| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Another long, corrupted Word document. Help please Thread poster: Rosa Maria Duenas Rios (X)
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Rosa Maria Duenas Rios (X) 
Local time: 21:53
Hi,
About 10 days ago fellow prozian Johanna Timm had a problem with a corrupted file, and colleagues provided very useful advice, (all of which I have followed).
I am now having a similar problem: It is a word file, 110 pages long (about 43,000 words). I had been working on it for several days now (spent almost 12 hours on it yesterday, without problems!).
This morning, however, it will just not open. A message is displayed stating that the file caused a... See more Hi,
About 10 days ago fellow prozian Johanna Timm had a problem with a corrupted file, and colleagues provided very useful advice, (all of which I have followed).
I am now having a similar problem: It is a word file, 110 pages long (about 43,000 words). I had been working on it for several days now (spent almost 12 hours on it yesterday, without problems!).
This morning, however, it will just not open. A message is displayed stating that the file caused a "serious error", and if I still want to open it. When I click "yes", it opens for a few seconds, and Word crashes every time. I tried using the control+A function during the few seconds it opens, but to no avail.
I have already renamed the normal.dot file.
I have already uninstalled and reinstalled Word (2002).
I do not know how to change the file name from .doc to .rtf, since I usually do it once the document is open, and my computer does not display file terminations so that I can change them manually. (But I bet thre is a way of doing it!)
I tried opening the file with WordPad and Explorer, and I was able to do so. It was then that I realized that the whole document has been marked by the "track changes" function. There is not one word that is not actually crossed out. Both the English original and my Spanish translation have been crossed out, often mixed in the same "correction box", which makes it extremely slow and difficult to just accept or reject changes.
I sent the file to my husband's office, hoping he would be able to open it in Word, but he could only do so with WordPad and Explorer, like myself, and could not offer any ideas on how to retrieve all the Spanish I have alredy entered into the file, so your ideas and suggestions would be most welcome.
Needless to say, it is urgent. I am supposed to deliver the 43,000 translated words by next Wednesday, that is why it is much worthwhile trying to recover it, than having to start from scratch.
Thanks a million in advance! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jerzy Czopik
Germany
Local time: 03:53
Member (2003)
Polish to German
+ ...
| Use Start - Control Panel - Folder options to controll what is shown on your PC | Feb 13, 2006 |
Per default Microsoft Windows does not show known file extensions (such as doc, rtf and so on). To change that go to Start, Control Panel, Folder Options and uncheck the option for "Hiding known exteinsions" (it is called similar - I have only German Windows here).
For the problem with your document - is your Word set to save a backup copy o your file? If yes, you would have a *.wbk in the folder of your file ans so the possiblity to try to open this file instead - it will contain t... See more Per default Microsoft Windows does not show known file extensions (such as doc, rtf and so on). To change that go to Start, Control Panel, Folder Options and uncheck the option for "Hiding known exteinsions" (it is called similar - I have only German Windows here).
For the problem with your document - is your Word set to save a backup copy o your file? If yes, you would have a *.wbk in the folder of your file ans so the possiblity to try to open this file instead - it will contain the version saved before the last one, which refuses to open.
If not, than make this option available at least for the future
In the meantime you could try to open your doc-file in OpenOffice. A copy (it is a free software) may be downloaded at http://www.openoffice.org/.
You also can send me the file via info at doku minus trans dot de, maybe I'll find a solution for your problem.
Regards
Jerzy ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jo Macdonald
Spain
Local time: 03:53
Italian to English
+ ...
| Corrupted word docs | Feb 13, 2006 |
Hi Anna Maria,
I had a few of those some time ago and it turned out to be corrupted tables that were causing the problem.
What would happen was when the table was displayed (when I scrolled the doc and the table appeared on the screen) or I tried to modify it by clicking on it, Word would crash.
To solve this I copied the text above the table into a new doc, deleted the table (after telling the client and getting an ok), then copied the rest of the text into the n... See more Hi Anna Maria,
I had a few of those some time ago and it turned out to be corrupted tables that were causing the problem.
What would happen was when the table was displayed (when I scrolled the doc and the table appeared on the screen) or I tried to modify it by clicking on it, Word would crash.
To solve this I copied the text above the table into a new doc, deleted the table (after telling the client and getting an ok), then copied the rest of the text into the new doc.
If you’re using a Cat you can copy the contents of the original into a new doc and Translate the doc so you should get all of what you’ve already done. Otherwise you can use what you saved from yesterday’s work, and when you sort out the original, paste this into the new doc you create and work on from there.
Copy-Pasting the content will probably be better than just saving a version of the original in a different format. Once you’ve got the new original, scroll through it to see if there’s a table or anything else that’s causing the problem before starting work on a copy of it.
Ask the client for a good file to work on.
All the best.
Jo ▲ Collapse
| | | | Rosa Maria Duenas Rios (X)
Local time: 21:53
TOPIC STARTER | Progress report | Feb 13, 2006 |
Jerzy, thank you so much for answering my posting so quickly. You are so kind to always come to our rescue!
So here is my progress report:
First, I changed the setting so that I can now see the file terminations, I converted my file to rtf, and it was still corrupted.
Second, I looked for a backup (using the search function), but the only one I found was from several days ago (I had only translated 20 pages out of the 110), so it was of not much use. Wou... See more Jerzy, thank you so much for answering my posting so quickly. You are so kind to always come to our rescue!
So here is my progress report:
First, I changed the setting so that I can now see the file terminations, I converted my file to rtf, and it was still corrupted.
Second, I looked for a backup (using the search function), but the only one I found was from several days ago (I had only translated 20 pages out of the 110), so it was of not much use. Would you tell me what do I have to do in order to have backups of the documents I am working on, at least before I close Word every day?
Third, I went to www.openoffice.org, dowloaded the software, tried opening my file, and... IT WORKED!!!!
You can't imagine how happy I am! But I now would like more information about openoffice (I feel bad for being so IT-ignorant!). Can I just keep on working on openoffice, as I would do in Word, and then send my finished file to the client, and he can open it in Word?
What I am going to do, is give a $ contribution to openoffice, and become a member of proz. Your kindness to get me out of this problem, and the information we get here from other colleagues is worth the full year of membership, and much more... For all your help, thanks again, again, and again!
To Jo,
Thank you to you too. Now that you mention it, the last thing I worked on yesterday night was a table with a very bad formatting. I would not be surprised if that was the one which caused the problem. I will be careful when I come across it again, and I will be sure to let the client know. ▲ Collapse
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Fred Neild (X)
English to Spanish
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| Tip for long projects | Feb 13, 2006 |
Hi Rosa,
Just another tip that works for me, besides the excellent advice from our colleagues.
When I work on long projects I backup on a CD every e.g. 20% of progress. So, if I have any problem (I can think of many other, besides file corruption), I can restart from a fairly reasonable point. This has saved me a lot of headaches and it also adds to better fulfilling of deadlines for long projects, which usually involve huge files, lots of pictures and tables, and othe... See more Hi Rosa,
Just another tip that works for me, besides the excellent advice from our colleagues.
When I work on long projects I backup on a CD every e.g. 20% of progress. So, if I have any problem (I can think of many other, besides file corruption), I can restart from a fairly reasonable point. This has saved me a lot of headaches and it also adds to better fulfilling of deadlines for long projects, which usually involve huge files, lots of pictures and tables, and other things that crash computers, etc, etc.
HTH
Fred ▲ Collapse
| | | | Rosa Maria Duenas Rios (X)
Local time: 21:53
TOPIC STARTER | Wise advice, Fred | Feb 13, 2006 |
I will now start doing it as a rule. I had never done it before because this had never happened to me. I do have a file with the work I had done till last Friday (about 60 pages), but I would have lost the 20 pages that I worked on during the week-end. I am trying to create a new file with OpenOffice, and I hope I will be able to slve the problem in this way. Thanks!
| | | | Lincoln Silveira (X)
Brazil
Local time: 22:53
English to Portuguese
+ ...
| My 2 cents... | Feb 14, 2006 |
Hello Rosa,
Can truly relate to your pain of having such a big project that took heaps of energy and time going corrupt like that.
My suggestion (based on a previous, similar issue) is that you have the document opened elsewhere, and from there convert it into .rtf format, then back to the workbench. Perhaps you can use a pendrive to take the file somewhere, ie a trusted machine, and open it with a different version of Word; or perhaps try to do a "Save As..." from Open... See more Hello Rosa,
Can truly relate to your pain of having such a big project that took heaps of energy and time going corrupt like that.
My suggestion (based on a previous, similar issue) is that you have the document opened elsewhere, and from there convert it into .rtf format, then back to the workbench. Perhaps you can use a pendrive to take the file somewhere, ie a trusted machine, and open it with a different version of Word; or perhaps try to do a "Save As..." from OpenOffice, if it is installed on your own machine.
Perhaps working with a .rtf file will be safer for you, considering that your software seems "unhappy" with a long .doc file.
I honestly hope you'll get your file back and resume work.
Cheers,
LS ▲ Collapse
| | | | Rosa Maria Duenas Rios (X)
Local time: 21:53
TOPIC STARTER | A truly bad day | Feb 14, 2006 |
Obrigada pela sua messagem Lincoln! (and that is as far as I can write portuguese).
What you suggest is exactly what I did. I was able to open the file in OpenOffice. I saved it as .opt, since attempts to save it as doc. as .rtf or even as .html caused OpenOffice to crash too!
Then I copied it all to a clean sheet in Word, and I saved it as .rtf. So far, it has worked (and I keep my fingers crossed). That is the file I am using to work in now. I am about eight hours beh... See more Obrigada pela sua messagem Lincoln! (and that is as far as I can write portuguese).
What you suggest is exactly what I did. I was able to open the file in OpenOffice. I saved it as .opt, since attempts to save it as doc. as .rtf or even as .html caused OpenOffice to crash too!
Then I copied it all to a clean sheet in Word, and I saved it as .rtf. So far, it has worked (and I keep my fingers crossed). That is the file I am using to work in now. I am about eight hours behind, and I hope I will be able to catch up tonight.
Reading about another colleague's problems with Word (her software insists on working in safe mode only), one would think the "Word devil" got loose somehow...
...Or it might just be that it is Monday the 13th because, when I opened my D drive to get the Office XP installation disk back into its box (you will remember from my first posting that one of the first things I did was uninstall and reinstall Word), I do not know what I did, and it broke!!!!! Completely, not a chip or a bad scratch... it broke almost in two pieces!
I guess it is God's way of telling me to update to SP3 and Office 2003... the problem is that I am becoming a fan of OpenOffice now!
Of course it can also be just a lot of bad energy coming out of my fingers, which got through the keyboard and corrupted the file, and later made the XP disk break upon my touch, in which case, I think I am in need of a deep handwashing...
Thank you all for your support!
[Edited at 2006-02-14 00:27] ▲ Collapse
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Marc P (X)
Local time: 03:53
German to English
+ ...
| Another long, corrupted Word document. Help please | Feb 14, 2006 |
Rosa Maria Duenas Rios wrote:
But I now would like more information about openoffice (I feel bad for being so IT-ignorant!). Can I just keep on working on openoffice, as I would do in Word, and then send my finished file to the client, and he can open it in Word?
You could try asking here on Proz.com in Technical forums > Office applications. If you don't find the answers you're looking for there, there is a dedicated forum for translators who use OOo at groups.yahoo.com/group/ooo4trans/.
In reply to your specific question: in principle, yes, you can work on a Word file in OOo and send it back to your customer as such. If the file is very heavily formatted, you may find that the formatting is slightly damaged, though this can also happen when you work on the file in a CAT tool.
Marc
| | | | Jerzy Czopik
Germany
Local time: 03:53
Member (2003)
Polish to German
+ ...
| Marc is right | Feb 14, 2006 |
MarcPrior wrote: Rosa Maria Duenas Rios wrote:
But I now would like more information about openoffice (I feel bad for being so IT-ignorant!). Can I just keep on working on openoffice, as I would do in Word, and then send my finished file to the client, and he can open it in Word? You could try asking here on Proz.com in Technical forums > Office applications. If you don't find the answers you're looking for there, there is a dedicated forum for translators who use OOo at groups.yahoo.com/group/ooo4trans/. In reply to your specific question: in principle, yes, you can work on a Word file in OOo and send it back to your customer as such. If the file is very heavily formatted, you may find that the formatting is slightly damaged, though this can also happen when you work on the file in a CAT tool. Marc
That said, I´m moving this topic to the said forum.
Regards
Jerzy
| | | | Jo Macdonald
Spain
Local time: 03:53
Italian to English
+ ...
| Saving backups | Feb 14, 2006 |
On the question of saving work.
I save a file (anything bigger than a few pages) every time I stop working on it to a removable CD, which I then physically remove from the computer. At the very least imo you should be saving a big job at the end of each day, or lunchtime and evening. Hard drives break, operating systems crash, computers can blow a fuse and burn.
Same goes for accounts and invoices, save the whole folder when you’ve done your accounts on a CD and remove it fr... See more On the question of saving work.
I save a file (anything bigger than a few pages) every time I stop working on it to a removable CD, which I then physically remove from the computer. At the very least imo you should be saving a big job at the end of each day, or lunchtime and evening. Hard drives break, operating systems crash, computers can blow a fuse and burn.
Same goes for accounts and invoices, save the whole folder when you’ve done your accounts on a CD and remove it from the computer to keep in a safe place.
You can also get a external drive like the Black Box for quite a reasonable price.
**********************************
Jo Macdonald
Italian English Freelance Translation
Via Arno 14/G
47042 Cesenatico (FC) Italy
Phone +39 (0)547 675373
Web: www.italian-english-freelance-translation.com
E-mail: [email protected]
ProZ profile: www.proz.com/pro/122941
*********************************** ▲ Collapse
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| Another file back up method | Feb 14, 2006 |
This is the method I follow when translating a big file. Every day at the end of the day, I will just attach the translated file and send from my Gmail ID to the Yahoo mail ID (I earlier had yahoo mail id and now I use gmail). This way we can ensure that the part translated file is safe in the hands of Google (as a copy in the sent mail) and also with Yahoo (as received mail). Once the translation is over I send the final document to the client and delete all the mails sent every day as back up.... See more This is the method I follow when translating a big file. Every day at the end of the day, I will just attach the translated file and send from my Gmail ID to the Yahoo mail ID (I earlier had yahoo mail id and now I use gmail). This way we can ensure that the part translated file is safe in the hands of Google (as a copy in the sent mail) and also with Yahoo (as received mail). Once the translation is over I send the final document to the client and delete all the mails sent every day as back up. This was you will be able to save your partly translated file even if your entire hard drive crashes. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Rosa Maria Duenas Rios (X)
Local time: 21:53
TOPIC STARTER | CDs break too! | Feb 14, 2006 |
Jo Macdonald wrote:
Hard drives break, operating systems crash, computers can blow a fuse and burn.
Same goes for accounts and invoices, save the whole folder when you’ve done your accounts on a CD and remove it from the computer to keep in a safe place.
You can also get a external drive like the Black Box for quite a reasonable price.
As it just happend to me with the XP Office one!
But you are right. We should always back up our work (I backup my computer information in a CD about every week. Unfortunately, the last back up I did, dated Feb 09, did not include the 20 pages I worked on Feb 11 and 12.
[Edited at 2006-02-14 14:42]
| | | | Vito Smolej
Germany
Local time: 03:53
Member (2004)
English to Slovenian
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER | one additional safeguard ... | Feb 14, 2006 |
is to keep (i mean KEEP) the original file to be translated in a safe place. When worse comes to worst (or bad to worse;) one can still pretranslate to the current situation.
Of course that means, one should not have lost or bungled up the translation memory too...
vito
PS: btw, welcome to OpenOffice.Org;)) My last (coram publico) project is the Installation manual for 2.0.2 Slovenian version ...
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