##Ingredients##
LibreOffice 4.2.8.2
Ubuntu 14.04 LTS
Kernel 3.13.0-101-generic
##Problem##
This version of LibreOffice (Calc) crashes suddenly while working on a trusted file on which several earlier versions of LO had worked seamlessly. This crash leaves behind a file that LO cannot recover. The first error message is
General error. General input/output error
After a few attempts of recovery the message is upgraded to
The file ‘filename.ods’ is corrupt and therefore cannot be opened. LibreOffice can try to repair the file.
The corruption could be the result of document manipulation or of structural document damage due to data transmission.
We recommend that you do not trust the content of the repaired document. Execution of macros is disabled for this document. Should LibreOffice repair the file?
to no avail, since the repair fails.
The document contains sensitive information so it would not be advisable to upload it to external resources (see http://askubuntu.com/a/368069/446253) to fix it.
##Questions##
-
Are there strategies that work locally and use LO to fix this document?
-
How can I use an earlier version of LibreOffice in the same computer to start off again with the same task?
##Late addition##
After rebooting the severity of the problem appears to be lessened, since the file is only said to be locked and being used by another user. Then I can make a copy of it and start off from scratch with the copy. Effectively this is a sort of circumstantial manual recovery, although not quite properly proven. The questions 1 and 2 hold in case the crash happens again