Data loss in Word after automatic reboot

[John Bowler]

Windows XP just downloaded/installed a security update (automatically), I had
a document open in Word, on my local drive with autorecover set (every 10
minutes). The reboot happened while I had left the computer for a few
minutes, after the reboot (and logging in again) Word wasn't there and, on
opening the document, there was no recover option and several hours of
changes had been lost.

Anyone know a way to recover from this? The document did allow background
saves, it was a copy of a document which had had change tracking turned on at
one point. Every edit after I opened the copy has been lost.

I'm going to turn off the Microsoft Update auto reboot now - Word has been
reliable under suspend/resume (i.e. no data loss), but it clearly isn't safe
in the presence of Microsoft Update. I can't afford to have data loss if I
happen to leave the computer for 10 minutes!

 

[John Bowler]

I've checked my update history, it was one of the following which caused the
break (BTW all the running applications, including IE which is non-Office,
were closed down by the update, thus losing quite a lot of work I had put in
to finding data via IE.)

Update for Office 2007 (KB934391)

Cumulative Security Update for Outlook Express for Windows XP (KB929123)

Security Update for Windows XP (KB935840)

Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool - June 2007 (KB890830)

Security Update for Windows XP (KB935839)

Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP (KB933566)

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

There are two lessons here:

1. Never leave an unsaved document open when you leave the computer.

2. Don't allow Automatic Updates to run in full Auto mode. I use Prompt, and
I make sure I don't allow AU to install the updates until I'm prepared for
the reboot prompt. When you allow AU to run fully automatically, it *will*
download the updates, *will* install them, and *will* restart the computer
without your intervention. If programs are open, with or without unsaved
files, it will ruthlessly shut them down, ignoring all warnings, in order to
restart.

 

[John Bowler]

1. Never leave an unsaved document open when you leave the computer.

I know the programs where I have to do this, I haven't had to do it with an
Office product for many years. Certainly with products from certain other
companies and I save on a very regular basis, but Office is meant to be
robust even in the presence of both application and system crashes and
certainly in the reboot/suspend/resume scenarios.

After all this stuff was put into Office six or seven years ago and, while
the first versions may have been flakey, it's been pretty good since.

2. Don't allow Automatic Updates to run in full Auto mode.

I.e. you are saying that the automatic update process is broken. This is
the first time I've seen a problem of this nature (and I have been running
the auto-install for years now).

I have to say I agree with the conclusion - at present auto-install is
unuseable. It would be good to get an official MS response acknowledging and
explaining the problem.

If programs are open, with or without unsaved
files, it will ruthlessly shut them down, ignoring all warnings, in order to
restart.

IRC that's not true. In fact, if it were there wouldn't be a problem ;-) I
just tested the ruthlessly-kill-Word approach and autorecover worked fine,
after all this is what happens when the power fails!

The problem is that the autorecover data, which was *definately* there,
disappeared during the install/reboot. That should not happen. Something
caused the entire state of the running system to be lost. What should happen
is that the reboot occurs then the applications are re-lauched in their old
state. That's what has happened before.

John Bowler

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

I did not mean to imply that this is a problem in Word. Although I don't
think it's wise to trust AutoRecover to save your bacon when it takes just a
second to press Ctrl+S, the fault here is entirely with AU. And you have to
understand that it is not crashing Word (the only case in which AutoRecovery
backups are useful). It is *shutting it down.* AIUI, it presents the usual
messages asking if you want to save open documents, but if you're not there
to answer, then after some set period, it closes the documents without
saving. Word can't tell the difference between AU and you, so as far as it
is concerned, nothing untoward has happened.