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
    2014-03-25T20:25:23+00:00

    Rohn, thanks for the interesting (maybe nostalgic!) history lesson - we should never have complained about DOS!

    I understand your argument, but there are two points that I cannot reconcile:

    1. The problem is solved by saving as a PPT file.
    2. Office 2010 apparently did not have this problem, so something that M$ did has broken Powerpoint.

    When I get some free time, I'm going to prune every single executable and try to reproduce the error.  In the meantime, may I make a couple of suggestions to everyone else experiencing this problem?

    1. Boot to Safe Mode and try to reproduce the problem.  Let's see if we can.
    2. List all installed programs that might be acessing files.  I did so in my initial post.
    3. List programs which are known to cause the problem (i.e. problem resolves when program is disabled).  That way, we can at least, as a group, consolidate and test our solutions.
    4. Can you let us know if you are experiencing the same problem with any other Office programs, or is it restricted to Powerpoint?

    Kind regards

    --

    Ronnie

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-03-25T20:45:27+00:00

    Hey Ronnie:

    Actually, saving to PPT has been reported to work only some of the time. It DEFINITELY is NOT an infallible fix.

    Yes, the problem is apparently new to 2013.  "Collaboration" features have been extended, so maybe the problem was introduced there.

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-03-25T21:09:03+00:00

    If working on a PPT file, are people actually losing the images and having the save problem?  I think that is different to having the error when working on a PPTX file and then saving as a PPT.

    I am perplexed why, when unzipping the faulty PPTX file, the old image files disappear from the media directory.  The unusual thing is immediately before the 'read only' message, there is a message saying that the file cannot be opened.  Surely some debug code would check whether the problem is opening the zipped PPTX file, or files within it.

    Has the same problem been noted with other embedded media, such as sounds / videos?  Another thing that I believe has changed is how videos and perhaps images are embedded in presentations.  I wonder if that has something to do with it.  It could even relate to the media compression, which I think happens automatically now.

    So many thoughts....it would be interesting to see the source code!

    One final, and inexplicable issue, is how Powerpoint deals with compatibility mode.  An extremely annoying issue is that when adding narration to a PPT file, it plays perfectly while the file is open and in memory.  When you close and reopen, there are small speaker icons in the corners of the slides, but it has not saved the sound.  It's as if, in memory, it is working on a PPTX file and then performs an incomplete conversion to save as a PPT.  Could this file-handling be related?

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  4. Anonymous
    2014-03-25T21:35:12+00:00

    Sorry, I don't have answers to your questions.

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