Minus Thirty-nine Error! Remember?

[RHPConsult]

Gotta a problem here folks . . . from computer ages past . . . I thought.

My Beloved is using WordPerfect 3.5e on Classic (Yes indeedy, it works!) to revise some old (1998) files relating to some legal matters.

Up pops a -39 error, End of File . Hadn't seen that little puppy in a long time.

Pogue notes it's probably some kind of corrupted file, possibly Launcher! Hadn't recalled that grace note.

We have, accordingly,
1) duplicated the file . . . didn't work . . . -39 pops-up after a few more modifications to the duplicate
2) cut-and-pasted the entire doc into a new blank file . . . didn't work.
3) turned-off Launcher via Extension's Manager . . . not dispositive

Perhaps not at all incidentally, last evening I did some "usual" maintenance on her G4 . . . DW on both Jag and OS 9.2.2 partitions . . . TechTool Lite on Classic . . . repaired Disk Permissions on Jag partition. 'Tis running like the proverbial top.

So, I appeal to the historically (as opposed to the histrionically) inclined among you good friends out there.

What should be, might be, could be done next to rid ourself of this irritating problem?

Help solve it and I might include you, prominently, in a new Ode, under development . . . Oh! Error Minus Thirty-Nine: How Do I Hate Thee, Let Me Count The Ways!

[pendragon]

As a guess...Boot in to OS 9, delete the WP preferences, reboot in to OS 9, rebuild the dsektop, rerun TTool.

Harv

[kelly]

Or that File itself actually is corrupted.  

This what you read Dick?

"Error -39

     A -39 error is usually accompanied by the message end of file or no additional data in the format.  This error points in the general direction of a corrupted file.  It means that the mac started to process a file but couldn't finish reading it.  If you encounter this message at startup, it could mean that the launcher has become corrupted.  All you have to do is drag the launcher control panel into the trash and reinstall it. "

http://help.earthlink.net/techsupport/os_i.../mac_error.html

[RHPConsult]

That's what I read, too, Kelly. In Pogue's Secrets

So, as I noted, we trashed the Launcher (even though I've never - - throughout my 17-18 Mac years ever used one, once) and we tried to see if different ways of reproducing the file (actually several WP files) might somehow "cure" the -39.

Nope.

So Harv's suggestions were followed. BINGO.  

Apparently corrupted preferences (and/or poltergiests) were responsible.

All better now.