PowerPoint 2013: Images in presentation disappear - and are replaced with 'The image part with relationship ID rId2 was not found in the file'

Anonymous
2013-05-07T17:10:57+00:00

I've used PPT for 20 years and started using PowerPoint 2013 through Office 365 2 months ago and this has happened to me 4 times. 

1.  I create a presentation (Using copy and paste and/or insert to include pictures and other images)

2.  After working on the presentation for a while I save the file and realize all the images (except smart art) are gone and replaced with the message above.

3.  I have reinstalled PPT 2013 and it happened again.  I have documents that are 50 pages long and have had to insert new images (Hours of lost work) then 3 days later it happens again.

Not sure if it is related but I've noticed that once in a while when I try to save a document (Happens in Word and Outlook Calendar items) it tells me the file is locked and makes me save under a new name.

This is really a show stopper.  Any suggestions?

Microsoft 365 and Office | PowerPoint | For home | Windows

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Anonymous
2014-01-20T22:53:18+00:00

UPDATE:

I know it's been a while since our last update but that's only because we've been hard at work on a solution and doing our best to ensure that it really does eliminate the problem.

Good news - we think we've finally fixed all instances of this bug. The update is now available and how you get it will depend on your version of Office:

  • Click-2-Run: you should receive the update automatically
  • "Traditional" install: update will be available via Microsoft Update

The correct build number once the update is installed is:

  • MSI: 15.0.4613.1000
  • C2R: 15.0.4615.1001

Obviously we'd love your feedback once you've installed the update. If for some reason you continue to hit the issue please post back here and be sure to include which build of PowerPoint you have as well as any other sync/anti-virus software you may have installed.

We're deeply committed to eradicating this issue and while we've done extensive testing there's always the possibility that something slipped through the cracks.

Thanks,

Dan

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  1. Anonymous
    2015-04-28T16:50:26+00:00

    Hey Steve:

    Thanks again for the quick response. 

    I have gone through the actions you recommended. I did ensure that "Give me updates for Microsoft products..." is indeed selected (which it was already). My system is configured to check for updates every day at 3:00 am.

    So, with that said, my system is still telling me that everything is up to date, but I still do not have the most up-to-date PowerPoint version installed (see my original post for my version).

    Any suggestions on what to try next to update my PowerPoint 2013 to install the PowerPoint version builds you provided? Why is it telling me that everything is up to date, when PowerPoint is not?

    Thanks!

    ~ Jim

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  2. Steve Rindsberg 99,176 Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2015-04-29T15:55:48+00:00

    >> Why is it telling me that everything is up to date, when PowerPoint is not?

    I'm not sure, but then I've never really trusted this whole update process much anyhow.

    One thing that's known to cause various update problems is "mixed marriages" ... installations that include programs from different versions of Office.  For example, a standalone copy of PowerPoint or some other Office series program (say, Visio) installed alongside a different version of Office.  

    Another tweak that's sometime necessary to shake the updates loose is to turn updating OFF, quit and restart PPT, then turn updates back on and have it check for updates.  

    One other thought ... you might want to go into Control Panel | Updates and have it check for needed updates.  There might be a Windows update that's needed so that the Office updater can do its thing.  I don't leave auto-updates on and it seems that every time I go for manual ones, the Windows Updater itself wants an update before it'll do anything else.  Worth a looksee.

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  3. Anonymous
    2015-04-30T14:52:04+00:00

    The problem still exist. I have the PPT trial version 2015, build 15.9.0 and lost some pictures and got the message  "The image part with relationship ID rId2 was not found in the file"

    No updates are available. Any suggestion how this can be avoided?

    Thanks,

    Claes

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  4. Anonymous
    2015-05-15T07:48:47+00:00

    Oh my... I am a very calm person usually, but this is a very rare occasion that I am in rage and deep frustration. In fact, so deep that I had to google for solutions, which I failed to find. More over, I see that this issue has been going on for years!

    Out of sudden, I've just lost 3 days of work, and right before the deadline! And what am I supposed to tell to my manager? That PowerPoint crashed and I just lost everything? Do you realize how lame that sounds?!

    I have Win7 + Office Pro 2013. And no, I don't use any dropboxes or network drives. Everything is local and not synced anywhere. Geez, I am so angry I have no words.

    Edit:

    That was a lot of damage to my credibility... and I am still angry.

    Anyhow, additional debugging info for you. I have opened the .pptx as an archive to see its contents. Most of the images from the 'media' folder are gone. Also, the relations XML shows target="NULL" for the missing images. Please, focus the stress tests on the combinations of:

    • non standard template with a few bg images
    • copy pasting png and jpg images to slides from web (copy in browser, paste in ppt)
    • make a few dozen of pages, with texts and images
    • auto-save is on and friquent
    • CTRL+S for manual save after major changes on each slide

    At some point you will fail to manually save the document, as it will complain that it is opened in a read-only mode and have to be saved under a different name.

    At some point you will start seeing the big red 'X' crosses on some slides thumbnails and images start disappearing.

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