Access Denied

Issues with installing under all versions of MS Windows
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chiassona
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Access Denied

Post by chiassona »

I have upgraded to 2.4 in Windows. When I try to open Writer I get an Access Denied message. I can open the other programs and I can access Writer from the Quickstart menu. I have tried repair and I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling to get the same result. Any suggestions?
Phil
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Re: Access Denied

Post by Phil »

Hi and welcome to the community!

We need some more information to help you.
Have you read the Forum Survival Guide?
  • What exact version of Windows are you using?
  • From which version did you upgrade, and how did you do that? Did it work with the old version?
  • What is the exact error message you get, and when does it happen: When opening a document? When starting writer from the Start Menu?
KR, phil
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acknak
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Re: Access Denied

Post by acknak »

Have you tried to uninstall--completely, then re-install? You may also try renaming your OOo settings profile.
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ek1017
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Re: Access Denied

Post by ek1017 »

I am having the same problem. These are documents that were written using Open Office Writer, and have been accessed several times since they were started, using only OOW. I either get the message "access to FILENAME.odt was denied" or "FILENAME.odt does not exist". If I try to copy the files (to possibly open on another computer), I get the "does not exist" error. Please Help! These are very important documents that are not easy to reproduce.

I have also had this happen in the past with Open Office Calc, but fortunately I had not done much work on it, so it was easily reproduced. I am starting to regret ever using Open Office 2.4
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ek1017
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Re: Access Denied

Post by ek1017 »

Update: I completely uninstalled OO using Revo Uninstaller, and reinstalled the complete suite. Nothing changed. I still cannot access these files. I really dread the thought of trying to recreate these files. Can anybody help me at least retrieve the files?
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acknak
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Re: Access Denied

Post by acknak »

If you can't even copy the files to another location, then it's probably some kind of system-level issue, because OOo is not even in the picture when you simply copy a file. It also seems unlikely that a problem with OOo would damage multiple files all at the same time.

Sorry, but I don't know enough about Windows to tell you what to try next. If I were you, I'd be looking to find out for sure a) is there any data in the files (what is the size?) and b) what are the files' permissions (access "denied" sounds like a permissions problem).
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ek1017
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Re: Access Denied

Post by ek1017 »

Thanks for your input. I agree it's unlikely to be a corrupt file issue, since there are multiple files. There is definitely data in the files, and I have checked the file properties. Nothing has changed there.

I believe, however, that I have stumbled upon a programming flaw. I had made changes, and setup new subfolders to reorganize the files. I then put the revised files into these new subfolders. I was able to locate a backup of the folder containing these files. In my backup, the original files are in there original positions, but the new subfolders where the revised files should be are empty. I am able to open the originals with OOo. It seems that the file affiliation with OOo is lost when you move files. Come to think of it, when I previously had the same problem with a Calc file, it was after I had moved it into a new folder.

Unfortunately, the files cannot be moved back to their original folders (access is denied). The moral of this story: dont move .odt files. Any programmers out there want to take a whack at this one?
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acknak
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Re: Access Denied

Post by acknak »

Sorry, but I don't understand how that would work.

OOo does not care if you move files around. And if the problem is the file association with OOo, you should be able to start OOo and then File > Open any of the files. That doesn't require any association or help from the OS.

Are you sure that your files have the correct file extensions? XP is notorious for confusing people by hiding the file extension, causing people who are saavy to add it themselves so the extension is doubled. OOo is equally notorious for losing it's default option to add the extension automatically, so the files are saved with no extension at all.

OOo itself does not need the extension to tell it what type of file it is, but XP does. Also, a foul-up with the file names can confuse OOo's saved file lists, or saved locations list.

You haven't changed or moved your "My Document" folder have you? That might confuse everything. It might be worth checking OOo's file paths under Tools > Options > OO.org > Paths and make sure that those are all still correct.

Resetting your OOo settings profile (rename it or remove it) is also worth a try.
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ek1017
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Re: Access Denied

Post by ek1017 »

Thanks. I see your point. I least suspected XP because I have been using it since it came out and have never had this issue with any file format or while using any other program. I move text files around constantly without consequence, so my first instinct is to suspect the new program.

In answer to your questions, I have not changed any file extensions, and I have not changed or moved the "My Documents" folder.

On your suggestion to check OOo's file paths, the "Documents and Settings\My Documents" path is there, but none of the subfolders are there. Neither is the path to the files that do open, so I don't think that's the answer. Should I add a path to the subfolders? If so, how do I do it? I only see an option to edit existing paths.

I don't understand what you mean by "Resetting your OOo settings profile". Where do I find that? I'm relatively new to OOo.

The point remains; moving the .odt files caused this problem. Why that happened is another question. I can see no difference in attributes between the original files that open and the revised/moved files that don't. Perhaps there is something about the .odt extension that XP doesn't like. I think I will use the Windows formats .doc and .xls in the future.

Thanks again for your help.
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Hagar Delest
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Re: Access Denied

Post by Hagar Delest »

ek1017 wrote:I don't understand what you mean by "Resetting your OOo settings profile". Where do I find that? I'm relatively new to OOo.
See here: reset the OpenOffice.org user profile.

Can you upload a sample file so that we check if we can open it (see: How to attach a document here)?

NB: can you open other non-OOo files that are in the same folder as the OOo files?
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ek1017
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Re: Access Denied

Post by ek1017 »

Resetting the user profile did nothing.

There were no other non-OOo files in the folder, so I copied an Adobe Acrobat file into the folder to test. It opened no problem.

I tried unlocking the files with two different unlocker programs. Both said the file was not locked.

I tried to attach a sample file, but when I try to "add the file" I get the message "The uploaded file is empty". So I guess the answer is no, I can't upload a sample file.
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Hagar Delest
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Re: Access Denied

Post by Hagar Delest »

ek1017 wrote:I tried to attach a sample file, but when I try to "add the file" I get the message "The uploaded file is empty".
I'm wondering if you are not trying to open [dead] shortcuts! What is the file size of these files???
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ek1017
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Re: Access Denied

Post by ek1017 »

They are only about 25k - 30k, about the same size as the originals. They are 2-3 page documents.
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Hagar Delest
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Re: Access Denied

Post by Hagar Delest »

Very strange. Have you tried 3rd party web site like mediafire (link in How to attach a document here)?
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ek1017
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Re: Access Denied

Post by ek1017 »

No point in trying 3rd party software. XP seems very confused as to whether the files exist or not. Strange is not the word for it... more like bizarre.

The most unusual thing is that what is backed up automatically on a daily basis (I use Back2Zip) is different from what is showing in the folder on C: drive. The main folder on C: shows only the subfolders containing the files that won't open. The backup copies the main folder and it's contents as if I had never moved them, but the subfolders are empty. So, the backup thinks I never moved the revised copies into the subfolders, hence I have copies of the originals, but not the latest versions. It's kind of hard to explain without attaching six screen shots.

Bottom line is I've already wasted too much time trying to figure this out. I will just have to start over again from the originals. I am going to try to move the files into the subfolders, only this time I will save in .doc format and see what happens.

There appears to be something freaky about how XP recognizes files with an .odt extension. Perhaps Microsoft is trying to squelch the (free) competition. :D :?:
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ek1017
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Re: Access Denied

Post by ek1017 »

Update: Apparently this quirk is not limited to .odt files. I tried moving a .doc file into the subfolder and got the same result. However, I can copy the file into the subfolder and it works fine. Copy works, move doesn't. Very odd!

Thanks for all your help. At least now I know where the problem lies and how to avoid it. Appears to be an XP issue, not OOo. I guess I'll have to check the XP forums in my spare time :roll:
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