Unspecified Error, word/document.xml, Line:2, Column: 0

Anonymous
2012-05-27T15:48:53+00:00

Dear document savers,

It appears that due dates for assignments makes Word eat documents.

Like others I have a corrupted .docx document.  I have tried every trick in the book I can find and am now resorting to the next level of knowledgeable help.

The document crashed whilst working on a formula around the 3rd last page from memory (page 12 I believe).  After waiting etc. I closed and reopened the document and found then that it would go crazy when I got to the area I was last working in, and wouldn't scroll or display content properly.  When I tried again to close and open it wouldn't open it.  Nothing so far has worked.

It now gives the message:

"The file Assign 3 Answers.docx cannot be opened because there are problems with the contents."

"Details"

"Unspecified Error"

"Location: Part: /word/document.xml, line: 2, column: 0"

I have uploaded the file here

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B8CyUQXlwkYeUXdmVl9acWZTUEU

I can open in Googledocs but without drawings or equations.  It opens in viewer.zoho.com but still cannot open a saved copy in Word 2010

I would greatly appreciate if anyone had any fixes for me.

Sincerely,

Rowan

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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Anonymous
2012-05-27T18:16:27+00:00

... https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B8CyUQXlwkYeUXdmVl9acWZTUEU ...

The Google Docs copy was a DOC rather than a DOCX, but I downloaded it and had a look. I snipped out the  BH  from the second formula following "for Triangle CBH" on page 19. That will need replacing and close proofreading that area is highly recommended.

                  

There is some strange pagination and I don't know exactly why that is nor even if the pagination is intentional.  The actual corruption looked like it was due to many reformatting changes, resulting in empty formatting tags.

I've uploaded a repaired copy of the DOCX to my SkyDrive here for you to download . Be sure to get service packs for Office 2007 or 2010 installed whenever possible before further editing is performed.

Office service packs

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  1. Anonymous
    2014-01-06T00:55:41+00:00

    I am curious to know how you can see those tags? Where do you open the document to fix it???

    Hi Petille007,

    A DOCX document is actually a .ZIP file that contains many internal components. There is an internal folder called word which will always contain a document.xml file. This file is the basis of the document's layout and content.

    Assuming that the DOCX archive structure has not been corrupted, it can be opened in an archive utility. I use WinRAR for this. Once opened in WinRAR, you can drill down into the word folder and see the document.xml file. I use Notepad++ as a text editing tool and have the .xml file extension associated with this program so i can simply double-click document.xml in WinRAR to open an editing session.

    Notepad++ has cursor positioning in the right-hand side of the status bar and finding the position of the error (supplied by a failed open in Word) is pretty straightforward. I look for empty formatting tags first and only remove content if removing empty tags does not allow the document to be opened. I try to note existing content in the area that I make modifications in order that I can supply position reference information to the owner of the DOCX.

    When editing, I assume the philosophy that kess is more. My target is to get the document to open in Word with as little modification as possible and let the original owner of the DOCX make any necessary adjustments.

    I should mention that after making a change to word/document.xml you need to save it in Notepad++ then go to WinRAR and acknowledge that you want to update the file in the DOCX archive. Once the archive is updated, you can attempt to open the DOCX in Word to see if your efforts are successful.

    WinRAR

    Notepad++

    HI Jeep i was trying to do as you have explained in this post, however i have encounterd two problems, first of all when i open document.xml in notepad it has just two lines, secondly you say "finding the position of the error (supplied by a failed open in Word) is pretty straightforward"   however how do i find line 2 and column 0 as it doesnot exist, thirdly i dont really know XML , so how to tell where an empty tag exists?? kindly help me i have to sublitt a project of 350 pages in a days time and suddenly i am getting this error

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  2. Anonymous
    2013-12-03T19:26:32+00:00

    I'm glad to hear you got sorted out. Thank you for your kind words and remember to backup, backup and backup again. Avoid working to/from any memory stick or other removable memory device at all costs and good luck on your doctorate!

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  3. Anonymous
    2013-12-03T17:08:29+00:00

    Awesome, you're a life saver! You just saved me from having to re-write the second half of the document from my last recovery file. Thank you so much! You really are a pro at this, and your turn around time is incredible!

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  4. Anonymous
    2013-12-03T16:41:02+00:00

    Meant to say...

    ... was immediately preceding "manageable amount through unsupervised " on page 25 (of 41).

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