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mancinrob Author

Level 1

0 points

after Security update 2012-001 cannot save any Office 2004 file

I installed the Office 2012-001 Security Update on a MacBook Pro running Macos 10.6.8

After that, I opened an attached Excel file from an email (received with Entourage), I performed some formula changes and wanted to save the document with a different name. I saw some changes to the screen as if the File saving Window would appear, but instead the whole program crashed. I could not perform any further changes to the file, basically all of the menus were blank, including the Quit menu. I had to Force quit the program. I thought it was only Excel, but Word also behaves the same. I am able to open any Office file with the corresponding Pages-Numbers program and save the file in the appropriate Office format, but I cannot perform any changes using the Office programs. I am writing this question here on the Apple Support Communities because I am almost sure that this behavior happened after I installed the Security Update 2012-001. After reading some of the latest support questions, I performed a Permissions repair on the StartUp disk but nothing changed.

Any suggestions will be very much appreciated.

Posted on Feb 2, 2012 7:21 AM

95 replies

R C-R

Level 6

17,782 points

Feb 5, 2012 3:15 AM in response to Phyllis Sommers

Phyllis Sommers wrote:

Now the real question is, why couldn't Apple have released the 1.1 update to begin with and saved all of us this wasted day of grief?!

Basically, the answer is because not even Apple's pre-release testing procedures are perfect. That includes not just what testing Apple does internally but also the testing done by users & developers that receive beta versions to test prior to the public release (& are prohibited from making public statements about it by NDA's [non-disclosure agreements]).

This is not the first flawed update that has been released, nor is it likely to be the last. It happens very rarely, but it does happen. That is why it is an extremely good idea to either wait a few days after an update is released before applying it, or to have a viable reversion strategy (like a clone) in place before doing so.

This is especially true if you rely on a Mac for anything important. If there is a deadline involved, it is best not to apply any update (from Apple or any other software vendor) until it has passed. If possible, it is a good idea to update just one Mac (or one startup volume if only one Mac is available) & test it thoroughly with whatever workflows one uses before committing to it for production purposes.

It is a PITA for sure, but it is the only way to be absolutely certain Apple's testing did not miss some bug that will cause you grief.

Feb 6, 2012 3:57 AM in response to mancinrob

Best fix is this: Repair Disk Permissions in Disk Utlity (you'll find this in Applications). That worked for me although I didn't try restarting. If there's still a problem after that you can either wait till Apple fix it, OR EVEN BETTER, download and install Libreoffice and from the free download (you'll find it on google) and set it to open all your word documents (you can do this easily by just doing cmd-i on a selected Word document to get info and changing the application that opens it to LIbre office - this can be applied to all). Total work time including downloading time about 10 minutes. Way to go.

Mar 28, 2012 8:09 PM in response to Daniel Feldman

Daniel,

I am having trouble with my MAC. 10.6.8 and Rosetta. Processor 3.06 Intel Core 2 Duo.

First, how do I know Rosetta is running?

Second, I need to get my Freehand MX back running - quick. I'll try anything - buying new/old computer, anything.

All my powerPc programs have stopped opening, and when I try to reinstall Freehand MX (from disc) or download from Adobe (Freehand MX specifically) I get an error message - Freehand MX quit un-expectantly. This is the same message for all Microsoft Office X programs as well.

I have been trying to fix this for 2 days. No luck. I rebooted from my disc 10.6.2 (I think I did this correctly) then added upgrade from Apple to 10.6.8. Restarted and had no problem with system start-up.

I went back into the disc and added "Rosetta", but I am not sure if it worked.

I have Carbonite, but am not sure if it backs up programs - if that is important...

Anything you can do to put me back on track.

I have been using freehand as an illustrator for 20+ years. I have an extensive library.

Thank you,

Matt Foster

Mar 28, 2012 8:11 PM in response to mancinrob

And this,

I have Disc Utility to Repair Disc, maybe I am doing something out of order....

Matt

Mar 29, 2012 9:08 AM in response to fujikawarunner

Are you sure that you got the version 1.1 of the security update? If it's the security update, then v1.1 should have fixed your problem. But re-installing 10.6.2 and then taking all of the updates except for the security update should certainly have fixed things. It sounds like you have a different problem.

after Security update 2012-001 cannot save any Office 2004 file