Writer 4.1.3 asked me to reregister; 4.1.4 lost "view" setti

[BigSky27]

A short history: a few error messages from Win7 leading to Blue Screen shutdown and restart (most certainly having nothing to do with OpenOffice). This has happened about 12 times in the last 2 months. Each time when I restart OO, it has recovered my previously open files. But not today. After system checked its on-board memory, it (4.1.3) actually asked me to register, as if I had never used OO. Noticing that 4.1.4 is available, I installed that. Fortunately, the new version found my old existence...it new my name. But now, every file I open has none of the view options saved. For instance, I always turn off the ruler and the right side panel for maximum monitor space, and can then view documents at 86%, 2 pages at a time. Those settings were lost; 1 page at a time, ruler is back, etc. Not only that, pages now have the boundary line I don't want to see, and the footing has a gray field in back of it. These seem to be two problems... first with 4.1.3 losing my registration/identity, and 4.1.4 losing my settings. Any ideas? Or do I have to simply re-do all my settings without complaint about lost time?

[robleyd]

It would appear that you finally lost the russian roulette game of system crashes with AOO open

From your description, there is but one issue with several different symptoms - the loss of your user profile. See [Tutorial]The OpenOffice User Profile for more information.

Essentially, what seems to have happened:
a) Windows blue screens and trashes your AOO user profile wherein all your personalised settings are stored
b) You restart, AOO asks you to re-register and creates a shiny new, default user profile
c) You upgrade to AOO 4.1.4 which uses your existing - but shiny new, default - user profile
d) You now need to re-configure your AOO - grumbling about the time needed is optional Calling down curses on your mis-behaving OS is also optional.

[BigSky27]

Thanks for your reply. I wonder why OO 4.1.3 rescued and re-opened my files on previous blue screens, but not the last one. And I believe 4.1.4 found my old profile... not the one resulting from the "new registration" ... because the naming regimen (first name only, no last) mirrored the original. Just trying to sort out what -- maybe -- OO can do to minimize negative effects spreading from other software, such as "bad" drivers, which trip up the system, which then cause problems within other software (OO).

[RoryOF]

Thanks for your reply. I wonder why OO 4.1.3 rescued and re-opened my files on previous blue screens, but not the last one. And I believe 4.1.4 found my old profile... not the one resulting from the "new registration" ... because the naming regimen (first name only, no last) mirrored the original. Just trying to sort out what -- maybe -- OO can do to minimize negative effects spreading from other software, such as "bad" drivers, which trip up the system, which then cause problems within other software (OO).

A small UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) may help, as it will smooth out any electricity glitches in addition to providing time to shut down the computer when power fails. A change of operating system is a major step - for past ten years I have used linux which is much more stable than Windows, although less feature full. This is a very major step and will require much consideration and thought on the part of the user. As I am old school, I dislike highly integrated systems that try to do all my thinking for me.

[BigSky27]

Confession: I didn't previously notice that 4.1.4 never installed. (Installer said "close all instances of OO..." Checking w/ Task Manager, no others were found in processes or services. After clicking on OK, I presumed installation continued, but no.) So any problems had nothing to do with 4.1.4 at all. Now that 4.1.4 IS installed, it successfully migrated all previous settings. But I still wonder what can be done to insulate OO from other problematic software...

[RoryOF]

Run Windows in Safe Mode and see if OpenOffice is more stable when run on that Windows mode. If so, it becomes detective work to establish what normal mode programs or drives are causing the problem.

[John_Ha]

Or do I have to simply re-do all my settings without complaint about lost time?

1. Re-do all your settings.
2. Take a copy of C:\Users\xxxxxx\AppData\Roaming\OpenOffice\4\user and call it C:\Users\xxxxxx\AppData\Roaming\OpenOffice\4\user_copy.

If the crash happens again, start AOO so as to rebuild the profile, stop AOO, and replace the new profile C:\Users\xxxxxx\AppData\Roaming\OpenOffice\4\user with the saved copy. Your only loss will be any changes made since you saved the copy, and file names saved in the Recent Documents list.

Google for blue screen crashes and things to check. They are sometimes caused by hardware and re-seating the memory cards sometimes fixes it. Check the Event log for clues.

[robleyd]

I wonder why OO 4.1.3 rescued and re-opened my files on previous blue screens, but not the last one.

But I still wonder what can be done to insulate OO from other problematic software...

In respect of blue screens - nothing. That is almost the equivalent of turning off the power; depending on whether the operating system or hardware has cached data awaiting writing it to disk, you lose some data or not - this is probably why you survived several blue screens relatively painlessly but eventually a file or files were sufficiently damaged to cause a problem.

[BigSky27]

Just a few notes/comments to close this thread, because many people comb though postings and pick up generally helpful information, even if their immediate problem is not answered. (Thanks for all responses.)
First, I do have an UPS, and would never operate a desktop without one; this is said for the benefit of users who don't recognize their importance.
Second, I use a back-up program (more refined than that packaged with windows.) That program backs up the entire drive daily (incrementally), and any file can be restored individually, which means I don't have to do anything extra to restore my OO profile. This is said for the benefit of users who may think about backing up their OO profile, but should also think about backing up everything else, too.
Third, I want to point out that OO problems aren't always the fault of OO. Other programs, especially old or faulty drivers, and anti-virus software -- and even some MS updates -- can cause problems which affect other programs (such as OO).