I upgraded to Mojave (10.14.2) the other day and, apart from some initial coniptions with 1Password, all is going well except Word and Excel (16.16.3 standalone version) crash on opening. The only bit in the crash report that's in understandable everyday English says:

Exception Type: EXC_CRASH (SIGABRT)
Exception Codes: 0x0000000000000000, 0x0000000000000000
Exception Note: EXC_CORPSE_NOTIFY

Termination Reason: DYLD, [0x1] Library missing

This seems clear enough (although the reference to “CORPSE” is a bit of a worry for someone in his 70th year) but I’m very unsure about what to do about it. Google search results tell me that many others are unsure too, including the Microsoft forum which advised a user to delete the “com.microsoft.word” folder (doesn’t exist on my system) or reinstall Office. Apparently the reinstall worked for the user but I’m reluctant to do this because I can’t locate my original Office install disc and its serial number which I’m pretty sure will be required.

The Office apps will launch fine when the system is booted from a High Sierra clone. This strongly suggests that Mojave is the culprit and I held off upgrading until now for this very reason - ie allow compatibility etc issues to be sorted out. Minor rant: In view of Mojave’s extensive lead time it’s bizarre that software from one of the world’s biggest companies and used by so many is suddenly missing an essential library (on my system anyway). It’s enough to make me resort to Pages and Numbers…

…hmm now there’s an idea, these look perfectly capable for my limited requirements but, before I do that, does anyone have any troubleshooting suggestions for my inoperative Office installation?

Andy

I'm quite interested in seeing how you get this resolved as my Word and Excel are 32 bit and I've been thinking about the standalone Office as one option for getting to Mojave. I wonder if the com.microsoft.word does exist on your drive but is invisible. It might be worth checking. I'm High Sierra and this process works for me to make invisible files visible.

1 Double-click your Macintosh HD icon to see all the visible files and folders on your drive.
2. Hold down Cmd + Shift + . (Period)
3. All the invisible files will also become visible
4. Hold down Cmd + Shift + . (Period) again to re-hide the files

If the com.microsoft.word file is revealed, you'll be able to drag it to trash.

I can't help with your problem, but I wanted to say that I updated Excel 2016 from 16.16.4 to 16.16.5 today in Mojave 10.14.2, and I've experienced no issues with either. (I also ran 16.16.3 in Mojave, but I can't be certain if I installed Mojave over it or updated to it after I installed Mojave.)

Also, com.microsoft.word doesn't exist on my installation either...visible or invisible.

Maybe try this: navigate to /Library/Application Support/Microsoft/MAU2.0/Microsoft AutoUpdate.app and run it; if it updates you, the updated version may work.

I upgraded to Office 2016 before Mojave was released, so I can't say it with 100% certainty, but I don't think you should have any problems running the 32 bit version until macOS 10.15 "La Brea Tar Pits".

Also, as I posted to andycap, com.microsoft.word doesn't exist in my Mojave 10.14.2 installation...visible or invisible.

Thanks both for your thoughts. Are you two up all night?!

Before I posted I actually tried to run Microsoft Autoupdate but it seems, of course and ironically, to be afflicted by the same issue and hangs.

I might just bite the bullet in a couple of days and pluck up enough courage to reinstall Office with the Microsoft_Office_16.19.18110915_Installer.pkg I just downloaded. Do you have any idea if the original Office installation serial number might be stored somewhere and where it might be in the welter of its support files?

I checked my Office 365 installation, using Word. The ID number can be found by going to the Word menu and clicking About Microsoft Word. If you can launch Word while booted from High Sierra, you should be able to take a screen shot and print it so that you'll have it when booted into Mojave. BTW, I just updated to the latest version of Office and it went OK. You could do that in High Sierra if you like.

I've got the same standalone version of Office - Office 2016 - that Andy's got, and About Excel (its only component that I use) shows me this, but neither the Product nor Device ID has anything to do with the 25 character Product Key I used to set up my installation. (The device ID is actually my hardware UUID as per System Info > Hardware.)

I generally am up all night, but the post you've referenced went up at 10 PM local/NYC time.

And since ryck lives at least two hours west of me, his post went up even earlier than mine did in his local time.

Where did you find that d/l, i.e. are you certain it can be trusted?

I just found Download and install or reinstall Office 2016, Lost Product Key, and Using product keys with Office, all of which look helpful in one or more ways.

Thanks night owl for those links. There's plenty of options there and I'll pursue them in turn with enough coffee and cigarettes to blunt my frustration at Microsoft in general. I've been a Mac user since the LC but I always learn from your persistence and knowledge on this and other topics. I will report back on progress.

The d/l came from a moderator posting on the MS support site so it should be good.

One of those links took me to a Microsoft site that offered me a d/l but showed a Product Key that differed from the ones (2011 & 2016) I've got, which I guess meant that I'd have been getting a completely new Office installation.

This saga has become an epic slough of despond and I have whiled away a good 5 hours today on it. I can’t sensibly spend any more time trying to make Office 2016 work on my Mojave machine and I’m now officially moving to Numbers and Pages. Microsoft licensing and support, at least for MacOS, is an absolute mess. And to think I was contemplating an upgrade to Office 2019. Forget it!

In summary:
Product key recovered after resetting MS account password. Easy. Downloaded the reinstall pkg from the same MS key recover page, ran it, and it failed twice. Not easy. Initiated a three hour marathon chat and remote login session with MS techos (2 of them). They chucked some Containers, deleted the Office suite apps and downloaded their own install pkg. This failed. After creating a test account, a few restarts and kernel panics, another install download and relogging into my normal account, Office appeared to work. But after deleting all the Logmein detritus, downloaded installation packages and the test account, it has now inexplicably become inoperative again (unless I boot from the High Sierra clone and that’s ridiculous). And now 1Password has #$!& itself again.

Why oh why did I do Mojave. It’s when all the trouble started! Good luck ryck!

Reverting to High Sierra from the clone is looking like a pretty good option right now.

Thank you all for your input and suggestions.

Can't help you with Microsoft Office having abandoned it years ago, but I am running 1 Password 7.2.3 beta on MacOS 10.14.3 beta and have had zero problems on my Mac, iPhone, or iPad. AgileBits has offered their beta version to users so you might give that a try. The only irritation there is the frequent — sometimes twice a day — updates but if it solves your issue….

Hanging around the High Sierra is starting to look pretty good. Sorry to see your issue ended up where it did.

Have just binned Office2016 in what has turned out to be a Herculean task. The Aegean stables were strewn with all manner of #$!& now shovelled into the Trash but I'm still left with a single item in the Trash which the finder says is in use. It's called "Microsoft Word", is zero k in size and has a generic app icon with a "no open" rondel superimposed on it.

I've tried everything I can think of including Terminal (somewhat nervously) but it stubbornly remains as an unwelcome reminder of my duel to the death with Office. I guess it will be presented very time I empty the trash from now on. It's otherwise probably not a big deal but I'd welcome any ideas.

Will no-one rid me of this turbulent priest? (apologies to Henry II)

AppCleaner might help.

AppCleaner and other similar apps (I've used AppTrap for years) won't delete the offending file and I've now moved it out of harm's way into the Incompatible Software folder. Hopefully there it won't rear its ugly head again.

The fallout from macOS having become so trouble free is my having forgotten what I learned in "Troubleshooting 101".


The first thing I should have suggested when I read that was that you run, or, as the case may be, rerun the macOS Mojave 10.14.2 Combo Update, so I'll do it now since you're still having an issue with 1Password.

As for your recalcitrant file, which "rm" (Did you try "sudo rm"?) couldn't get rid of, some suggestions:

1. After moving it back to the trash, try running Disk Utility > First Aid (You can do it from your boot volume.), and follow that by shutting down/starting up and crossing your fingers. (I've got a vague recollection of that having worked in a similar situation a bunch of years ago.)
2. Try trashing it while booted into a different volume.

And as for Office 2016, it seems a shame that after having paid for it you've wound up trashing it.

I've seen a bunch of developers take the money and run lately rather than update their apps, but that's not Microsoft's style, and I know for a fact that Excel 2016 can run issue-free in Mojave 10.14.2, so if you're interested in one more experiment...

The one thing I'd have done differently than you did is I"d have completely trashed Office 2016 before attempting to reinstall it, so since you've now done that, you might try reinstalling again after running the Combo and hopefully getting rid of that recalcitrant file.

Thanks for your suggestions Artie. Until my Mojave update, I've NEVER, in 25 years of Macery, had any problems whatsoever with a single aspect of macOS (Systems 6 - 10) which I couldn't solve once I'd removed the dumb and stupid hat.

Thanks also for the 10.14.2 Combo link; I've downloaded it and it's awaiting action. I've read many times that a Combo will often solve problems but have never needed to run one. I presume I can do so over the top of the existing Ap Store sourced Mojave. (??)

I used "sudo rm -R" on the recalcitrant file but this did nuffing. I have since read of several others like rm -rf ~/.Trash/*, sudo rm -rf ~/.Trash/*, sudo rm -rf /Volumes/*/.Trashes, and sudo rm -rf ~/.Trash /Volumes/*/.Trashes. However I think these are well and truly above my confidence/aptitude level and may make it worse. Because...

...I ran Disk Utility > First Aid from the boot volume which failed and told me it had found corruption (such an emotive word) that needed to be repaired and advised repair from First Aid in Recovery mode. This failed too. Far out. It's possible that this corruption was caused by the MS techos when they took over my machine remotely to solve the Office issue. It was certainly entertaining watching them flail around!

I think it's time to run the Combo.

If the Combo doesn't solve your problem, you could try reinstalling the OS via Recovery Mode.

Bite your tongue!

You might be able to empty the trash via the Files menu of OnyX

I was thinking that booting into another volume might work, much the same as we once booted into OS 9 to deal with trash that OS X couldn't handle.

OnyX uses "sudo rm" as does Cocktail, TinkerTool System, MacPilot, and probably half hundred other utilities. There is no extra effectiveness because it is in an app other than being less subject to typographical errors on the part of the user.

If file is hung, whether it is in the trash or elsewhere, booting from another volume as Artie suggested, may release whatever has the file locked and allow it to be deleted.

But if that does not work, I would try boot from the Recovery Drive or any other available bootable volume and run Disk Utility > First Aid, Drive Genius, TechTool Pro, or other volume repair utility.

AFIK, only Disk Utility is capable of repairing Mojave volumes. Alsoft clearly states that Disk Warrior cannot do this, and DW won't let you even if you try. TechTool Pro gives a warning, on launch, that it is not fully compatible with Mojave. Both Alsoft and Micromat are planning on releasing versions of these utilities that can do it. Micromat, on its website, states that the new version of TTP will be available by the end of 2018. Alsoft does not give a timetable.

Drive Genius Gets Mojave Support!

It's both ironic and amusing that of the three pre-eminent repair utilities, only one is compatible with the first problem to have arisen in (I think) a few years that may actually require their sort of functionality.

How true. I've had Diskwarrior for years and it never found anything seriously wrong. I think I've only run it every couple of months to make me feel good (not yet with Mojave of course).

I'm about to run the combo update. If I fall silent you'll have to continue this discussion on your own!

Check your information. It is not the OS version it is how the drive is formatted. TechTool Pro and Drive Genius will repair Mac OS Extended (HFS+) volumes on Mojave. The issue is only with APFS volumes or at least that is the case on my Mac running MacOS 10.14.3 Beta, DG 5.3.0., and TTP 10.1.2.

On the other hand while Disk Utility reports S.M.A.R.T. is not supported on my internal SSD formatted APFS, TTP does report at least a cursory S.M.A.R.T. report, just not the detailed version it reports for rotating rust drives.

Thanks for that correction about APFS volumes and Mojave.

A sort of a postscript:

Having tried all your welcome suggestions to rid my machine of of this errant Microsoft Word zero k file, I've returned it to the Incompatible Software folder where it's out of sight and not causing any harm (well maybe). I've applied the Combo update and all is otherwise well.

However Disk First Aid, invoked from any source, still fails and tells me there is "corruption" that needs to be repaired and I'm hoping that this is not a sign of impending hardware doom. Because I've used it for years, probably needlessly, I'm waiting for Diskwarrior to become APFS compliant and hoping it does so very soon. Lot of hope here.

cheers all

Andy

When you ran Disk Utility First Aid did you select the volume, the container, or the drive? I just ran a First Aid on a disk formatted APFS and although there was duplication of duplicated volume testing, additional things were checked at the Container level and it appears 1 check was unique to the disk level. Although no errors were reported at any level "postponed repairs" were reported as completed at the Container level.

Based on that I would suggest running First Aid at the container level if not at all three. It might make a difference.

As to Diskwarrior, Drive Genius, and TechTool Pro support of APFS, I am not holding my breath. APFS is a very different animal and Disk Utility > First Aid may, just may, have it covered pretty well and is not leaving a lot of room for the competition to improve upon. Besides that there are a lot of technologies in APFS that have yet to be made available in the GUI or implemented which make APFS a rapidly evolving target.

I can't remember but I've just repeated First Aid at all three levels with the same failure result. The details are as follows

Running First Aid on “Container disk2”
NOTE: First Aid will temporarily lock the startup volume.
Verifying storage system
Using live mode.
Performing fsck_apfs -n -x -l /dev/disk1s2
Checking the container superblock.
Checking the fusion superblock.
Checking the EFI jumpstart record.
Checking the space manager.
Checking the space manager free queue trees.
Checking the object map.
Checking the Fusion data structures.
error: fusion_mid_tree: btn: invalid o_oid (0x2ec2b)
Fusion data structures are invalid.
The volume /dev/disk1s2 could not be verified completely.
Storage system check exit code is 8.
Operation successful.

Operation successful?? Blimey I can't imagine why with the error indicated! Googling shows that this and similar fusion drive errors are common but none of the discussions about them reveal a solution that gives me any confidence. I think I might get into a chat with Apple Support...

I suppose that like the old apocryphal story where the doctor comes in to tell the family, "The operation was a complete success, unfortunately the patient died", "Operation successful" depends on your understanding of what the Operation is and what constitutes success. It took an extra year to make APFS compatible with fusion drives and it occurs to me First Aid might not have caught up completely.

Please report back what you get from Apple Tech Support.

Hello again. I've bit the bullet and am currently talking with Apple Tech Support (based in Brisbane) about the Disk First Aid failure. Initiated by a second issue just arisen regarding a Time machine failure ("TM could not create a local snapshot to back up from").

So far on his instructions I have Shut Down, removed all connections including power cable for 10 seconds, restarted from Recovery and zapped the PRAM (all to no avail). He has referred the issues to engineers and in the meantime I'm copying via Terminal my user folder (with appropriately adjusted permissions) to an external drive in preparation for a potential hard drive erase and reinstallation. Depending on what the engineers come up with - probably Monday - this may not be necessary but at least I have another copy independent of Time Machine and the clone.

I'll report further. It occurs to me that this is no longer about MS Office which I've got rid of so should I create another thread?

cheers Andy

I think you might be right. The engineers to whom Apple Support referred my First Aid issue say it has been reported quite a few times. Their primary concern was "why was I running First Aid?" The answer was I thought it reasonable to do so prior to performing a clone backup if I could not confidently continue to use Disk Warrior, which still seems to have some issues with APFS, to perform a preparatory routine disk check. Their question also seems reasonable but it looks like it's directed at establishing some other root cause for the FA failure report rather than acknowledging that FA itself may not be up to scratch yet!

As I would rather not clone a disk that may have invalid Fusion data structures, and this drive is otherwise operating normally, I'm going to put my head in the sand and rely on more laborious alternative essential file backup. At least until 10.14.3 arrives and see, if anything, what happens to Disk First Aid.

I am running MacOS 10.14.3 beta 4 and as far as I can tell there is no difference in FA, but then I don't have a fusion drive to test it on.