[Solved] Upgraded to 4.1 Now Saving Returns "Bad Allocation"

[hockeygoalieeh]

Hello everyone,

I just upgraded to 4.1 and attempted to save a relatively large sheet that I had (probably too large). Now any time that I attempt to save I'm getting an error that states "Bad Allocation" which will also occur when I try to do particular functions and the entire thing crashes. It was fine when I was with 4.0.1. I attempted to go back to 4.0.1, but I'm a new error - "General Input/Output Error" and a crash. Any ideas on what to do here? It still recovers every time it crashes, but loading the old file doesn't fix it. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

[thomasjk]

Resetting the user profile viewtopic.php?f=74&t=12426 tends correct issues like this.

[hockeygoalieeh]

Thanks. I attempted the steps shown but they didn't correct the issue. I'm starting to think I may have to start this book over.

[hockeygoalieeh]

I figured out how to open a previously saved file and all is well and I no longer need to hyperventilate into a paper bag. This forum is a godsend.

[ed45626]

Having this same problem, and although this thread is marked solved, it does not solve the problem for me.

I did however find where the bug seems to be hiding. My situation is a large spreadsheet (BA26000 is the end cell) with lots of formulas.

If I copy a large section and paste (or not paste, probably doesn't matter) and then save I get a bad allocation.

If I copy a large section and then copy a single cell and save, it works fine.

Problem appears to occur when placing a large amount in the clipboard.

Also note, I did blow away my user profile, 'bad alloc' crash on the first save after reopening the spreadsheet.

[AllThingsTrendy]

I concur with @ed45626 . This issue should not be marked as resolved as there is no solution defined within the thread as the suggestions regarding the user profile have had no effect on the problems we are encountering. Similarly to the other posts within this thread, we too are having the same issue with (literally) constant "Bad Allocation" errors. The spreadsheets we work on are not small but they are not excessive either. The one I am currently having these issues with is barely 500KB but it does have quite a few formulas.

On top of the "Bad Allocation" errors, we regularly encounter Calc locking up and simply become inaccessible. The spreadsheet is visible on the screen but we are unable to click within any cell or take any other action. Sometimes after a couple of minutes, the application will become responsive again but more often than not, we are forced to close and re-open.

I and my team are Open Source fanatics and huge supporters of the OpenOffice suite as well as OSC and several others. However, these repetitive issues with Calc are really taking their toll. The productivity impact is becoming unmanageable and thus I am graciously reaching out for help. I can't bare the thought of giving any more funds to the software giants.

To no avail, I have taken the recommended steps to delete and recreate our user profiles. I'm hoping someone has alternative suggestions that might help with the described issues.

Many Thanks in advance!

[RusselB]

The OP (original poster) for this topic found a solution, thus the topic was marked Solved.. there are plenty of other topics regarding this, and similar, situation(s).
There's a list of nearly 200 posts regarding the Bad Allocation problem, which can be viewed at search.php?keywords=bad+allocation
If you include the word Solved, the list drops to 13 posts
One of the other posts/topics that is related might have more information that will help you.

[simondclinch]

I had this occur in both 4.1.1 and 4.1.2. After it still occurred on the later version, I looked for and found a workaround as follows:

Root cause: file naming conflict
Workaround: Before starting the session with Open Office, move all files of a similar name somewhere else including temporary files from crashed sessions e.g: to new folder ..\backupOO before saving and then start OO, make a small change and save to confirm the problem is gone. Then clean up the backup folder according to taste.

[wwigginss]

I had progressively enlarged a file of drawings with more and more-complex drawings. After I added two more large texture maps, i found that I could not save the file without hitting the Bad allocation error and could not write out either .pdf exports nor .jpgs.
I tried the workaround given by simondclinch by moving the file to a new empty folder. After moving it, I found that I could save it at least once and could save it under a new name. I still could not export it via .pdf or .jpg.

I increased the memory resources via Tools/Options/OpenOffice/Memory. The new settings are
Use for OpenOffice - 256MB
Memory per object - 50 MB
Number of objects - 100

Other options were not changed.

After these changes, I have been able to Save, Save As, and Export as PDF.

I'll post an update if problems reoccur. Many thanks to previous posters!

[sunjomar]

Currently working on OpenOffice Calc 4.1.3, I ran into the same problem(s) mentioned above.
Questions: Is this problem also applicable to version 4.1.3 or has the bug being fixed between the date of the last post and now?
Temporary work-around: To summarize/conclude what was said above, this problem is the result of too "large" changes to an already large file. E g rather copy-paste/change small areas of your spreadsheet in stead of large areas.

[perhe]

This bug continues to exist in open office calc 4.1.5. I experienced it after my system lost power while calc was open. When I opened calc again it had forgotten all the user profile information and did not have any history of my recent documents.

I tried opening my spreadsheet and it popped up an error that it was locked as read only which is also a bug since it was a lock file from when calc was open previously before the computer turned off.

I opened the file then tried saving it with a new name and it pops up a window saying:

"OpenOffice 4.1.5 Fatal Error

bad allocation"

It then crashes. Because this bug is mission critical and prevents saving and the fact that it has existed for so long without ever being fixed I will not use open office software going forward.

I also had LibreOffice open at the same time and it seems to be much more robust to power loss issues. It also lost the user profile information but does not have a problem with getting confused my stale lock files and does not crash and lose data when I try to save the file.

[sunjomar]

After experiencing, with utmost frustration at times, this [unresolved] "Bad Allocation" error for a long time now, also trying several ways to work around the problem (e g working in Windows XP rather than Windows 10), and understanding the underlying technical problem to some extent, I do feel that, while the OO Calc 4.1.5 programmers would have a difficult time fixing this problem, this problem could be avoided by building in more robust controls for such circumstances. While such more robust controls would definately slow down the saving/calculation process, it would at least not destroy the users work. I do agree with perhe that this problem will limit the future usability of OO Calc 4.1.5 and later.