Open Office 2.0.0.5 Debian I/O error fix

I spent a couple of hrs on this before figuring it out so I thought I’d share. I am running OpenOffice 2.0.0.5 on Debian testing and I kept getting “General Error, Input/Output Error” when trying to save and open files.

Clearing the settings file, editing xlc files and reinstallation did not solve the problem. After much fustration and testing various file formats, I eventually found that Star Office document files were causing me grief.

Upon reexamination of the available debian packages, I came across a StarOffice 5.2 format filters for OO which contained legacy filters for sdw files. This package is not listed as a dependency so apt installing OO installed a number of packages except this one. Installing that package resolved all my problems, hope this helps someone else.