Calc Spreadsheet might be corrupt

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cdcengineer
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Calc Spreadsheet might be corrupt

Post by cdcengineer »

I have spent the morning and part of this afternoon looking for a solution to a problem with what I believe to be a corrupt ops file. I've used the forum for solution s for a long time, but today I've sifted thru the site and tried multiple attempts to get this file to open (with no luck). I have a back-up, but it's fairly outdated. When opening the spreadsheet, I get asked for text import. And when the file opens the characters are crazy. I tried a number of demo programs online with no luck. I'm pretty certain this is an issue of incorrectly saving the document (closing too fast). Anyone have any suggestions?
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Ledger.ods
(37.65 KiB) Downloaded 225 times
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cdcengineer
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Re: Calc Spreadsheet might be corrupt

Post by cdcengineer »

This should read .ods file.
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robleyd
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Re: Calc Spreadsheet might be corrupt

Post by robleyd »

There is nothing that can be recovered from that file. As soon as possible do the following:

Download Recuva (Windows only) or PhotoRec for Win, MacOS, Linux and other OSes (only one needed) and let it do an in-depth recovery of deleted files on your computer. You may get a file containing some or all of your data (or not). Do this as a first priority; other use of the computer may overwrite any existing but deleted files and prevent their recovery. There is no guarantee that you will recover anything useful.

See also [Tutorial] How to find and un-delete Writer temporary files for possibly recovering temporary Calc files.

The document you provided is nothing like an .ods file in its format; in fact it has sections in it that look like they came from a PDF file!
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cdcengineer
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Re: Calc Spreadsheet might be corrupt

Post by cdcengineer »

I was running all evening while out with the Mrs. It's a bit less romantic with 2 kids at dinner, but hopefully she had fun. Finding lots of temp (.tmp) files, but so far I don't see anything with the same file name. Should the deep scan find a deleted file with the same name, or am I looking for a temp file? Thx for the response.
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Re: Calc Spreadsheet might be corrupt

Post by cdcengineer »

Running Recuva that is. I see quite a few .tmp files that don't have similar names , but they are all 1 KB.Following the tutorial and hoping for the best.
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Re: Calc Spreadsheet might be corrupt

Post by robleyd »

The link to the tutorial above lists pretty much all the options for files to look for. The files you want will be larger than 7.3 Kb which is the minimum size of an empty Calc file.
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Re: Calc Spreadsheet might be corrupt

Post by cdcengineer »

I found one promising .tmp file. Is it a matter of copying that file to USB stick and renaming .ods and opening (while crossing fingers)? Not sure where the tutorial is describing to undelete.
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Re: Calc Spreadsheet might be corrupt

Post by robleyd »

Unless you have a specific reason to move/copy the file(s) to external storage, just place them somewhere convenient on your local storage; in My documents perhaps? Or you could create a new directory somewhere to work on them - whatever is most convenient for you. And yes, copy to, or rename to, .ods
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Re: Calc Spreadsheet might be corrupt

Post by cdcengineer »

I've been slammed, but wanted to give an update. RECUVA was great advice. I was able to recover 3 of 4 files, and still sifting thru numbered files (nameless) hoping to find a more recent version of the 4th. Not sure where these files were hidden since they were not in .tmp folders, but it makes me wonder if their existence is the reason our computers get slow and bloated over time. Thanks so much for your comments.
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Re: Calc Spreadsheet might be corrupt

Post by RoryOF »

These are temporary files, normally deleted when a program exits. Recuva can find such deleted files, but doesn't know their names, which is where you come in, by trying to identify them.

Computers can slow down because parts of files are scattered all over the hard disk. To give an example - a good hard disk is like a well ordered filing cabinet - each file is in its correct place and in a tight file folder. After a time, it is as if the folders have been taken from the cabinet, and their contents scattered about the filing room. Everything is there, but takes time to find.
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Re: Calc Spreadsheet might be corrupt

Post by cdcengineer »

What's the best way to keep files organized and avoid the slow down (if there's any way)? Thx
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Re: Calc Spreadsheet might be corrupt

Post by RoryOF »

It is a long time since I used Windows, and others may have more up to date advice. I recollect Defrag for putting files back tightly together, and chkdsk. Chkdsk’s basic function is to scan the integrity of the file system and file system metadata on a disk volume and fix any logical file system errors that it finds. Chkdsk is more powerful than defrag, but rarely necessary. It is used when the file system gets confused, say after a system crash in the middle of writing a file.
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cdcengineer
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Re: Calc Spreadsheet might be corrupt

Post by cdcengineer »

Can I ask what you run? I have been thinking of getting off Win. Ever since XP was obsoleted I have wondered what might be a better solution to WIn 10. Thx
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Re: Calc Spreadsheet might be corrupt

Post by RoryOF »

I run Xubuntu 16.04.3 (64 bit) on all my computers, apart from one little used Windows XP machine in case I need to access legacy files (it is never used).

Remember that one can install most linux distros on DVDs or (better) USB keys, and run these live DVD or USB to see which distro or desktop environment you prefer, without installing on your existing machine. Most distros offer choices of the desktop environment. If you have an older computer standing around, you could install a linux distro on that to play with; typically you would need 512 - 2 GB RAM (more is always better) and a 40 or 80 GB hard disk. Network connectivity is useful.
 Edit: I should mention that, having downloaded a particular linux distro, one can often easily change the desktop environment, the DE for short, without having to download and reinstall the entire distro. So, using Ubuntu as an example, one can switch to the Xubuntu DE, the Gnome DE, the Unity DE... etc. But look at the sample screenshots on the distro site and go with your first instinct. 
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Re: Calc Spreadsheet might be corrupt

Post by John_Ha »

cdcengineer wrote:What's the best way to keep files organized and avoid the slow down (if there's any way)? Thx
There is no slowdown because of these files. It's like saying "My car goes slower because I have a caravan in my garage".

You can just ignore them and they will eventually disappear. IF you are desperate for disk space - and you should never run a disk that full where this could be a problem - navigate to C:\Users\xxxxxx\AppData\Local\Temp and delete its contents.
cdcengineer wrote:Ever since XP was obsoleted I have wondered what might be a better solution to WIn 10.
Anything, including W7 (legitimate copies available for a few pounds on eBay), is better than W10. :super:

If you want to speed up your PC install a Solid State Disk (SSD). My heavily configured W7 shuts down and reboots in 45 seconds.
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Re: Calc Spreadsheet might be corrupt

Post by RoryOF »

The scattering and fragmentation of files about the hard disk can slow down disk access, particularly on slower old hard drives; what does slow down a computer more than anything is the accumulation of little utilities running in the background and entries in the system registry, all of which are installed inadvertently over time. A cure is to use a utility such as CCcleaner or do a complete reinstall of the operating system from time to time.

I agree with John_Ha about anything being better than Win10.
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Re: Calc Spreadsheet might be corrupt

Post by John_Ha »

RoryOF wrote:The scattering and fragmentation of files about the hard disk can slow down disk access ...
... the solution to which is to defragment the disk (or use an SSD which does not need defragmenting).

The quantity of disk space used by temporary files, unless grotesquely and abnormally high, has no effect on PC speed.
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See the Writer Guide, the Writer FAQ, the Writer Tutorials and Writer for students.

Remember: Always save your Writer files as .odt files. - see here for the many reasons why.
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