Microsoft KB Archive/123972

= Microsoft Knowledge Base =

MXL5: Saved Files May Be Deleted if System Hangs
Last reviewed: April 1, 1997

Article ID: Q123972

The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Excel for Macintosh, version 5.0 and 5.0a

WARNING: The information in this article has not been confirmed or tested by Microsoft. Some or all of the information in this article has been taken from unconfirmed customer reports. ANY USE BY YOU OF THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS ARTICLE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. Microsoft provides this information "as is" without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose.

SYMPTOMS
There are some scenarios when you use the versions of Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh listed above in which a file may be deleted, or changes to the file may not be saved if your Macintosh stops responding (hangs) or is reset while Microsoft Excel is active and the file is open.

MORE INFORMATION
You will experience this behavior in various scenarios. In all scenarios, data loss has been observed with System 7.5 and 7.1.x if the Macintosh hangs or is reset while Microsoft Excel is active and the file is open.

If you close and then open the file again during the Microsoft Excel session, only the changes that you made to the file after opening the file again are lost.

Scenario 1
Changes made to a file while using the Autosave feature are lost if the Macintosh hangs while that file is open.

Scenario 2
You open an existing file from the hard disk. You make changes to the file and then save the file by choosing Save from the File menu, or by choosing the Save button from the Standard toolbar. While the file is still open, the Macintosh hangs. (This does not occur during the Save process.) After you restart the Macintosh, when you open the file, none of your changes appear, and a temporary 0 byte file exists in the same folder with a name similar to COE31000 or D8540000. The name is a combination of letters and numbers. Sometimes these files are found in the trash as recovered files.

Scenario 3
You enter data on a new worksheet and save the file. While the file is still open, the Macintosh hangs. After you restart the Macintosh, you cannot locate the file in the folder where you saved it. Using File Find, you cannot locate the file on the hard disk or the trash.

Scenario 4
You open and save an existing file on the hard disk. While the file is still open, you continually hit the Save button on the toolbar and the Macintosh hangs. After you restart the Macintosh and open the file, your changes do not appear in the file.