How to fix LibreOffice stopped starting. Resetting LibreOffice without launching (SOLVED)

LibreOffice won't start

LibreOffice is a free office document editor. In terms of functions, LibreOffice is similar to MS Office, but LibreOffice is open source and this office suite works on all major operating systems, including Linux.

I have been using LibreOffice extensively almost every day for several hours for many years now. I am satisfied with the functionality of LibreOffice and good compatibility with various formats, including Word text editor files from MS Office. But at the same time, I would not classify LibreOffice as a stable program (at least with my settings) – from time to time the program crashes due to some kind of error.

Luckily, LibreOffice now has amazing document recovery functionality in the event of a crash. No matter how long ago you saved the file you are working on, in the event of an unexpected shutdown (crash in the program or shutdown of the computer), LibreOffice restores the files in the same state in which they were at the time the program was closed. Again, this does not depend on how often you save the file you are working on or when the file was last automatically saved. That is, LibreOffice stores and maintains a copy of the modified file in real time.

But one day the situation became completely strange – Writer (LibreOffice text editor) crashed and LibreOffice no longer started on my Linux computer.

To see the errors due to which LibreOffice cannot work, you can run the program in the console (even with a graphical user interface). For LibreOffice, run the following command:

soffice

I received the following set of errors:

Attribute does not match Module context!
memory(none)
ptr @isNan
Attribute does not match Module context!
memory(none)
ptr @fsum
Attribute does not match Module context!
memory(none)
  %call3 = tail call double @_Z8_cl_fmindd(double noundef %0, double noundef %_cl_min.09) #8
Attribute does not match Module context!
memory(none)
ptr @_Z8_cl_fmindd
Attribute does not match Module context!
memory(none)
ptr @llvm.fmuladd.f64
Attribute does not match Module context!
memory(none)
  %call = tail call i64 @_Z13get_global_idj(i32 noundef 0) #9
Attribute does not match Module context!
memory(none)
ptr @_Z13get_global_idj
LLVM ERROR: Broken module found, compilation aborted!

The messages are very strange and seem to be not relevant to LibreOffice. Googling didn't help me with these errors. LibreOffice still wouldn't start.

How to restore LibreOffice

Removing all LibreOffice packages (without deleting configuration files) did not fix the situation.

Luckily, LibreOffice has a --safe-mode option that starts LibreOffice in Safe Mode, i.e. it temporarily starts with a fresh user profile and helps to repair the broken configuration:

soffice --safe-mode

How to reset LibreOffice settings

Hooray! At least we managed to launch LibreOffice. Now you can start correcting the settings.

A few hours before I ran into this problem, I updated my spell check dictionaries. But I'm not sure if this has anything to do with my problem.

The meaning of the settings is pretty obvious from their name. Settings with the words “restore”, “uninstall”, “reset” are more drastic, because later you will have to reconfigure the user profile or install extensions.

I chose a milder option, namely “Disable hardware acceleration (OpenGL, OpenCL, Vulkan)”.

Fortunately, this already helped me and I launched LibreOffice in the usual way. After that, I was able to restore the last edited document and continue working.

If disabling settings or extensions doesn't work for you, then keep experimenting.

LibreOffice Safe Mode

Items with the word “Restore” mean a rollback to the previous last working settings or extensions to the last working state. That is, you will get your normal customized LibreOffice workspace, but the latest updates or last customizations will be lost.

The option “Restore from backup” → "Restore user configuration to the last known working state” will roll back LibreOffice settings to the point when the program worked.

The option “Restore from backup” → “Restore state of installed user extensions to the last known working state” will undo the latest updates and roll back the extension files to working ones.

The option “Configure” → “Disable all user extensions” will save all extension files, but make them inactive. Subsequently, you will need to reactivate the extensions.

The option “Configure” → “Disable hardware acceleration (OpenGL, OpenCL, Vulkan)” will simply turn off the specified setting – you can re-enable it at any time in the LibreOffice settings.

The option “Extensions” → “Remove all user extensions” will not only disable, but also delete extension files. You can resort to this option after disabling extensions does not help.

The option “Extensions” → “Reset state of shared extensions” means resetting the settings of installed extensions.

The option “Extensions” → “Reset state of bundled extensions” means resetting the extensions that come with LibreOffice.

To completely reset the interface settings and return to its original appearance, select “Reset to factory settings” → “Reset settings and user interface modifications”.

To completely reset all LibreOffice settings and return to the state immediately after installing LibreOffice, select the option “Reset to factory settings” → “Reset entire user profile”.

After selecting the desired option, click the “Apply Changes and Restart” button.

After completing this step, you can launch LibreOffice in the usual way (for example, through a menu, a shortcut, or by clicking on an office document file). If LibreOffice has started, then you can work with the program as before. Although, you may need to reconfigure the application.

How to edit a document without resetting settings

If you just want to quickly view or edit the document without making any decisions or resetting the settings, then click the “Continue in Safe Mode” button. In this mode, all extensions are disabled, but at least you will be able to view and edit office files if LibreOffice is not launched in any other way.

Where is the user profile

You may want to make a user backup before resetting.

To do this, click the “Advanced” option.

You will have additional options:

• Archive User Profile – that is, you can create a backup copy of the current user profile before changing or deleting it
• Show User Profile – the directory in which the user profile files are stored will be opened. You can manually copy them to a safe location for backup.

Example path to this folder:

~/.config/libreoffice/4/user/