error message Word cannot delete the old backup file - what the.....?

[Bo Ku]

OS X 4.5 Office 2004 Word 11.2 (yada yada updates)

OK folks here is one I have never experienced before

error message on save (I have quit Word - it is not an extreme number of
saves - do not know exactly how many saves prior to receiving error)


"Word cannot delete the old backup file becasue it is read-only or another
use has it open.

[Title document] (Crystallzing expereinces Walters Gardner...)"


I have vodooed all the conventional files (preferences, Normal etc.)

what am i experiencing?

thanks
bo ku

 

[CyberTaz]

Can you physically locate the file using Finder? If so, try logging
out/in, drag it to the trash, then empty the trash. Just to be safe,
make sure you Quit *all* Office apps first.) It may also help to run
Disk Utility - Repair Disk Permissions.

HTH |:>)

 

[John McGhie [MVP - Word and Word Macintosh]]

Hi Bo:

That is ³often² caused because you have:

1. Set Word>Preferences>Save>Always make backup... To ON. (That¹s correct,
you should be set that way...) AND
2. You have inadvertently ³Opened² the backup file instead of the main
document.

If you did that, the file would indeed be opened by another user: yourself,
in another Word window.

On the other hand, something (e.g. A virus, antivirus scanner, or indexing
program such as Spotlight) may have locked the file. If that¹s the case,
rebooting as suggested by CyberTaz should clear the locked backup file and
enable Word to save correctly.

The ³Save² mechanism is a little complex: Word first writes the new version
of the file to a temporary file, then re-names the old backup file, then
renames the current file to the ³backup² file name, then renames the new
version as the original file name. It¹s the fastest way to get the document
saved with the lowest risk of losing data ‹ but if anything interferes with
the write or any of the three re-names, you can get this problem.

Cheers

OS X 4.5 Office 2004 Word 11.2 (yada yada updates)

OK folks here is one I have never experienced before

error message on save (I have quit Word - it is not an extreme number of saves
- do not know exactly how many saves prior to receiving error)


"Word cannot delete the old backup file becasue it is read-only or another use
has it open.

[Title document] (Crystallzing expereinces Walters Gardner...)"


I have vodooed all the conventional files (preferences, Normal etc.)

what am i experiencing?

thanks
bo ku

--

Please reply to the newsgroup to maintain the thread. Please do not email
me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie <[email protected]>
Microsoft MVP, Word and Word for Macintosh. Consultant Technical Writer
Sydney, Australia +61 (0) 4 1209 1410