[Hint] How did I fix my ODT file

[RoryOF]

I suspect all the style definitions were some malfunction; perhaps she started the file on a university computer using Word and then transferred to the laptop to use OpenOffice and something went wrong.

[Leveler]

Hey guys,

here is my file some hours after the crash, do you now get something out of it?

[John_Ha]

Sorry - the file is full of zeros and there is nothing to recover. See my earlier posts - you may be able to recover some of the now deleted temporary files.

Can you help us by giving an accurate of exactly what you did, or what Writer did, to cause this to happen. If we knew, we could advise people not to do it. It has never happened to me in 15 years and I create about 50 new documents every month.

[Leveler]

Nothing special, I saved it. Then my computer crashed, then it was gone

[Leveler]

Next try, do you guys get something useful out of the following file?

[acknak]

The file is not actually an OO document; it's just some (mostly) text data. Maybe just a "random" chunk of disk space.

If you want to look at it, just open it in OO; you should get the text data on the screen. I'm guessing the data has not come from your document.

[Leveler]

It can't be a coincidence that it was created at the exact same time and is exactly the same size big, right?

[John_Ha]

Nothing special, I saved it. Then my computer crashed, then it was gone

Q1 How long after saving it did it crash? Immediately? 20 minutes later? I am trying to understand whether the PC could have crashed while the save was still taking place.

Q2 Do you know why the PC crashed? Was it Writer which caused the crash? Or something else?

Q3 When you say crash, what exactly do you mean? Did it hang (ie stop responding)? Or did it give the Blue Screen of Death? Or what...?

[John_Ha]

It can't be a coincidence that it was created at the exact same time and is exactly the same size big, right?

I think it is probably a Firefox crash report.

Did Firefox crash ... which caused the PC to crash ... which caused Writer to crash before writing the .odt file ... which corrupted the .odt file?

Code: Select all   Expand viewCollapse view

{"type":
"main",
"id":"284886fa-3879-4f34-809c-f5bd7a0363a7",
"creationDate":"2015-12-07T05:46:51.644Z",
"version":4,"application":
"architecture":
"x86",
"buildId":"20151029151421",
"name":"Firefox",
"version":"42.0",
"vendor":"Mozilla",
"platformVersion":"42.0",
"xpcomAbi":"x86-msvc",
"channel":"release"},
"payload":{"ver":4,
"simpleMeasurements":{"totalTime":2462,"uptime":41,"start":41,"main":261,"selectProfile":310,"afterProfileLocked":311,"startupCrashDetectionBegin":477,"startupCrashDetectionEnd"
...

[Leveler]

I think, you could describe it like that, yes!

[alani]

Hi guys. I am one more victim of the content.xml error and I don't know how to recover my .odt file.. The error message says that the error is at the position (2,127296) but besides my efforts I couldn't fix it. If anyone could hep me out, you would be like a Lord and Savior to me. Tell me what could I do to check on my file. Thanks a lot in advance!

[FJCC]

Can you upload the file here? There is a size limit of 128 KB. The Upload Attachment tab is just below the box where you type a response after clicking Post Reply. If the file is too big, please post it at a file sharing site like Media Fire.

[alani]

Thanks a lot for the response! Here is the file: http://www.mediafire.com/download/dti62 ... theory.odt (I hope it's the proper link)

Edit: Now fixed [RoryOF, Moderator]

[RoryOF]

If you send me a PM with an email address, I'll send you a fixed copy.

[lauradddd]

Hey people,

I have the same pound problem, can anyone help me? It's a draft for an essay that I need to finish next week :S

Much obliged!

http://www.mediafire.com/download/gif65 ... +study.odt

[John_Ha]

Welcome to the forum

Sorry but there is nothing in your file. See Using Recuva to un-delete Writer temporary files for help recovering the temporary files.

[Zizi64]

It's a draft for an essay that I need to finish next week

Do you have more than one copies of your important documents, isn't?

In the future always make some copies of your important documents for more security level onto different media (cloud, HDD, email, CD/DVD, Memory Sticks, etc...)
Not for the AOO/LO/MSO documents only: but for all of important documents on your PC, laptop, etc.

[RoryOF]

As the archive is damaged there is no point pursuing that path. To try and recover your file, you should as soon as possible look in the backup and temporary directories pointed to by /Tools /Options /OpenOffice : Paths. Rename any files in those to type .odt (or whatever file type you were using) and see if they contain your data. Download Recuva or PhotoRec (only one needed) and let it do an indepth recovery of deleted files on your computer. You may get a file containing some or all of your data (or not). Do this as soon as possible, with as little use of your computer as may be in the interim.

[Ourthog]

hi,
got following prob. hope some1 can help me. oo 4.0.1 win 7.
system shut down (while/after) saving (something is fishy with my system, may be the old win installation or the hardware). now OO is asking for ASCII Filter Options when opening the file. tried to make copies, open it as zip, tried to find older versions in win temp, tried to open it with other applications, yet nothing works (im not that experienced with that kinda stuff). i got literally no clue and some of the tips in this forum i just dont get.
the doc is part german part english. it should contain 50 sites. when opening, all i can see are empty pages or #'s only.

http://www.mediafire.com/download/cbqpl ... ground.odt

[RoryOF]

The archive is reporting as damaged. To try and recover your file, you should as soon as possible look in the backup and temporary directories pointed to by /Tools /Options /OpenOffice : Paths. Rename any files in those to type .odt (or whatever file type you were using) and see if they contain your data. Download Recuva or PhotoRec (only one needed) and let it do an indepth recovery of deleted files on your computer. You may get a file containing some or all of your data (or not). Do this as soon as possible, with as little use of your computer as may be in the interim.

[John_Ha]

Welcome to the forum.

Sorry - your file is full of zeros or null characters ...

If you are lucky, you might be able to un-delete some of the temporary files which Writer wrote while you were editing the .odt file, and then deleted when you closed Writer. Act quickly - they risk being overwritten the longer you leave it.

See [Tutorial] How to find and un-delete Writer temporary files for

a) detailed instructions on how to recover your file as it was when you last opened or saved it, or as it was when it was last saved with AutoRecovery.

b) how to find previous versions of the file in the folder it is located in, but which have since been deleted.

c) how to un-delete the temporary files Writer wrote while you were editing the file, and then deleted. This will recover your file as it was when you last opened or you last saved it and is probably your best hope.

Edit: Edited to point to the Tutorial

[lauradddd]

Thanks for all the replies, just had to make a new essay because the deadline was yesterday. However, I learned a lot from your feedback, and I turned those options on

[chisoft]

Good Day,

Please can you help recover the attached Swedish file. I have followed your steps without much success. I am grateful for your help!

[RoryOF]

I got nothing from your file but someone else may have more success, although I doubt it.

The chances are minute that you will recover anything from the existing file.

To try and recover your file, you should look in the backup and temporary directories pointed to by /Tools /Options /OpenOffice : Paths. Rename any files in those to type .odt (or whatever file type you were using) and see if they contain your data. Download Recuva or PhotoRec (only one needed) and let it do an indepth recovery of deleted files on your computer. You may get a file containing some or all of your data (or not). Pending running Recuva/PhotoRec make as little use of your computer as possible to avoid overwriting any deleted file.

[John_Ha]

Sorry, but your file is full of zeros.

See Using Recuva to un-delete Writer temporary files for help recovering the temporary files which Writer wrote while you were editing the file, and then deleted when Writer was closed.

[noface0711]

I have a corrupted .odt file that I have unsuccessfully tried to recover for a few weeks: I can't seem to get to the content.xml file for some reason. Can anybody help me? It is a chapter of my PhD dissertation, and I have an earlier version but I am quite stressed about what exactly might be in this one, that was supposed to be "final"! Problem is, the file is 227KB, so i don't know how i could attach it so that some of you might have a look, if you have time. Thank you so much for your help!!

[John_Ha]

I have sent you a Private Message giving you my ID - if you send it to me I will have a look at it.

[RoryOF]

If anything is recoverable from the existing file I'm sure John_Ha will find it. However, you should look to see if there is a deleted version on your computer, just in case John can't get anything.

To try and recover your file, you should look in the backup and temporary directories pointed to by /Tools /Options /OpenOffice : Paths. Rename any files in those to type .odt (or whatever file type you were using) and see if they contain your data. Download Recuva or PhotoRec (only one needed) and let it do an indepth recovery of deleted files on your computer. You may get a file containing some or all of your data (or not). Pending running Recuva/PhotoRec make as little use of your computer as possible to avoid overwriting any deleted file.

[SzunyogVihar]

Dear All,

I have tried many of the tricks in this forum, I am still unsuccessful.
Can anyone fix this odt file of mine? Looks like it has several errors in the xml.
http://www.mediafire.com/download/6107u ... t_0322.odt
The file contains many links, formatting, a table and a content. Maybe too many things added.
This is a thumbnail of what it looks like: http://www.mediafire.com/view/sctak0fcq ... mbnail.png

Thank you for any help or assistance.

Sz.V.

[acknak]

Try this one.

Edit: PS:

Was this file created by OpenOffice? It doesn't look like the typical OO file structure, and the xml errors are unlike any that I've seen from OO.

There seems to be a problem with some of the hyperlinks and I'm not sure that the "fixed" xml is actually correct. You might try a search in the document for </text:a> That marks each place where there could be a problem.

Edit: [Attached file deleted on request]