Excel files won't open or delete from folder

[gavinmccaleb]

I just transferred some excel files from my old PC - windows XP Office
2003 - to my new MacBook Pro - Leopard Office for Mac 2004.

The first one I tried to open the view was too small so I increased
the zoom to 150%. After looking around a little I added some text and
tried to save. It first said "read only," but then it said "save
successfully." Then I closed it and tried to reopen. it will not open
it says "the operation could not be completed. An unexpected error has
occurred (error code -43)."

In theory I could just bring over the file from the PC again - but the
inaccessible file refuses to be deleted. If I drag to trash it
immediately reappears in the folder. Won't open, won't delete.

I also tried opening in iWorks 2008 Numbers after it crashed. Does not
open.

Help is much appreciated.
Gavin

 

[PhilD]

I just transferred some excel files from my old PC - windows XP Office
2003 - to my new MacBook Pro - Leopard Office for Mac 2004.

The first one I tried to open the view was too small so I increased
the zoom to 150%. After looking around a little I added some text and
tried to save. It first said "read only," but then it said "save
successfully." Then I closed it and tried to reopen. it will not open
it says "the operation could not be completed. An unexpected error has
occurred (error code -43)."

In theory I could just bring over the file from the PC again - but the
inaccessible file refuses to be deleted. If I drag to trash it
immediately reappears in the folder. Won't open, won't delete.

I also tried opening in iWorks 2008 Numbers after it crashed. Does not
open.

Help is much appreciated.
Gavin

In Finder, "get info" and make sure the file isn't read only. If it
is, well, make it so it isn't. Then try deleting after that.

To "get info", control-click the file to get up a contextual menu and
pick it there, or select the file and do command-I (command is the one
next to the space bar).

PhilD

 

[gavinmccaleb]

In Finder, "get info" and make sure the file isn't read only. If it
is, well, make it so it isn't. Then try deleting after that.

To "get info", control-click the file to get up a contextual menu and
pick it there, or select the file and do command-I (command is the one
next to the space bar).

PhilD

When I click to "get info" no info appears and the icon for the file
temporarily disappears. I thought it might be deleting - but instead
it returns when the folder is refreshed or reopened. I even
reorganized the icons in the folder and the weird excel files will
replace themselves directly over another icon in their original spot.

Any other thoughts?

Thanks
Gavin

 

[CyberTaz]

When I click to "get info" no info appears and the icon for the file
temporarily disappears. I thought it might be deleting - but instead
it returns when the folder is refreshed or reopened. I even
reorganized the icons in the folder and the weird excel files will
replace themselves directly over another icon in their original spot.

Any other thoughts?

Thanks
Gavin

Hi Gavin -

Although there isn't any *definitive* lexicon of error codes they are
generated by the OS in most cases. Unfortunately they only indicate symptoms
- not the cause of the problem. This one suggests that there is a problem
with your HD itself or with the Finder/file system. Problems with opening &
closing files is quite frequently caused by disk/directory errors of some
sort and the other behavior you describe is consistent with that.

If this is a MacBook Pro that you recently upgraded from Tiger to Leopard
there could have been something go awry with the installation. However, even
a newly bought system with the OS already installed can have similar
problems [I hadn't had this factory-installed G5 for 6 months before I found
out how screwy the setup was - had to completely reformat & install to
finally get it right. It's been perfect ever since for ~3 years.]

I haven't gone to Leopard as yet so I can't address the issue directly, but
I'd suggest you boot from a different startup disk (such as the Leopard disk
itself) & run Disk Utility - Repair Disk (NOT Disk Permissions). If you have
a 10.5 compatible alternative - such as Disk Warrior or TechTool Pro - you
might try it instead. Attempt to repair all errors found, which may require
running the utility more than once. When done, restart the Mac & run Disk
Utility - Repair Disk Permissions before launching any apps or opening
files.

HTH |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[gavinmccaleb]

When I click to "get info" no info appears and the icon for the file
temporarily disappears. I thought it might be deleting - but instead
it returns when the folder is refreshed or reopened. I even
reorganized the icons in the folder and the weird excel files will
replace themselves directly over another icon in their original spot.

Any other thoughts?

Thanks
Gavin

Hi Gavin -

Although there isn't any *definitive* lexicon of error codes they are
generated by the OS in most cases. Unfortunately they only indicate symptoms
- not the cause of the problem. This one suggests that there is a problem
with your HD itself or with the Finder/file system. Problems with opening &
closing files is quite frequently caused by disk/directory errors of some
sort and the other behavior you describe is consistent with that.

If this is a MacBook Pro that you recently upgraded from Tiger to Leopard
there could have been something go awry with the installation. However, even
a newly bought system with the OS already installed can have similar
problems [I hadn't had this factory-installed G5 for 6 months before I found
out how screwy the setup was - had to completely reformat & install to
finally get it right. It's been perfect ever since for ~3 years.]

I haven't gone to Leopard as yet so I can't address the issue directly, but
I'd suggest you boot from a different startup disk (such as the Leopard disk
itself) & run Disk Utility - Repair Disk (NOT Disk Permissions). If you have
a 10.5 compatible alternative - such as Disk Warrior or TechTool Pro - you
might try it instead. Attempt to repair all errors found, which may require
running the utility more than once. When done, restart the Mac & run Disk
Utility - Repair Disk Permissions before launching any apps or opening
files.

HTH |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

Sounds promising. Keeping in mind that I am less than a week
experienced with Mac - how would I perform the above mentioned Disk
Utility? the only disk I have is the Leopard OS disk. At what point do
I go to the mac service center vs trying to go it alone?

Thanks,
Gavin

 

[PhilD]

Sounds promising. Keeping in mind that I am less than a week
experienced with Mac - how would I perform the above mentioned Disk
Utility? the only disk I have is the Leopard OS disk. At what point do
I go to the mac service center vs trying to go it alone?

There is an application somewhere called Disk Utility (I can't tell
you where it is, as I moved mine to a more convenient location). Use
Spotlight (I assume that's still in Leopard: I use Tiger) to find it,
if necessary. Then run it. At the appropriate point select your hard
drive, then repair disk or repair disk permissions (depending on which
stage you're at in CyberTaz's instructions). When it's complete, just
close it.

PhilD

 

[CyberTaz]

On Dec 27, 3:31 am, (e-mail address removed) wrote:

I just transferred some excel files from my old PC - windows XP Office
2003 - to my new MacBook Pro - Leopard Office for Mac 2004.

The first one I tried to open the view was too small so I increased
the zoom to 150%. After looking around a little I added some text and
tried to save. It first said "read only," but then it said "save
successfully." Then I closed it and tried to reopen. it will not open
it says "the operation could not be completed. An unexpected error has
occurred (error code -43)."

In theory I could just bring over the file from the PC again - but the
inaccessible file refuses to be deleted. If I drag to trash it
immediately reappears in the folder. Won't open, won't delete.

I also tried opening in iWorks 2008 Numbers after it crashed. Does not
open.

Help is much appreciated.
Gavin

In Finder, "get info" and make sure the file isn't read only. If it
is, well, make it so it isn't. Then try deleting after that.

To "get info", control-click the file to get up a contextual menu and
pick it there, or select the file and do command-I (command is the one
next to the space bar).

When I click to "get info" no info appears and the icon for the file
temporarily disappears. I thought it might be deleting - but instead
it returns when the folder is refreshed or reopened. I even
reorganized the icons in the folder and the weird excel files will
replace themselves directly over another icon in their original spot.

Any other thoughts?

Thanks
Gavin

Hi Gavin -

Although there isn't any *definitive* lexicon of error codes they are
generated by the OS in most cases. Unfortunately they only indicate symptoms
- not the cause of the problem. This one suggests that there is a problem
with your HD itself or with the Finder/file system. Problems with opening &
closing files is quite frequently caused by disk/directory errors of some
sort and the other behavior you describe is consistent with that.

If this is a MacBook Pro that you recently upgraded from Tiger to Leopard
there could have been something go awry with the installation. However, even
a newly bought system with the OS already installed can have similar
problems [I hadn't had this factory-installed G5 for 6 months before I found
out how screwy the setup was - had to completely reformat & install to
finally get it right. It's been perfect ever since for ~3 years.]

I haven't gone to Leopard as yet so I can't address the issue directly, but
I'd suggest you boot from a different startup disk (such as the Leopard disk
itself) & run Disk Utility - Repair Disk (NOT Disk Permissions). If you have
a 10.5 compatible alternative - such as Disk Warrior or TechTool Pro - you
might try it instead. Attempt to repair all errors found, which may require
running the utility more than once. When done, restart the Mac & run Disk
Utility - Repair Disk Permissions before launching any apps or opening
files.

HTH |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

Sounds promising. Keeping in mind that I am less than a week
experienced with Mac - how would I perform the above mentioned Disk
Utility? the only disk I have is the Leopard OS disk. At what point do
I go to the mac service center vs trying to go it alone?

Thanks,
Gavin

If your Mac is that new & it's reasonably convenient to do so, I'd make the
trip to the service center & let them have a go at it... Make sure you take
a transcript of this thread. They should not only be able to resolve it but
should also be able to show you how - assuming we're on the right track.

Disk Utility is a program included with OS X for disk maintenance. It's
located in a folder named Utilities which is in your Applications folder - I
doubt the location has changed in Leopard. Also, when you launch it there is
a Help menu from which you can get a pretty good idea of what it is & how to
use it. The Leopard disk can be used to boot the Mac in order to manage the
normal startup (internal) drive. When you boot from the Leopard Disk there
will be a menu from which you can access Disk Utility... Just one side note:
When booted from something other than your regular startup disk Do Not run
the Repair Disk Permissions feature. Permissions are set based on the OS
version the Mac is using at the time & will be wrong when you restart from
the internal HD. (The terminology is a little confusing, but there is a
distinct difference between 'Repair Disk' & 'Repair Disk Permissions' - The
former can *only* be done on an OS X boot disk which isn't currently the
startup drive, whereas the latter can be used at any time on the current
startup disk.

As a "newcomer" to the Mac you may also find the following useful,
especially if you're switching from Windows:

http://www.apple.com/support/switch101/

http://word.mvps.org/mac/Differences.html

There is a lot of other Mac/OS X assistance available from the Apple
Discussions Forum if you have any issues that aren't Office:Mac-specific.
You'll find access to it from that page or you can go directly to:

http://discussions.apple.com/index.jspa

In fact, you may want to add this last link to your browser's bookmarks.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac