[Solved] OpenOffice Not Responding

[RogerR00]

After virtually YEARS of using Open Office (happily, I might add), today when I needed it to open a document I had created in it, or any of the other documents I had created (in WRITER), it opens and displays the document, then stops responding, and all I get once I go to close it, is " Open Office Is Not Responding". Please help!!

[RoryOF]

Try starting TaskManager (Ctrl Shift Esc) and kill all "soffice" processes shown on TM's Details tab (Processes tab on Windows before Win10). Then restart OpenOffice.

Note: "soffice" with an initial "s".

[RogerR00]

Rory - Thanks, but that didn't work - tried it twice with a new cold boot each time...I have an aversion to keep trying because that old thing about trying the same thing over and over. Any other ideas?

[FJCC]

Unstable behavior can be caused by a corrupt user profile. Shut down OpenOffice, open any folder and type the following in the address bar near the top of the folder
%appdata%\openoffice\4
That will take you to a folder containing a folder called user. Rename that folder to user_old and restart OpenOffice. Is it stable now?

[robleyd]

If you have successfully renamed the folder, you should be prompted for your name when next you start AOO.

Edit: Your signature shows you are using AOO ver 3; if this is the case you need to substitute 3 instead of 4 in the search string FJCC provided. If not, perhaps you might consider updating application info in your signature. How to update your signature

[RogerR00]

Tried the %appdata%\openoffice\4 suggestion (Remember I had upgraded from v. 3.1 to 4.1.3) - IT DIDN'T CHANGE THE PROBLEM AT ALL. Somebody else want to give me another suggestion? PLEASE?

[robleyd]

Perhaps something has changed on your system - for example a Windows upgrade? Or you have installed some new software?

Try restarting Windows in Safe Mode and see if the problem still persists.

[RoryOF]

If Safe Mode doesn't work, the drastic option is to remove OO using Revo Uninstaller at its most aggressive, reboot, then install OO once again.

[RogerR00]

OK, Folks - Safe Mode does not change the problem. SO, I did the drastic approach of FIRST, downloading RevoUninstaller, then uninstalling AOO 4.1.3 at the most aggressive setting, then cold booting, then reinstalling AOO 4.1.3 from the Apache website, then cold-booting again. "Open Office Not Responding" AGAIN! So, I looked through the computer and found an old copy of Open Office 3.1 in a folder. So I Uninstalled BOTH that and 4.1.3 AGAIN with RevoUninstaller, cold booted, and reinstalled AOO 4.1.3 AGAIN. The original problem still exists, in that AOO will open, then immediately go into "not responding". It will even open a document previously created in OO 3.1, and THEN just freeze, "not responding". All it will let me do is close the program or wait for it to respond, which I did hopefully for a half-hour. Nope, no dice. I have NOT changed anything about this computer since the last time I used OO 3.1; no downloads, no upgrades, NOTHING. All I ever use are Writer and Calc for some really simple spreadsheets. I'm simply trying to use Writer now, and all I am getting is "Open Office is not responding". Going here, folks; PLEASE HELP!!!!!!

[RoryOF]

There are no incremental or silent updates to OpenOffice. One must explicitly download and install a numbered upgrade. The culprit preventing OO running on your computer is either a Windows 10 upgrade or some program or utility installed on your computer since last successful use of OO. Candidates include programs that monitor the Clipboard such as Skype and continual backup utilities. The Safe Mode test usually rules out effects from installed programs; it is, however, worth repeating to be certain. As I understand it, Win 10 silently upgrades itself and you should be looking at such upgrades in the upgrade history, perhaps to roll these back.

Depending on the complexity of your .odt and .ods files, AbiWord and Gnumeric may immediately open these.

[robleyd]

Can you confirm what process you use to start Windows in Safe Mode? https://support.microsoft.com/help/12376 has some information on options available.

[Bill]

Try running the Windows System File Checker to fix any system files that may have been corrupted.

[RogerR00]

Well, thanks, RoryOF and RobleYD - AFTER finally getting into back into Safe Mode and discovering that AOO 4.1.3 WORKED in Safe Mode after all, I then rebooted, and, to my surprise, AOO 4.1.3 now works in the normal startup mode. I have no idea what happened in the big Galactic bit bucket to make this work, but since I am a writer and NEED Open Office, I bow to the great bit-bucket Gods and give thanks. I guess I kind of DO want to know WHY it now works, and what going into Safe Mode and back accomplished, but for now I am just satisfied that I can keep working!!! Thanks again, guys or gals, whichever you may be!!!

By the way, I have forgotten how to make the title of this thread read "Solved", so could one of you do this for me or send me an email at rrogerr76@gmail.com with the instructions? THANKS!!

[RusselB]

To mark a topic as Solved, simply go back to the first post of the topic, click the Edit button, then insert [Solved] at the beginning of the subject line.
A moderator has the ability to make this change, but it's my understanding that it's preferable for the poster to make such a change.

[RogerR00]

OOOOPS!!!!! I spoke too soon!!! After I opened, saved, and closed a few documents, AOO STOPPED RESPONDING AGAIN!! So, I went through the whole process I did before, i.e., Safe Mode all the way through, and AOO worked there AGAIN!!! So then after a cold boot, I went back to normal mode, and it works there again. So, there is SOMETHING about going into Safe Mode that "fixes" the problem, but in normal mode it doesn't STAY fixed. HELP AGAIN, PLEASE!!!

[RusselB]

There is little (ie: almost nothing) that we can do to help in this situation.
This is a problem with something that has been installed on your computer that runs in normal mode. but not in Safe Mode.
While someone here might be willing and able to diagnose your system via a remote access, it is something that I would not recommend.
If you can't figure out what program is causing the difficulties, then I would suggest taking your system into a computer repair facility.

[RoryOF]

Normally if OO starts in Safe Mode this indicates there is some program on your computer which runs in Windows Normal Mode and which interferes with OO. It may be that Safe Mode in your case is clearing left-over components of OO.

Perhaps you are closing your editing sessions too hastily. To appear to speed up their reactions, computers buffer data behind the scenes. You should close your editing session by /File /Close from within OO; then wait a few seconds for the resulting disk activity to cease - you'll see the hard disk light blink two or three seconds after you issue the above command. Depending on the complexity of your file the write process may take one second or several seconds to complete. OO does much background housekeeping, so the file save may be slower than one expects for a flat file.

My advice is that you try /File /Close from within OO, then /File /Exit to close down OO itself; in each case wait the few seconds for the resulting disk activity to finish, then use the formal shutdown procedure of your computer, again waiting for disk activity to finish before powering down your computer. Such orderly shut down is not a burden - you can gather your papers, tidy your desk while it takes place. The few extra seconds will be much less than time needed to repair OO or to recreate a damaged file.

I've used OO since 2007, writing several million words using it; I've never lost a file even under Windows (when I used it). But, as an old computer hand, I observe a leisurely (and meticulous) closedown procedure.

[Bill]

Try running the Windows System File Checker to fix any system files that may have been corrupted.

Did you do this?

[RogerR00]

Well, that was all good info, but I'm STILL having the problem that AOO works in Safe Mode then goes out to lunch several sign-ins after going back to normal mode. There MUST be a bug somewhere in AOO that is causing or allowing this, since it does NOT happen in any of my other programs.

[Hagar Delest]

Any security application that could interfere? Have you tried to switch off the antivirus or the firewall? Especially if they are not the default Windows applications?

[RoryOF]

Have you something installed that allows you see the last few items copied to the Clipboard?

[RogerR00]

No idea how to see the last few items copied to the clipboard; I'm not going to switch off the firewall or antivirus programs, because they caused NO problems before I upgraded to AOO 4.1.3. Any other ideas out there?

[RusselB]

Normally the Windows clipboard only holds one item, the last one that was copied or cut, so the easiest way to see what is there, is to open a simple text program (eg: Notepad) and then do Ctrl+v (Paste) into the empty sheet/page.

You have stated that you won't turn off your firewall and/or anti-virus applications because they caused no problems before the upgrade. That does not mean that they are not affecting the upgrade.
In fact, the only way to confirm that they are not having an effect is to turn them off.
If you are worried about being connected to the internet while having one or both of those turned off/disabled, the simple solution is to disconnect from the internet before trying those options.
Your anti-virus and/or firewall should not require a constant internet connection for them to work, and AOO definitely does not.

The only other option that I can think of, and no guarantees that you won't have the same or a similar problem, is to try Libre Office

[RoryOF]

You would know if you have installed some application that permits selecting from the last few pastes to the clipboard, as you would have had to select and install it yourself.

Reading back over this thread it looks to me as if the problem may have originated with a silent Win 10 upgrade on or just before 19 Dec. That Safe Mode seems to cure the problem, albeit temporarily, strengthens this assumption. One needs to examine the list of processes running in Safe Mode and compare with the processes running in Windows normal mode. One of the extra processes from normal mode is most probably the culprit. If one of these extra processes was upgraded on or about 19 Dec, that is the first suspect.

Edit: In researching for other instances of this problem I came across the following statement In order to stop free usage of other software tools such as LibreOffice on its platform, Microsoft is planning to put a curb on such software’s running on its Windows 10 platform by 4Q of 2016. Whether this is true or merely a matter of the original author's opinion I cannot say, but I draw attention to the slow migration of many regular Forum Volunteers to other operating systems over the past few years,

[Bill]

In researching for other instances of this problem I came across the following statement

In order to stop free usage of other software tools such as LibreOffice on its platform, Microsoft is planning to put a curb on such software’s running on its Windows 10 platform by 4Q of 2016.

Looks like FUD to me. Did you read the comments on that article? There's only a few hours left in the last day of 4Q of 2016 and both LO and AOO work fine for most users. The author also claimed that users of MS Office older than Office 2013 would be forced to purchase an upgrade to Office 2013. If they didn't, then their MS Office would quit working on Windows 10. Such claims were refuted in several comments on the article.

[RoryOF]

Quite possibly FUD, Bill, but there are increasing cases, whether by MS intervention or user error, of OpenOffice/LibreOffice ceasing to startup after some Windows upgrade.

[Bill]

That reminds me of the many AOO bug reports that are filed and can't be reproduced. I've never seen AOO fail to start after a Windows update/upgrade. Maybe those reporting the problem had some hidden problem that was revealed by the update/upgrade, causing AOO to fail to start.

[rcarty]

Thanks for the information. Renaming the user data folder appears to have fixed my problem as well. Since my problem was slightly different I'm posting about for the benefit of any others who might experience the same.

Windows 8.1 Intel 64 bit, AOO 4.1.5.

My problem was in a fairly large spreadsheet (to me at least), about 1.3 MB in size. Every time I copied a line of data to a new line and started to edit the line AOO would stop responding. The only way to recover was to use Task Manager. It would recover the doc but of course any changes, including creating the new row and pasting the data into the line, was lost. I found for a few weeks if I pasted the data into the new row and immediately saved the doc it would work for dozens of copy/paste/edit operations before locking up. Today this fix stopped working, so I started saving twice during the edit of the new line, and when that also became not enough I went looking for a solution.

[RoryOF]

If a Windows upgrade occurs when OpenOffice is open, either with a file, or with the Start Centre (the selector that offers a choice of the OO applications), it can be terminated by the upgrade. This can leave orphan OO modules running, which orphans can prevent OO starting up. It is necessary to kill these using TaskManager to allow OO start properly.

If OO is open with a file when a Windows upgrade is forced one can get the orphan module problem, and possibly also (almost certainly) the file that was open damaged beyond repair.

[PeteHughes]

None of the above methods worked for me. "Not responding" didn't happen when booting into Windows Safe Mode. So I restarted in Windows in normal mode, and still got "Not responding".

So whilst it was writer/calc was "not responding" I went through all my "Background processes" in Task Manager and select "End Task" on each of them.

Eventually I "End task" on "Device Association Framework Provider Host", and one second later, the "Not responding" stopped, and I was able to interact again with the still-running OpenOffice application.

MS Windows spawned two new instances of "Device Association Framework Provider Host", but that didn't cause any further problems.

I was then able to open and close OpenOffice apps with no further issues.

However, if I reboot MS Windows then the problem starts all over again.