Can't download 4.1.5

[Martin99]

This morning my 4.1.2 version seems to have collapsed - I can't open any "Word" or "Excel" files (sorry can't remember OpenOffice names without loosing this post).

I have tried to download, finding it is now become 4.1.5. When I get to the "Please wait while the Installation Wizard installs OpenOffice 4.1.5" page, a box appears with "Please exit OpenOffice 4.1.5 and the Open Office Quickstarter before you continue. If you are using a multi-user system, also make sure that no other user has OpenOffice 4.1.5 open". I am a sole user.

If I click O (or the X at the top RH corner, I get" Installation Wizard Completed The wizard was interrupted before OpenOffice 4.1.5 could be completely installed Your system has not been modified ....................."

I've tried this 4 times and get the same each time.

OpenOffice has given problems perhaps twice in the last say 8 years. I downloaded without problems and been back in business quick quickly.

Can anybody help? I have not uninstalled 4.1.2, fearing my present problem may be a temporary problem, and in uninstalling I might loose OpenOffice for ever.

[Martin99]

Can't download 4.1.5
Post by Martin99 » Fri Apr 27, 2018 1:14 pm

(As I haven't received any response in a few hours, I'll repeat my request realising that I'd used "Downloading" when I was talking about "Installing"

This morning my 4.1.2 version seems to have collapsed - I can't open any "Word" or "Excel" files (sorry can't remember OpenOffice names without loosing this post).

I have tried to download and install, finding it is now become 4.1.5. After downloading, when I get to the "Please wait while the Installation Wizard installs OpenOffice 4.1.5" page, a box appears with "Please exit OpenOffice 4.1.5 and the Open Office Quickstarter before you continue. If you are using a multi-user system, also make sure that no other user has OpenOffice 4.1.5 open". I am a sole user.

If I click OK (or the X at the top RH corner, I get" Installation Wizard Completed The wizard was interrupted before OpenOffice 4.1.5 could be completely installed Your system has not been modified ....................."

I've tried this 4 times and get the same each time.

OpenOffice has given problems perhaps twice in the last say 7 years. I downloaded without problems and was back in business quick quickly.

Can anybody help? I have not uninstalled 4.1.2, fearing my present problem may be a temporary problem, and in uninstalling I might loose OpenOffice for ever.

[Villeroy]

Your old version has nothing to do with your problem. AOO 4.1.2 should work well, at least it should open your files. Replacing it with 4.1.5 would not cure your problem, whatever that is.
Why can't you open your files?
What exactly do you do to open a file? There are dozends of methods to open a file.
What exactly happens when you do so? Nothing? Get some error message? Which exact message?

[Martin99]

I double click on the .doc or .xls file, It first happened this morning when I received a not very urgent e-mail with an attachment; when the .doc didn't open I moved straight on to a more urgent e-mail. OpenOffice wasn't already open - my laptop battery has failed and I used it away from home yesterday and had to shut down the computer after the meeting (the computer normally stays "on" with almost undoubtedly one or another OpenOffice files lying open for weeks on end). I'm using Windows 10, installed about 3 years ago. Later on I tried to open a file listed in whatever it is called that lists folders and files and exactly the same - again nothing happened it didn't open.

I've had minor "similar" problems about twice before in 7 years - I say "similar" because I know nothing about such things and only remember that I couldn't open files and re-downloaded OpenOffice and off I went in 10-15 minutes. Each time I assumed a corrupted OpenOffice system file, rightly or wrongly

Thus today I tried to download OpenOffice as I'd done previously.

At the meeting yesterday, I logged on but didn't in fact have to open a OpenOffice file. The only new thing I had done immediately before logging off the previous day was to Password Protect some files - the first time ever and in connection with the forthcoming Data Protection regulations - but thousands of people must have Password Protected files before yesterday so I can't see that has anything to do with it.

The only other odd thing that happened earlier this week was that my screen background (can't think of the word) mysteriously changed to an (unwanted but not deleted) screenshot I took the previous week, I can't now see anything on the desktop, but I never use that anyway except to find the icon retrieve accidentally deleted files - can't think of name of that word either nor of course can I read it from the desktop anymore.

Grateful for any help.

[Villeroy]

Can you start the program without any file using the Windows start button?

[Martin99]

No. I think you mean in Windows 10 clicking on the Windows icon then on Open Office within my "Most used" programs. Nothing happens.

[Martin99]

No. I think you mean in Windows 10 clicking on the Windows icon then on Open Office within my "Most used" programs. Nothing happens.

I'm not familiar with Forums and may be pressing the wrong buttons.

Martin99

[Bill]

Are you using Windows 10? Your signature says Vista. Have you tried restarting the computer? Have you looked in the Task Manager to see if the soffice.bin process is running? If it is, then stop the process and try starting OpenOffice again.

[Martin99]

Bill and somebody else.

Thank you very much for your time.

I saw no point in switching off and on yesterday morning as I'd just switched on - the very first thing I did was to try to open an attachment on the very first e-mail I opened - albeit that Thursday morning was the first time I'd switched off for 2 or 3 weeks, with my batteryless laptop sitting happily on my desk.

I was also reluctant later yesterday that I had a large number of websites open - holiday accommodation planning - and had forgotten that with a hard switch off - turning the power off - Chrome would let me restore those websites without having to delve into the bottom hundredth, hundredth and first etc websites in my bookmark table. Also my e-mail program - eM Client - can be a bit temperamental as one can't be sure if it has closed properly and if subject to a hard switch off takes 30 mins on starting up to check for errors.

Any way I did switch off and on an hour ago and lo and behold OpenOffice now works. But why not yesterday morning when I did exactly the same thing, i.e. switch on? And about 4 hours wasted.

Another strange thing yesterday is that my screensaver time has switched itself from about 30 mins to about 5 mins without me asking it to - easy to reverse when I catch up on lost time, that is apart from the desktop image changing about 6 days ago without me asking. With Windows, restoring these unasked for changes sometimes takes perhaps 5 keystrokes to reverse - how did one accidentally without noticing hit 5 keys in exactly the right order to do it in the first place?

I mentioned not being familiar with Forums. I first (and probably last) tried this Forum in 2011, for what reason I can't remember. I had Vista then and wouldn't have any idea how to change my profile.

To go on moaning, I might have tried this Forum - no of course it would have been a different Forum - about a year after I acquired this laptop. I had immense problems with various programs freezing - mainly but not solely Windows Live Mail - requiring shutdown and a restart I spent a small fortune on getting it looked at. Then Windows 10 loaded itself giving me about 2 secs to stop it - I wasn't quick enough - to replace Windows 8.1. Suddenly all my problems vanished. The problem clearly was Windows 8.1 (or 8.2 can't remember) and no-one had suggested that might be the problem. Many tens of hours wasted and many days without a machine. I had been advised not to move to Windows 10 until most bugs were sorted. Earlier a similar thing happened when 8.1 suddenly downloaded in place of 8.0 - again I was not fast enough to stop it. That time it wiped my hard disk; fortunately I was about 99.99% backed up - just a few same day files not backed up and lost. Microsoft on the phone did apologise saying that "rarely happened", but offered no compensation.

I have no interest in computers except using them for my many interests, despite first having used small mainframes in 1978, an IBM desktop with a basic spreadsheet in 1986 - an experimental machine - my then company's IT dept were reluctant to allow desktop computers fearing it would loose them jobs, and something like present day desktops in 1988, although using the long obsolete Boston based Wang operating system, which Microsoft drove out of business. Now long retired. Sorry to moan - nobody else to talk to about computers.

Many thanks both of for your help and time.

Martin99

[robleyd]

All that off topic aside; there is a proper shutdown routine in all Windows versions after 3.1. Don't just hit the power switch as this can cause data loss or corruption.

[Martin99]

Thanks

I had about 10 hotel websites live on Chrome, some not bookmarked, some bookmarked, but at the bottom of a list of 100+ other bookmarks - yes that long list needs weeding - last year's holiday hotels/transport/etc isn't needed any more and shouldn't be there, but it all takes time.

Chrome asks if restoration is needed after such a shutdown, as does OpenOffice, although of course yesterday I had no such OpenOffice files open as I couldn't start it.

Nevertheless I take your point that one shouldn't do a hard shut-down, but we did have a power cut about 4 weeks ago (and my battery has failed, not a problem for now as it rarely leaves my desk these days).

When I had the "Windows 8" freeze problem 3-4 years ago, I was doing hard shut-downs perhaps 5 times a day for perhaps 8 months.

I'm still mystified as to why OpenOffice wouldn't work yesterday but worked today.

Martin99