Opening, saving, and closing files is slow

[Blaziken_rjcf]

hollyberry informed me that, through the use of some tools, he/she discovered that AOO is making "many short disk accesses". Apparently, AOO is saving pieces of the files (any file) in their own separate, temporary folders, then putting them together. I asked him/her to post the info here, as I was busy at the time of the PM, but he/she didn't, so I am.

[del1000]

I have same problem. I have found that this occurred after windows updated several 'important' updates. I also get quite a few "not responding" messages. Also same problem when, say 10 tabs or more open in browser. I googled this problem some time ago and some geek wrote that windows updates were the problem, but it would take a lot of trial and error uninstalls of individual updates to find the culprit, (or culprits). This would obviously take a lot of painstaking time. Personally, I think Microsoft are very happy that these problems are happening, as they would love everyone to 'upgrade' to a later operating system, while claiming the later OS is much faster. (Crafty marketing, eh?)

If I could afford it, I would go for an Apple Mac. I know some geeks are doing just that.

I doubt that these problems will ever be solved and I think it suits Microsoft that way.

del1000

[RoryOF]

Or you could use some version of Linux - you will note that many of the volunteers on this Forum prefer to use it. 10 tabs or more open causing the problem might indicate not sufficient RAM.

[Blaziken_rjcf]

This is not because of any updates, AFAIK. I've said it before that no updates were installed when I first installed AOO while using Windows 8.1, yet the problems started right away. My browser works fine, and I have plenty of RAM (8 GB). This problem also occurs on a laptop I have access to that has Windows 7 installed. However, I'm pretty sure the issues started on my computer after I went from Windows 7 to Windows 8.1, so the OS is (most likely, IMO) not to blame.
It could be some sort of software incompatibility (the most likely case, seeing as how it used to work fine before the change to Windows 8.1), it could be a hardware issue (less likely, or it would/should work properly on the aforementioned laptop), or it could be something I did - a setting I changed (least likely, since I performed multiple "clean" installs). There are probably more options I'm not considering, but then I'm not a techie.

[Blaziken_rjcf]

(No, I haven't given up on this. I'm quite stubborn)

Using Windows 8.1's built-in Resource Monitor (no idea it had one), it seems that every time I save a file, eight files are actually being created and/or edited. Two in the AOO installation folder, named "swriter.ht" and "swriter.db" (both in the help subfolder), one in C:\Users\[Username]\AppData\Local\Temp\svbmnsr8.tmp\svbrc61u.tmp, two in something called an "NTFS Volume Log" - both on my internal and one of the external HDD's (the external is the one where the files I'm editing are stored) - another in a System Volume Information folder, then there's the actual file I'm editing, and, finally, something called an "NTFS Master File Table". It says here the disk response time is 52 ms for the "swriter.ht" file, and the others are all under 20 ms. Additionally, the System Volume Information folder is the first one to be edited. Is this information helpful in any way?

[RoryOF]

I'm a long time away from using Windows, but the NTFS files may be operating system files, related to the overall file system in use. The .ht and .db files may be database files - are you running some form of continuous system file and/or content indexing? This was reported to slow up OpenOffice in early XP (or was it Vista/Win7 days)?

[Blaziken_rjcf]

That's the thing - I had disabled file indexing on all the relevant folders (the ones pertaining to AOO). At least I thought I had. Should I simply disable it throughout my computer?

[RoryOF]

You can try disabling it globally. I think you may then need to restart your computer to be certain it has taken. If it makes a difference, the likelihood is that it was not properly disabled for OpenOffice and you can re-enable it selectively.

[Blaziken_rjcf]

I disabled the indexing service itself, restarted, and the problem remains. Now, checking the resource monitor, it appears that fewer files are being written and/or created, with tiny response times (highest shows up as 1 ms), but opening, etc. is still roughly the same speed. It may have sped up about a second, but that's it.
The NTFS Volume Logs are still listed here as having been accessed, as well as the NTFS Master File Table and a seemingly random folder in C:\Users\[Username]\AppData\Local\Temp

[byebye]

I uninstalled it for being so slow, I suppose you get what you pay for and as this is free you are not going to get anything decent or high quality and I use google docs now open office feels like a dinosaur,it is really ridiculously slow,don't waste time with it.

[Blaziken_rjcf]

I suggest you go advertise elsewhere.

[RoryOF]

@byebye: That is your choice. But your assumption that "as this is free you are not going to get anything decent or high quality" is erroneous. In the hands of a discerning user OpenOffice is fully as capable as many commercial products, as witnessed by the many municipal authorities who are using it or its close derivatives.

[Blaziken_rjcf]

"As capable as" doesn't cut it. "Better than" might be a more apt description, IMO. If I thought Microsoft Word or Google Docs or whatever was better, I'd have given up on AOO when this issue started. The only reason I still have MW installed is because some of my friends still use it, and we need to share files every now and then.

[Blaziken_rjcf]

I forgot to mention:
The resource monitor shows that soffice.bin is saving my file at a rate of about 950 bytes per second. I've tried changing its priority, with the same result.

I have noticed something, however, that may be the key to this issue. I help run a wiki, and said wiki uses javascript on a certain page. The page takes some time to load, presumably due to the code, and, while it's loading, AOO freezes for a second, like when it's opening/saving/loading files. However, even if I close my browser altogether, AOO is still slow when opening, etc. files. My guess is the issue is related to Java.

[Jerpile]

Same problem here.

I had Open Office on Vista, it was slow to open, save and close and even froze for minutes or crashed sometimes. I now have Windows 7, it's a bit better because it didn't freeze (yet, I put Win7 recently in my computer), but overall it's still very slow and it's the same issue. I also have Open Office on my laptop which uses XP.

Prior versions like 3.2 weren't so slow.

I tried Libre Office and had the same problem.

I just rebooted everything on my PC so, there's no event that could have caused a slowing, it was slow from the start.

[pbhave]

I'm encountering the same problem as Blaziken_rjcf, Jerpile, and others. I am running Windows 8.1 and it's taking a very long time to save Calc files. It's the family computer, and my wife is threatening to buy Microsoft Office. Please provide a solution soon!

[Blaziken_rjcf]

Bump. =/

Edit: I believe avast! to be the problem. I reinstalled AOO with avast! disabled, and it sped up considerably for a while. Although I uninstalled it in one of several attempts at correcting this problem, I always reinstalled it in the end. Its very presence may be the cause.

[Blaziken_rjcf]

After uninstalling avast!, restarting, uninstalling AOO, restarting, reinstalling AOO, and restarting again, opening, yadda yadda times are down to 3 seconds each. Better than before, but still way too long compared to what they used to be (practically instantaneous).

Edit: Since testing this, I've installed a different anti-virus, but it's still 3 seconds to save, etc.

[Blaziken_rjcf]

Bump.

[Blaziken_rjcf]

After uploading (and subsequently opening) a file to get help with a different issue, I discovered this problem doesn't occur in read-only mode.

[Blaziken_rjcf]

Bump.

[RoryOF]

There may be no answer. In the time you have been waiting and composing postings you could have opened a lot of files.

[Blaziken_rjcf]

There is an answer. To say there's definitely no answer, you'd need to know what the problem was. If it happens on a few computers, but not others, then there must be something those computers have in common that's causing the issue. It's basic logic.

Using just my computer and my mom's laptop as a basis, it's definitely not a hardware or OS issue, as they're different from one another in those regards. It's not completely an anti-virus issue, since uninstalling avast! only partially solved this problem. It's not a problem with the new version either - using an older version yielded the same results. I don't have enough information about how the writer works (what it interacts with, how it interacts with those things, etc.) to figure out what the solution is, but there is one. Many things changed in my computer when I went from Windows 7 to Windows 8.1, and most of those things have been ruled out already (see above). That should only leave out a handful of options, and I'm stubborn enough to keep searching for them.

[RoryOF]

Look at whether any Java using applications are enabled in your OpenOffice extensions - for example, LanguageTool, written in Java, greatly increases memory usage in OpenOffice and slows things down.

The code for OpenOffice is freely available from links at
OpenOffice source code links if you have the time to delve into it. A search engine for the source code is at
OpenOffice source code search engine

[jrkrideau]

Possible quick solution: Dual boot with Ubuntu. Run Ubuntu. See what happens.

I am not being facetious. It really sounds like a systems problem rather than an AOO problem since few people report a similar problem and they usually are dealing with very complicated or just plain huge files.

[emilh2]

I am having the same problem as blaziken. Opening and closing a file takes ~2 seconds and saving a file takes 3-4 seconds, no matter the file size and how much is written in the document. Even when there is only written a single line of text, saving still takes just as long. I am also on a Windows 8.1 machine. I had the chance to check if the problem was occuring on the other computers in the house. My dad is on a Windows 10 machine, and is having the same problem. Me and my dad both use a Lenovo laptop. My mom has a Samsung laptop with Windows 10 installed, but is not experiencing this problem. This was very easy to see: opening, saving and closing a file was near-instant, like it should be. I will be using Google Docs until there is a solution to this problem.

My own specs (on which the problem did occur):
Windows 8.1
Lenovo Y50
Intel Core i5-4210H 2.90 GHz
8 GB RAM
Intel HD Graphics 4600
Nvidia GeForce GTX 960 M

My dads specs (on which the problem also occured):
Windows 10
Lenovo T540p
Intel Core i5-4300M 2.60 GHz
8 GB RAM
Intel HD Graphics 4600

My moms specs (on which the problem did not occur):
Windows 10
Samsung Series 7 Chronos
Intel Core i7-3635QM 2.40 GHz
8 GB RAM
Intel HD Graphics 4000
AMD Radeon R9 M200X Series

We are all running 64-bit systems.

[curiosity314]

I upgraded to windows 10 and now have a network traffic monitor open app open on my desktop. I have noticed that whenever I load or save my libre office calc spreadsheets there is network activity at a rate around the magnitude of 10k B/s. It seems to be related to the saving and loading - i.e. if I have no other programs open and load/save the spreadsheet there is network activity while loading/saving and the activity is sustained while the loading/saving takes place then stops when the load/save is complete.

Not sure if this is relevant, but wondering if anyone else has noticed or is able to measure similar activity?

[acknak]

Are you sure that the network monitor shows only traffic on the wire—Internet traffic—and not network traffic between apps on the local machine?

I'm wondering if OO may spawn separate processes for loading/saving, and these processes may pass data over a (virtual) network channel of some kind. If so, it may show up on the monitor.

As far as I know, the only Internet traffic OO generates is to check for updates. You can turn that off under Tools > Options > OO > Online update.

[Blaziken_rjcf]

Using Windows 8.1 built-in resource monitor, AOO shows no network activity upon opening or closing files.

Edit: However, saving shows that AOO is accessing a bunch of files, two of which are English help files named "swriter.db" and "swriter.ht", another two of which are two NTFS Volume Logs (one per relevant HDD), three DLL files (sfx.dll, ucppkg1.dll, and ucpchelp1.dll), a temporary file, two NTFS Master File Tables (again, one per relevant HDD), one NTFS Free Space Map (in the same HDD as the file I'm saving), one backup (even though I've disabled backup copies; I assume this is something else that can't be disabled so easily), and, of course, the text file itself. Half of these were read (help files, DLL's, backup, NTFS Free Space Map, and the NTFS Master File Table from the HDD that does not contain the text file in question), the other half were written (the text file, both NTFS Volume Logs, the temporary file, and the NTFS Master File Table that does contain the file in question).

[curiosity314]

Are you sure that the network monitor shows only traffic on the wire—Internet traffic—and not network traffic between apps on the local machine?

I'm wondering if OO may spawn separate processes for loading/saving, and these processes may pass data over a (virtual) network channel of some kind. If so, it may show up on the monitor.

As far as I know, the only Internet traffic OO generates is to check for updates. You can turn that off under Tools > Options > OO > Online update.

I am not sure whether the monitor measures traffic on the local machine as network traffic. I just did a check and the traffic appears internet traffic: there is only one machine on my network and when saving/loading a spreadsheet in calc, the increase in network activity shown by the monitor is also reflected (crudely) by an increase flickering of the internet traffic activity and local network activity lights on my ISP router. The lights are mostly steady prior to and after loading/saving a file but flicker noticeably during the loading saving. I was sort of wondering if some debug code got left in so that Calc is trying to write to a log on some machine in Germany It might not be noticable when it is local but is a drag when you are on the other side of the planet.

Under Tools > Options > LibreOffice > Online Update, the setting is to check for updates once per week so it seems unlikely to be that.