Word 2003 won't open previous version Word docs

[dom]

When I double-click on a Word XP/2000 or 97 document on my
newly upgraded Office 2003 machine I get a message "Cannot
find the file...pathandfilename...Make sure the path and
filename are correct and all required libraries are
available.

I have tried running an update scan on my machine and it
gives me updates for Office XP, and not 2003. The updates
obviously fail.

Any help on these issues would be appreciated.

 

[Beth Melton]

Can you open the files using File/Open in Word? If so then it sounds
like the file association needs to be recreated. Go to Start/Run and
run:

winword /r

Note the space before the forward slash.

If the files do not open using File/Open then do you also use Norton
AV? If so then the "Office Plug-in" option in Norton is known to cause
this type of conflict. You can disable the "Office Plug-in" in Norton
Options under the Miscellaneous section.

--
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/

 

[dominic]

I did as you suggested and it re-ran the associations but
did not resolve the issue. The files do open when in Word
and use File->Open. Thanks.

 

[Beth Melton]

Hi Dominic,

If the files will open when using File/Open then the problem does lie
in the file association. Did you exit Word and Outlook (if using Word
as your email editor) before running the command?

--
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/

 

[dominic]

Hi Beth,

I did do this again after closing Outlook and Word and
still no luck. I should mention that when I double-click
on the file it does open Word, but the file itself does
not open and the error message is in the foreground, so
I'm not sure it's an association issue. Any other
thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Dominic

 

[Beth Melton]

Do you use Norton AV? If so then try disabling the "Office Plug-in"
option found in Norton Options under the Miscellaneous section.

If that then let us know and we'll go from there.

--
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/