Choose File - Open. At the bottom of the dialog box, there is a field called
"Files of type:" At the right end, there is a dropdown arrow. Click that
arrow and see if one of the choices is "Recover text from any file".

The idea is to use this feature to see if the files you're trying to open
actually contain any viable text, or if they are gibberish of the type that
might indicate a virus or worm. If the file contains viable text, then it's
probably corrupted. If it's all gibberish, then it's either actually
encoded, or something else has scrambled it (I'd suspect a virus, but it
sounds like you've closed that possibility).

Do other files seem to work okay? I.e., is it just this file? It's possible
that this file has gotten corrupted for some reason, and that no amount of
effort is going to rescue it. Ordinarily, if saved as a Word document, you
won't be prompted in this way. It will just open.

If a file was saved as encoded text, then you will be prompted, but one of
the encoding options will work to make the text readable.

If a file wasn't saved as encoded, but you get the prompt anyway, then that
would suggest that the file has become corrupted.

And, if a who bunch of files turn up acting this way, then that would
suggest either that the disk used to store the files has gone bad, or that a
virus or worm is at work.

If you'd like, you can email the file to me, and I can take a look. Send to
.

--
Herb Tyson MS MVP
Please respond in the newsgroups so everyone can follow along.
http://www.herbtyson.com
"shabir11" wrote in message
...
I am very grateful for the response. I scanned the document with Norton
antivirus which was renewed 2 weeks ago. It is clear of virus from that
scan.
I made a copy of the file and opened it up. I am afraid I could not find a
tab that could be set to Recover Text... when I ticked the 'open' tab.
Anyway, when the copy file was opened, the same gibberish appeared. I am
at a
loss.
"Herb Tyson [MVP]" wrote:

This can be a symptom of certain worms/viruses. You should make sure that
your A/V software is up to date, and scan for viruses.

Make a copy of the file and try opening the copy using File - Open - set
Files of Type to "Recover text...", do you see any viable text, or does
it
look like gibberish?

--
Herb Tyson MS MVP
Please respond in the newsgroups so everyone can follow along.
http://www.herbtyson.com
"shabir11" wrote in message
...
I opened a word document written last year. (I have Word 2003). It asked
whether I would like to have it converted. I ticked yes to the default
box.
It has converted to something which comes as boxes on a previously
normal
word text. When I try to open the document, it says select the encoding
that
makes the document readable. There are 3 options, including MS-Dos,
default
Windows and Other. None of the options works to make the document
readable.
Help. Its an important document