Apache OpenOffice Community Forum

I always get the error message below when I try to open OOo. I have a new Dell i7 on Windows 7. OOo worked fine for 3 months. Then one day my computer froze when I was watching an internet news video (OOo was open, but not involved), and this has happened ever since. There is only one user, and no instances are visibly open when this happens. It can be the first thing after rebooting, and it still happens.

Either another instance of OpenOffice.org is accessing your personal settings or your personal settings are locked.
Simultaneous access can lead to inconsistencies in your personal settings. Before continuing you should make sure user "closes OpenOffice.org on host".

Do you really want to continue?

YES or NO

Hi and welcome to the forum!

At the root of the user profile (see [Tutorial] The OOo user profile), in the \3 folder, there should be a .lock file. Just delete it.

If it occurs again, try to reset the profile.

Please add '[Solved]' at the beginning of your first post title (edit button) if your issue has been fixed.

Thank you, Hagar, both for the welcome and the great guidance. This worked perfectly, and OOo is operating normally again. I was afraid the first part (about another instance) meant that some spyware had wormed its way in. Thanks also for responding so quickly.

I was wondering who paid the wages for your excellent support, but I think I have figured that out now. It must be Capital One Bank, as you are clearly one of the squad of Vikings in its unique marketing program