Help! Can't open documents in Word 2003

[Joseph Geretz]

We have thousands of documents which were developed in previous versions of
Word. When we try to open these in Word 2003 we get the following error:

Word was unable to read this document. It may be corrupt. Try one or more of
the following:
* Open and Repair the file.
* Etc...

When I use Open and Repair I get a dialog box which says Errors were
detected in the file, etc.. and lists one error as 'Text Boxes 1' (whatever
that means).

One way or another, I need to get this fixed up so that our users can access
their documents.

1. Is there a software patch for this? I am currently running Word 2003
(11.5604.5606)

2. Is there a way that I can fix up all my documents programmatically? Is
the Open and Repair function available via the Word automation object model?

Thanks for your help!

- Joe Geretz -

 

[Lars-Eric Gisslén]

Joseph,

Go to the Office update site (you can find it via Windows Update) and update
Office 2003 and see if that helps.
I have Word 11.6359.6360, SP1

Regards,
Lars-Eric

 

[Joseph Geretz]

Hi Lars-Eric,

I just patched up to SP1, my version is identical to yours, but I'm still
having this problem. Not with all documents, only with some of our templates
which have macros in them.

- Joe Geretz -

 

[Lars-Eric Gisslén]

Joseph,

Sorry, but I can't help you with this. We have never encountered your
problem so I don't know what may cause it. We have tested plenty of document
with macros without any real problems.

Regards,
Lars-Eric

 

[Jay]

Joe:

I am experiencing the same problem as yours. It has nothing to do with
macro, and is associated with a bug in Word 2003. Please see the link below:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/890932

You need to contact MS and get the hotfix and follow the instructions in the
above link. I could not get the hotfix file as I am using a volume license
version. MS is going to charge $35 to me if I ask for it. It doesn't make
sense to me, though.

Please try it, and email the hotfix to me if you get the hotfix?

Thanks,
Jay

 

[Beth Melton]

I haven't heard anything about those who have a volume license version
being charged to obtain a hotfix.

Did you call hotfix support at: 1-800-936-4900?

Just tell them you need to obtain the hotfix described in KB 890932
and they should provide it to you.

Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/