Corrupted Document - Help
jessieleah
Document corruption - "Encounter file corruption while opening *.doc.
Asked if I want to fix/restore - said Yes" - doesn't do anything and
crashes Word again - try to open another document - same thing.
Doesn't matter where document is - on Desktop, external HD, folder on
HD, file emailed to me, even a file just created, saved, closed then
opened - same thing.
Tried the following:
Trashed Normal.dot
Trashed Preferences
Reinstall Office and ran updates
Repaired Permissions
What do I do next? Entourage, Excel, PowerPoint are all working fine.
Jessica
jessieleah
When the "corrupted documents" are emailed from Entourage to a Windows
computer running XP - they open fine in Word and I am able to edit
them.
Does anyone have any idea as what the problem is?
I haven't had any replies from anyone - so I am wondering if the
problem is over the heads of people in this forum. If that is why no
one is replying could one of the MVPs say so?
Jessica
Daiya Mitchell
who posts a response without needing help is just doing it for fun, in their
spare time.
(I personally found your initial post a tad hard to follow, that may also be
related.)
This does not sound like a familiar problem, at least to me. "Over the
heads" is not really an applicable term, by the way--people here have
varying degrees of expertise.
Are you double-clicking to open or using File | Open? If you use File |
Open, is Enable: set to All Documents?
Reinstalling Office is only likely to help if you run Office Remove first.
Check this page to see if you missed any of the standard troubleshooting
fixes--especially check Global Templates/Add-ins.
http://word.mvps.org/Mac/TroubleshootingIndex.html
Also a tip that isn't listed there--create a new user account and see if the
same problem occurs.
If you've checked all that, then it may need Remove and Reinstall. See the
same page for best practice.
--
Daiya Mitchell, MVP Mac/Word
Word FAQ: http://www.word.mvps.org/
MacWord Tips: <http://word.mvps.org/Mac/WordMacHome.html>
What's an MVP? A volunteer! Read the FAQ: http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
jessieleah
shooter - I need to know if people can help me out or not - rather be
told that I can't be helped than be ignored that's all - if I can't be
helped here I can move on to other avenues of support
This is a new problem for me and I am having a heck of a time solving
it
Problem (to be clearer) no matter how the document is opened, no matter
where the document resides, no matter who created it - the Word says
the document is corrupt - asks to fix it - then Word crashes and
restarts after asking about sending a report to Microsoft
I will take the info you have given to me and try out your ideas for a
fix.
Thank you for your response,
Jessica
Elliott Roper
jessieleah <jper...@perkinsonline.com> wrote:
It might be they were waiting for someone with superior ESP skills to
step in. You didn't describe your problem all that well at first.
Among the tiny bits of information about your problem was that you can
create a new document and save it, but can't re-open it again. That
ruled out the one idea I had, (bad fonts) so I kept mousy quiet.
It is interesting that you can mail files to others OK. I'm not
convinced you zapped the right normal. It ain't called normal.dot in
Mac Word, just normal.
Anyway, go through the steps Daiya suggested. It's all the unpaid MVPs
can do when clairvoyance fails.
You might try to see if there are any documents at all that you can
open. Of those, what's different? e.g really old ones are OK? simple
ones? empty ones? Do what you can to chop the problem into smaller
parts. Try to remember anything that changed about the time it stopped
working. Did you load any new fonts? Did you get a document from an
untrusted source? Macro viruses are very rare on Mac, but we are
assured they exist.
You get answers here out of the goodness of fellow victims. I reply
when I can, in a feeble attempt to repay the generous help I have
received, and because writing stuff down actually helps to clear up the
odd fuzziness in one's own ideas too.
So do tell us how you fixed it, or come back with more detail.
--
To de-mung my e-mail address:- fsnospam$elliott$$
PGP Fingerprint: 1A96 3CF7 637F 896B C810 E199 7E5C A9E4 8E59 E248
jessieleah
person --
you read too much into the "over your heads" comment - I am a straight
shooter - I need to know if people can help me out or not - rather be
told that I can't be helped than be ignored that's all - if I can't be
helped here I can move on to other avenues of support
And to you - I worked support for many years and I know that people
expect you to ESP when answering there questions - This is a new
problem, one I have never dealt with ever and the fixes I tried are not
working. I also messed up and typed "dot" after Normal - I do know
where it resides - MS USer Data Folder
If I didn't inlcude something in my post then I ruled it out - I don't
want to waste your time by including stuff I know I should have done or
checked before coming to this forum.
Here is what is happening:
If I use File, Open or double click a Word Document no matter if it's
one document, two document, red document, blue document (hope you get
the play on Doc Sues), - old, new, big, small - I get the following:
Microsoft Word encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry
for the incoinvience.
Recover my work and restart is checked.
I send the report and Word restarts.
Then I get the following:
Word encountered file corruption while opening *.doc. Part of this
document may be recoverable. Attempt to recover now? I clicked yes.
A blank document flashes and Word crashes again and I get the same I am
sorry message, Send the report and Word opens starts again.
Then I tried typing something and doing a Save and a Save As, both
times Word crashed and I got the "I am sorry message", I send the
report, and Word restarts.
These are the things I tried:
Trashed preferences
trashed NORMAL
reinstall Office
repaired permissions
found out:
the documents can be opened on a windows xp computer
no viruses are at fault
Office was updated on Monday
Word has been working fine until today - it was just used yesterday
I just thought of something:
Yesterday, the guy saved a PDF file as a DOC so he could fill in the
form (scary formatting when that happens) after that happened he was
having issues opening PDFs, but it some how fixed itself - that is all
he remembers. Do you think if he did and "Open With" on a PDF Word or
vice versa it may have done something to Word?
I suppose I should say I am posting this for a co-worker.
Jessica
CyberTaz
In your first post as well as here that you mention having reinstalled
Office, but you don't mention using the Remove Office Tool *before* doing
so. Is that what you did, or did you reinstall over the existing
installation?
I don't think the PDF issue is involved unless there is more to it than
you've been told. If he tried to open a PDF with Word it shouldn't have
caused such a problem - it would simply have generated a Text Converter
dialog & either opened or failed to open the PDF depending on the choice he
made from the list of converters. Likewise. A PDF saved by Acrobat as a DOC
wouldn't cause Word to self-destruct, even if the file rendered as unusable.
Can you share more about the system specs, networked or not, any other
details? Is the system or other apps having any other problems?
Re sensitivity, I'm probably as insensitive as anyone here, but the way you
phrased the statement came across as somewhat sarcastic. Perhaps it wasn't
intended that way, but keep in mind that nobody here knows you or your
personality, nor can we see the expression on your face or hear the tone of
your voice. One of the ups/downs of written communication is that the writer
dictates the tone based on his choice of vocabulary. That particular clause
is one that ranks somewhere between condescending & insulting in virtually
any context.
Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac
On 4/7/06 5:55 PM, in article
1144446938....@u72g2000cwu.googlegroups.com, "jessieleah"
Elliott Roper
jessieleah <jper...@perkinsonline.com> wrote:
> Jees - no need to be so senstive - here is what I replied to the other
> person --
I wasn't being sensitive. I was being rude and arrogant. I thought you
said you were a straight shooter, so I replied in kind. Nobody here
owes you anything at all.
>
> you read too much into the "over your heads" comment - I am a straight
> shooter - I need to know if people can help me out or not - rather be
> told that I can't be helped than be ignored that's all - if I can't be
> helped here I can move on to other avenues of support
>
> And to you - I worked support for many years and I know that people
> expect you to ESP when answering there questions - This is a new
> problem, one I have never dealt with ever and the fixes I tried are not
> working. I also messed up and typed "dot" after Normal - I do know
> where it resides - MS USer Data Folder
I can see why you chose a different line of work. It must have been so
frustrating for someone of your personality and charm.
>
> If I didn't inlcude something in my post then I ruled it out - I don't
> want to waste your time by including stuff I know I should have done or
> checked before coming to this forum.
and you don't bother telling people you are asking help from because
you ruled it out already
hmmm...
> Here is what is happening:
>
> If I use File, Open or double click a Word Document no matter if it's
> one document, two document, red document, blue document (hope you get
> the play on Doc Sues), - old, new, big, small - I get the following:
>
> Microsoft Word encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry
> for the incoinvience.
>
> Recover my work and restart is checked.
>
> I send the report and Word restarts.
>
> Then I get the following:
>
> Word encountered file corruption while opening *.doc. Part of this
> document may be recoverable. Attempt to recover now? I clicked yes.
>
> A blank document flashes and Word crashes again and I get the same I am
> sorry message, Send the report and Word opens starts again.
>
> Then I tried typing something and doing a Save and a Save As, both
> times Word crashed and I got the "I am sorry message", I send the
> report, and Word restarts.
>
> These are the things I tried:
>
> Trashed preferences
> trashed NORMAL
> reinstall Office
> repaired permissions
>
> found out:
> the documents can be opened on a windows xp computer
DId you try on another Mac?
> no viruses are at fault
How do you know that? (It's OK I believe you, but thousands wouldn't)
> Office was updated on Monday
> Word has been working fine until today - it was just used yesterday
>
> I just thought of something:
>
> Yesterday, the guy saved a PDF file as a DOC so he could fill in the
> form (scary formatting when that happens) after that happened he was
> having issues opening PDFs, but it some how fixed itself - that is all
> he remembers. Do you think if he did and "Open With" on a PDF Word or
> vice versa it may have done something to Word?
It's possible. Quite possible. Making OS X as stupid as other operating
systems that choose which application to open a file with by looking at
a few letters at the end of a filename was not Apple Computer's most
stunning technical decision.
>
> I suppose I should say I am posting this for a co-worker.
I really suppose you should. Then people trying to help your co-worker
and you would have weighed the meagre evidence you offered differently.
>
> Jessica
>
OK so you lied. You can't create a document from scratch, even though
you said you did. I quote:-
> Doesn't matter where document is - on Desktop, external HD, folder on
> HD, file emailed to me, even a file just created, saved, closed then
> opened - same thing.
Go to version tracker. Get a copy of font finagler. Pay the author.
Follow the directions.
Do the same with the directions for cleaning up Microsoft's own caches
you will find on the MVP pages.
See if one of those fixes it.
Sometimes I amaze myself with my saintly patience.
John McGhie [MVP - Word and Word Macintosh]
On 8/4/06 7:55 AM, in article
1144446938....@u72g2000cwu.googlegroups.com, "jessieleah"
<jper...@perkinsonline.com> wrote:
> Jees - no need to be so senstive - here is what I replied to the other
> person --
Ummm... You need to understand something: we "are" sensitive.
I see Elliott has already given you a good flaming. Maybe I should explain
why :-)
We are normal human beings (OK, you could debate the "normal" bit...). But
this is our hobby. We do it because it is fun. We do it because we like
it. Now, here's the critical part: When we come across a post that doesn't
make us feel good, why we simply "don't" do it -- we don't answer it at all
:-)
If you think about it: We choose this as our recreation (nobody gets paid to
be here, not even the Microsoft employees...). I guess you wouldn't allow
people to make you feel bad during your private time? We insist on
reserving our right to do the same.
Amongst the people lurking here are the software developers who write
Microsoft Word, the software testers who test it, and the likes of the MVPs,
most of whom use Word professionally in their work. I am a long document
specialist, with 30 years at the coal-face :-)
So: The expertise is here. You want to be a straight shooter? Your
privilege: We'll come out when the shooting stops :-)
> I also messed up and typed "dot" after Normal - I do know
> where it resides - MS USer Data Folder
No: That was Elliott's point. It "can" be anywhere. When you're dealing
with a user who "fiddles" (and this one does...) one of the first things
they often do is move their templates around. Use Preferences>File
locations>User Templates>Modify from Word, to make Word tell you where the
copy it is actually using is. Make sure it is where you think it is. You
also need to know that: A template in the same folder as the document will
be used in preference to the one of the same name in the templates folder, a
Normal template in the same folder as the executable will be used in
preference to any other Normal, and a file named Normal.dot will NOT be used
by Mac Word (That's a bug, but Microsoft insists they won't change it...)
When you are CERTAIN you know which copy of Normal Template is involved,
quit Word, delete it, and empty the trash (otherwise the thing remains in
service from the trash). If you don't quit Word, the old one is written
back from memory when you quit Word.
However, this is extremely unlikely to be a Normal.dot problem. If Word
starts up OK, then Normal's OK (for this purpose).
> Microsoft Word encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry
> for the incoinvience.
>
> Recover my work and restart is checked.
>
> I send the report and Word restarts.
>
> Then I get the following:
>
> Word encountered file corruption while opening *.doc. Part of this
> document may be recoverable. Attempt to recover now? I clicked yes.
Try "No". You need the full name of the file it is complaining about. Find
that, and re-name it. The problem may be an attached template. You may
indeed have been hit by a virus, and if you have, it may have jammed PC-only
code into an attached template. You won't find that out until you open a
document attached to that template. At that point, Word attempts to load
the bad template and crashes, not on the document, but on the template.
> These are the things I tried:
>
> Trashed preferences
> trashed NORMAL
> reinstall Office
> repaired permissions
You don't mention "Remove Office". Re-installing has no effect at all
unless you first run the Remove Office tool, because existing files are not
overwritten by a re-install. The Remove Office tool removes them all,
including the hidden ones, so re-install then can fix the problem.
This is "likely" to be an incompatible load library or framework problem.
So a "Remove" and re-install "might" fix it.
> Yesterday, the guy saved a PDF file as a DOC so he could fill in the
> form (scary formatting when that happens) after that happened he was
> having issues opening PDFs, but it some how fixed itself - that is all
> he remembers. Do you think if he did and "Open With" on a PDF Word or
> vice versa it may have done something to Word?
Yes. "Something" may have interfered with the registration of file types on
that computer. The new Adobe 7 reader seems to be producing issues for some
people. We only have sporadic reports and no clarity on it yet.
> I suppose I should say I am posting this for a co-worker.
Let you off this time: we would much rather be talking to the administrator
or knowledgeable user than the one who caused the problem. However, it's up
to you to grill him: if a remove/replace doesn't fix it, we're going to
have to find out what REALLY happened on that box. All the
seemingly-inconsequential detail can be important.
Particularly: "A user will tell you ONLY what you ask about, nothing more."
You need to SPECIFICALLY ask about installs of
haxies/fonts/helpers/"utilities", or you won't be told about them. Word is
incompatible with a number of haxies such as StickyBrain.
Cheers
--
Please reply to the newsgroup to maintain the thread. Please do not email
me unless I ask you to.
John McGhie <jo...@mcghie.name>
Microsoft MVP, Word and Word for Macintosh. Consultant Technical Writer
Sydney, Australia +61 (0) 4 1209 1410
Daiya Mitchell
uncustomized one?
2) did you check for add-ins?
3) In your initial posts, it sounded like the problem was that Word was
reporting all documents as corrupted. However, with the additional
description in your most recent post, it seems to me that the real problem
is that Word crashes constantly (maybe on launch). You always get a
corrupted doc message on restart after that because Word is trying to
recover the doc that was in the process of opening when it crashed, but that
corrupted doc message is just a side effect of the real problem--that Word
is crashing. The corrupted doc message is just a red herring. In my
opinion.
I would expect the culprits for a crashing Word to be the Normal template or
Preferences, myself--see John's post re making sure you tested the right
Normal. Otherwise, don't know.
Then there also seems to be a Word Can't Save Documents problem. Is your
co-worker saving to a network directory or anything, or just to a local hard
drive?
No solution, but perhaps this re-assessment of the problem will help others
sort it.
Side note: when I get an "attempt to recover document" message after a Word
crash, it is my experience that the best thing to do is to answer No. The
document is not really corrupted, something about crashing in the middle of
the process merely seems to lead Word to think that it is corrupted when
Word tries to pick up where it was interrupted.
4) I doubt that the Open PDF with Word caused a problem, but you could
double-check by doing Get Info on a Word doc in the Finder and resetting the
Open With to the current version of Word. *If* it glitched anything, that
plus repair permissions ought to help.
5) it may be worth trying two avenues of support at the same time.
--
jessieleah
folder in Microsoft Office 2004 folder. After running that
application, I installed MS Office 2004 and ran the update available.
I was able to open all Word documents and create, save and reopen Word
doucments without any corruption errors. Thank you for your help.
Jessica
jessieleah
Three little words have got me into trouble. I am sorry for using
those words and will never do it again.
I hope you all enjoyed attacking and berating me amongst your helpful
information. I will keep the info handy for future issues -
unfortunately, all your creative writings while be removed.
Thank you for your help - Diaya first suggestion worked - This should
also give you the same delight as my ash whooping did - I wont be using
the forum again.
Jessica
-Puppies and rainbows were my happy pills - but sucker punches and
tripping people is my new drug of choice.
John McGhie [MVP - Word and Word Macintosh]
Don't let the door hit you in the "a" on the way out ... :-)
On 12/4/06 1:24 AM, in article
1144769062....@i40g2000cwc.googlegroups.com, "jessieleah"
<jper...@perkinsonline.com> wrote:
> Jessica
> -Puppies and rainbows were my happy pills - but sucker punches and
> tripping people is my new drug of choice.
>
--