query re. LO crashing ...

users
#1

... all was fine until today; LO no longer opens PDF files or word
files ... what could have happened ???

       If I up-date [from 3.4] will this clear up the problem? or will the
problem persist?

       AND where is the best place to download the program - updates -
without all the bits and pieces separated out;
            ok, I'm looking for a simplified, non-geek place to upload the
updated version [to which ???].

       The more I learn of these computers, the stupider I feel :wink:

       Anyone else in this boat ... anyone able to help the drowning ... or
is it time to pitch this 'glorified typewriter' out the window and retrieve
the manual typewriter from the attic ...

#2

I think this it is not much of a problem.
Options / LibreOffice / OnlineUpdate / check now.

or go http://www.libreoffice.org/

Installation is very simple, just install, and LibO takes the previous setting automatically. Its a 5 min job. I takes more time to get the dust from the old typewriter.

Today I would install 3.5.7.2 and next week or so upgrade to 3.6.4

#3

Hi :slight_smile:
Probably best to start by renaming your User Profile
http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Documentation/UserProfile

That tends to be the best and fastest fix for anything weird, especially things that suddenly started behaving weirdly for no readily apparent reason and which did work properly previously.  Also does sometimes fix odd things in fresh new installs.

In the old days or with older style programs you would "get back to factory defaults" by doing a complete reinstall but that is not the case with OpenSource software and some proprietary software seems to be learning the trick too now.  So, nowadays when you do a reinstall programs tend to pick-up on your old settings and keeps your galleries, templates, Extensions and all the rest intact.  To get back to factory defaults you just rename the folder that all those settings and configurations are in.  That is the User Profile.

By renaming instead of deleting you keep all your old stuff but have just effectively hidden it so that LO is forced to generate a new one.  Later you can copy&paste chunks from your old profile into your new one to regain some of your old stuff.  If weirdnesses have occured then the most likely cause is apparently 3rd party Extensions so you can probably get almost all your old stuff back.

Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#4

Thanks;
           the last time I went there, I found all this confusing jargon
re. if you want this or that [without explaining what was what :wink: ]

       Whenever I've clicked on that 'check for updates', nothing connects
with anything ;-(

       I guess computers must not like me ...
           well, I do call them 'glorified typewriters' :wink:
              and I do make fun of their re-defining terms :wink:
                 BUT I give them a nice window to see the world, and let
them have a nice sleep every night :wink:

I think this it is not much of a problem.

#5

Hi :slight_smile:
Sorry, which OS?  or at least which platform?  Windows or Gnu&Linux?  If Windows is it Vista or later or still on Xp?  (I'm still on Xp on at least half the machines here). 
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#6

Thanks.

       But HOW does one effectively restore the old to the new ???
           [that aspect boggles my mind]

       Believe it or not - last night I cleaned out the caches then shut it
down -
           and this morning, all seems to be working well ???

*bog·gle v. bog·gled, bog·gling, bog·gles

1. To hesitate as if in fear or doubt.
2. To shy away or be overcome with fright or astonishment
3. To act ineptly or inefficiently; bungle.

1. To cause to be overcome, as with fright or astonishment.
2. To botch; bungle.*

       Maybe there's a ghost in this machine ... came in with the fog
[London has nothing over this 4-day [so far] fog] :wink:

Hi :slight_smile:

#7

WIN07

Hi :slight_smile:

#8

Hi :slight_smile:
So, your user profile is in

C:\Users\<user name>\AppData\Roaming\LibreOffice\3\user

Hmmm, how to get there?  In Win7 can you open a "My Computer" folder and then navigate from there?  I don't play around with 7 much but it seems reasonably ok to me. 
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#9

Are you saying that all I need do is copy that file to the newly
named version? ... wow, you make it sound so simple;

       THANK YOU!

       It's an easy file to locate as long as I remember how to find it :wink:
            the 'user' and that '3' tend to leave my memory banks :wink:
               my mind tends to drop these essential elements for the
non-mathematical;
                    ah, so that may be why these 'glorified typewriters'
dislike me so ... see there I go again :wink:

Hi :slight_smile:

#10

rsync ???

       I think i are sinking fast ...

sink vb sinks, sinking, sank ; sunk, sunken
1. to descend or cause to descend, esp beneath the surface of a liquid or
soft substance
2. (intr) to appear to move down towards or descend below the horizon
3. (intr) to slope downwards; dip
4. (intr; often foll by in or into) to pass into or gradually enter a
specified lower state or condition to sink into apathy
5. to make or become lower in volume, pitch, etc.
6. to make or become lower in value, price, etc.
7. (intr) to become weaker in health, strength, etc.
8. to decline or cause to decline in moral value, worth, etc.
9. (intr) to seep or penetrate
10. (tr) to suppress or conceal he sank his worries in drink
11. (Engineering / Civil Engineering) (tr) to dig, cut, drill, bore, or
excavate (a hole, shaft, etc.)
12. (tr) to drive into the ground to sink a stake
13. (Economics, Accounting & Finance / Banking & Finance) (tr; usually foll
by in or into)
a. to invest (money)
b. to lose (money) in an unwise or unfortunate investment
14. (Economics, Accounting & Finance / Banking & Finance) (tr) to pay (a
debt)
15. (intr) to become hollow; cave in his cheeks had sunk during his illness
16. (Individual Sports & Recreations / Ball Games, other than specified)
(tr) to hit, throw, or propel (a ball) into a hole, basket, pocket, etc. he
sank a 15-foot putt
17. (tr) Brit informal to drink, esp quickly he sank three pints in half an
hour
sink or swim to take risks where the alternatives are loss and failure or
security and success
n
1. (Miscellaneous Technologies / Building) a fixed basin, esp in a kitchen,
made of stone, earthenware, metal, etc., used for washing
2. (Earth Sciences / Physical Geography) See sinkhole
3. (Miscellaneous Technologies / Building) another word for cesspool
4. a place of vice or corruption
5. (Engineering / Civil Engineering) an area of ground below that of the
surrounding land, where water collects
6. (Physics / General Physics) Physics a device or part of a system at
which energy is removed from the system a heat sink

Hi :slight_smile:

#11

Hi :slight_smile:
Once you get to the "Roaming" folder it should be pretty easy to figure out.  Most OpenSource programs will have their UserProfiles in there, just pick the one that is relevant = in this case the LibreOffice one.  From then on there is only about 1 folder in each folder until you get to the right place. 
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#12

you are probably just joshing around but 'sync' has nothing to do with 'sink'; one is germanic, the other is greek.

'syn'+'chronos' as in 'synchronize'.

sometimes the spelling of words, like the syntax of directory paths, matters.

(and 'syntax' has nothing to do with 'sin' or 'taxes'!)

'rsync' is a great utility; I assume it's available for Windows but I don't know but there's certainly equivalent stuff.

F.

#13

you took all my puns away ...
           I haven't any more; but ne'er fear,
           the punster will re-appear :wink:

       And, by the way, I really haven't learned what rsync is - I guess I
could 'search' and learn :wink:

#14

      you took all my puns away ...

just doing humanity a service.

          I haven't any more; but ne'er fear,
          the punster will re-appear :wink:

we are armed.

      And, by the way, I really haven't learned what rsync is - I guess I
could 'search' and learn :wink:

it's a utility for transferring files, especially backing them up. so I do a frequent backup of certain directories I have on a server to my home computer. rsync is fast and will only make copies of stuff that's not already at the destination (if you set it to work that way).

I think the 'r' stands for 'remote' but I don't know; the source doesn't need to be 'remote' though. I just backed up one older external drive I have (was making funny noises) to another newer one.

F.

#15

cute, cuter, cutest ...
       you're surely t' best.

       [further comments below]

       you took all my puns away ...

just doing humanity a service.

       [http://www.thepunalsorises.com/]

           I haven't any more; but ne'er fear,

          the punster will re-appear :wink:

we are armed.

       ["... to take Arms against a Sea of troubles, And by opposing end
them" yet I've punned with the best of 'em, ne'er taken yet :wink: ]

       And, by the way, I really haven't learned what rsync is - I guess I

could 'search' and learn :wink:

it's a utility for transferring files, especially backing them up. so I do
a frequent backup of certain directories I have on a server to my home
computer. rsync is fast and will only make copies of stuff that's not
already at the destination (if you set it to work that way).

I think the 'r' stands for 'remote' but I don't know; the source doesn't
need to be 'remote' though. I just backed up one older external drive I
have (was making funny noises) to another newer one.

       [funny noises, eh ... maybe it was speaking to you in its own
language :wink: ]

F.

       Oh, yes, Thanks for this information!

#16

Hi :slight_smile:
grsync has a nice pretty gui front-end but uses
rsync
to do the work, of course.  Rsync works from the command-line and has more options but GRsync is easier for point&click users like me.

One advantage is that it keeps permissions intact whereas copy&paste or drag&drop tend to twist things so that the current user can read/write.  Not something you want with system files.

I was just making the point that LO's User Profile is happy to let the user mess around with it quite a lot.  Evolution's gets really grumbly about it and you soemtimes have to export your stuff from inside the program, then upgrade, then open the new versions and import.  VERY different from the friendliness of LO's user profile.

Btw thanks for the warning about hard-drive noises.  My new machine at work has started making occasional noises but it's so intermittent i was ignoring them.  Good idea to back-up now right!?!  I used to know someone that would always leave it until it made horrible grinding noises but then he kept losing data.  I'm really glad i am not living in a hot, sandy, windy desert anymore!

Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#17

Hi :slight_smile:
If rsync is available on Windows then it might not be so easy to charge people so much for apps that do back-ups.  Unless no-one knew about it of course.

I tried a back-up utility that looked great until i used it to restore a bootable Windows and found the Windows boot-loader was completely lost because things were not in exactly the right place.  Someone suggested using dd but to grep it through some archiving tool.  I did fix the Windows restored drive but by installing Grub2.  Grub2 survived the back-up and restore process but it felt like i was cheating because the whole purpose was to restore the machine to exactly the way it arrived from the store.

I'm going to ask about grepping a dd through an archiving tool on
http://www.linuxquestions.org
to see if they can give me a good idea of how to actually write the command. 
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#18

Ok, I've placed rsync on my todo list ... will 'search' and learn
more re. this aspect of these 'glorified typewriters'.

       Thank you to both you helpful souls!

Hi :slight_smile:

#19

dd greps the grub :wink:

       and just as I thought it was safe to go back in the water :wink:

Hi :slight_smile:

#20

Hi :slight_smile:

If rsync is available on Windows then it might not be so easy to charge people so much for apps that do back-ups.  Unless no-one knew about it of course.

kind of like with LO....

anyway, there are Windows versions.

I tried a back-up utility that looked great until i used it to restore a bootable Windows and found the Windows boot-loader was completely lost because things were not in exactly the right place.

in my experience Windows7 puts some kind of 'metadata' file at some exact location in the middle or towards the end of the 'boot' partition; it screws up if it doesn't find it exactly where it expects it. thus one has to be cautious about resizing a Windows partition with non-Windows software.

Someone suggested using dd but to grep it through some archiving tool.  I did fix the Windows restored drive but by installing Grub2.  Grub2 survived the back-up and restore process but it felt like i was cheating because the whole purpose was to restore the machine to exactly the way it arrived from the store.

I'm going to ask about grepping a dd through an archiving tool on http://www.linuxquestions.org
to see if they can give me a good idea of how to actually write the command.

it's easier just to google it (I always forget the syntax); lot of useful pages but perhaps this is a start <http://wiki.eeeuser.com/backup_restore>.

the thing about dd is that it is _exact_ so suppose you have 30g on a 100g partition; dd will copy all 110g including 'empty' space. this also means you cannot restore to a partition that is smaller than 100g.

this is good for that Windows 7 issue since everything is exactly in place. I'd be more inclined to shrink that partition using Windows, thus avoiding the metadata problem, and then back up, etc.

Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

F.