starting Word" link Graham provided may be able to help point you
in the right direction. If you need more help, post back and we'll go from
there.
~Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP