Why can't I open Word 6.0 files saved with my old computer, with my new HP
Media Center PC?

If you are trying to open a file by selecting it in Windows Explorer and
double-clicking, this may not work. As an alternative, open Word; then use
File-Open to navigate to the desired file, and open it that way. If
successful, save it in the latest version of Word on your computer.

"gerri" wrote in message
...
Why can't I open Word 6.0 files saved with my old computer, with my new HP
Media Center PC?

Guess I wasn't clear - Word for Windows 5.1 came with my 2005 Media Center
and will not open Word 6.0. After an hour of searching, I discovered that
6.0 is an older file (I didn't realize that because of it's number).
Different posts also gave different answers as to how to convert. I
discovered that "Works" and "Office" will open these files. My husband also
could not open old 6.0 files on his laptop, which didn't come with Works or
Office, but discovered WordPerfect will also open Word 6.0 files.
So......... I solved both problems by right-clicking on that file type and
clicking "Open with...." the program on each computer that works.

This was important to us because we have years of stored .doc files mixed in
with newer files, and now we just open any file without wondering which
program to use.

Maybe this can help some others who are still looking to download a program
that converts .doc files. They probably already have a program that does
this.

"Richard Neville" wrote:

If you are trying to open a file by selecting it in Windows Explorer and
double-clicking, this may not work. As an alternative, open Word; then use
File-Open to navigate to the desired file, and open it that way. If
successful, save it in the latest version of Word on your computer.

"gerri" wrote in message
...
Why can't I open Word 6.0 files saved with my old computer, with my new HP
Media Center PC?

Word for Windows 5.1? The current version is Word 2003 or Word 11?

Word will open all versions of its files if you have the appropriate filter
installed. Word 6 was I believe RTF format. For the even older Word for DOS,
the filter is linked from my web site - the rest are either included with
the application or downloadable from Microsoft
http://download.microsoft.com/downlo...S/ConvPack.exe

--

Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com
Word MVP web site http://word.mvps.org


gerri wrote:
Guess I wasn't clear - Word for Windows 5.1 came with my 2005 Media
Center and will not open Word 6.0. After an hour of searching, I
discovered that
6.0 is an older file (I didn't realize that because of it's number).
Different posts also gave different answers as to how to convert. I
discovered that "Works" and "Office" will open these files. My
husband also could not open old 6.0 files on his laptop, which didn't
come with Works or Office, but discovered WordPerfect will also open
Word 6.0 files. So......... I solved both problems by right-clicking
on that file type and clicking "Open with...." the program on each
computer that works.

This was important to us because we have years of stored .doc files
mixed in with newer files, and now we just open any file without
wondering which program to use.

Maybe this can help some others who are still looking to download a
program that converts .doc files. They probably already have a
program that does this.

"Richard Neville" wrote:

If you are trying to open a file by selecting it in Windows Explorer
and double-clicking, this may not work. As an alternative, open
Word; then use File-Open to navigate to the desired file, and open
it that way. If successful, save it in the latest version of Word on
your computer.

"gerri" wrote in message
...
Why can't I open Word 6.0 files saved with my old computer, with my
new HP Media Center PC?

There is no such thing as Word 5.1 for Windows. Word version
numbers went from 2.x to 6.0, skipping the numbers 3 thru 5. So
what do you actually have?

gerri wrote:
Guess I wasn't clear - Word for Windows 5.1 came with my 2005 Media Center
and will not open Word 6.0. After an hour of searching, I discovered that
6.0 is an older file (I didn't realize that because of it's number).
Different posts also gave different answers as to how to convert. I
discovered that "Works" and "Office" will open these files. My husband also
could not open old 6.0 files on his laptop, which didn't come with Works or
Office, but discovered WordPerfect will also open Word 6.0 files.
So......... I solved both problems by right-clicking on that file type and
clicking "Open with...." the program on each computer that works.

This was important to us because we have years of stored .doc files mixed in
with newer files, and now we just open any file without wondering which
program to use.

Maybe this can help some others who are still looking to download a program
that converts .doc files. They probably already have a program that does
this.

"Richard Neville" wrote:


If you are trying to open a file by selecting it in Windows Explorer and
double-clicking, this may not work. As an alternative, open Word; then use
File-Open to navigate to the desired file, and open it that way. If
successful, save it in the latest version of Word on your computer.

"gerri" wrote in message
...

Why can't I open Word 6.0 files saved with my old computer, with my new HP
Media Center PC?

YES - Windows XP Media Center Edition came with "Microsoft WordPad Version
5.1 (Build 2600.xpsp_sp2.....). Also, our HP laptop came with the exact same
thing, and I am quoting from the HELP/About menu: Microsoft WordPad Version
5.1...
AND, this program WILL NOT open .doc files that were saved in Windows 98
or Windows ME.
The "MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE" states the following (and I copied and
pasted the following directly from http://support.microsoft.com...
"SYMPTOMS
When you try to open a document file, such as a .doc or .wri file, in
Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), you may receive the following
error message:
Cannot load Word for Windows 6.0 files"
"CAUSE
Rich Text Format (RTF) converters are disabled in Windows XP SP2."
"To enable RTF converters in Windows XP SP2, you must modify the registry."
Because I am unwilling to "modify the registry" as suggested by
Microsoft, I read many posts where many other users were having the same
problem. The other word programs I suggested will open & convert these .doc
files.

"garfield-n-odie" wrote:

There is no such thing as Word 5.1 for Windows. Word version
numbers went from 2.x to 6.0, skipping the numbers 3 thru 5. So
what do you actually have?

gerri wrote:
Guess I wasn't clear - Word for Windows 5.1 came with my 2005 Media Center
and will not open Word 6.0. After an hour of searching, I discovered that
6.0 is an older file (I didn't realize that because of it's number).
Different posts also gave different answers as to how to convert. I
discovered that "Works" and "Office" will open these files. My husband also
could not open old 6.0 files on his laptop, which didn't come with Works or
Office, but discovered WordPerfect will also open Word 6.0 files.
So......... I solved both problems by right-clicking on that file type and
clicking "Open with...." the program on each computer that works.

This was important to us because we have years of stored .doc files mixed in
with newer files, and now we just open any file without wondering which
program to use.

Maybe this can help some others who are still looking to download a program
that converts .doc files. They probably already have a program that does
this.

"Richard Neville" wrote:


If you are trying to open a file by selecting it in Windows Explorer and
double-clicking, this may not work. As an alternative, open Word; then use
File-Open to navigate to the desired file, and open it that way. If
successful, save it in the latest version of Word on your computer.

"gerri" wrote in message
...

Why can't I open Word 6.0 files saved with my old computer, with my new HP
Media Center PC?

WordPad is a Windows Accessory. It is entirely different from Word. If you
are unwilling to modify the Registry, then you have no choice but to find
someone who has Word and can open and convert the files for you.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

"gerri" wrote in message
...
YES - Windows XP Media Center Edition came with "Microsoft WordPad Version
5.1 (Build 2600.xpsp_sp2.....). Also, our HP laptop came with the exact
same
thing, and I am quoting from the HELP/About menu: Microsoft WordPad
Version
5.1...
AND, this program WILL NOT open .doc files that were saved in Windows
98
or Windows ME.
The "MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE" states the following (and I copied and
pasted the following directly from http://support.microsoft.com...
"SYMPTOMS
When you try to open a document file, such as a .doc or .wri file, in
Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), you may receive the
following
error message:
Cannot load Word for Windows 6.0 files"
"CAUSE
Rich Text Format (RTF) converters are disabled in Windows XP SP2."
"To enable RTF converters in Windows XP SP2, you must modify the
registry."
Because I am unwilling to "modify the registry" as suggested by
Microsoft, I read many posts where many other users were having the same
problem. The other word programs I suggested will open & convert these
..doc
files.

"garfield-n-odie" wrote:

There is no such thing as Word 5.1 for Windows. Word version
numbers went from 2.x to 6.0, skipping the numbers 3 thru 5. So
what do you actually have?

gerri wrote:
Guess I wasn't clear - Word for Windows 5.1 came with my 2005 Media
Center
and will not open Word 6.0. After an hour of searching, I discovered
that
6.0 is an older file (I didn't realize that because of it's number).
Different posts also gave different answers as to how to convert. I
discovered that "Works" and "Office" will open these files. My
husband also
could not open old 6.0 files on his laptop, which didn't come with
Works or
Office, but discovered WordPerfect will also open Word 6.0 files.
So......... I solved both problems by right-clicking on that file type
and
clicking "Open with...." the program on each computer that works.

This was important to us because we have years of stored .doc files
mixed in
with newer files, and now we just open any file without wondering
which
program to use.

Maybe this can help some others who are still looking to download a
program
that converts .doc files. They probably already have a program that
does
this.

"Richard Neville" wrote:


If you are trying to open a file by selecting it in Windows Explorer
and
double-clicking, this may not work. As an alternative, open Word; then
use
File-Open to navigate to the desired file, and open it that way. If
successful, save it in the latest version of Word on your computer.

"gerri" wrote in message
...

Why can't I open Word 6.0 files saved with my old computer, with my
new HP
Media Center PC?

YES WHAT? If you re-read your second post, you will see where
you clearly (albeit ignorantly) claimed that your computer had
"Word for Windows 5.1". You said NOTHING about WordPad 5.1.

gerri wrote:

YES - Windows XP Media Center Edition came with "Microsoft WordPad Version
5.1 (Build 2600.xpsp_sp2.....). Also, our HP laptop came with the exact same
thing, and I am quoting from the HELP/About menu: Microsoft WordPad Version
5.1...
AND, this program WILL NOT open .doc files that were saved in Windows 98
or Windows ME.
The "MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE" states the following (and I copied and
pasted the following directly from http://support.microsoft.com...
"SYMPTOMS
When you try to open a document file, such as a .doc or .wri file, in
Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), you may receive the following
error message:
Cannot load Word for Windows 6.0 files"
"CAUSE
Rich Text Format (RTF) converters are disabled in Windows XP SP2."
"To enable RTF converters in Windows XP SP2, you must modify the registry."
Because I am unwilling to "modify the registry" as suggested by
Microsoft, I read many posts where many other users were having the same
problem. The other word programs I suggested will open & convert these .doc
files.

"garfield-n-odie" wrote:


There is no such thing as Word 5.1 for Windows. Word version
numbers went from 2.x to 6.0, skipping the numbers 3 thru 5. So
what do you actually have?

gerri wrote:

Guess I wasn't clear - Word for Windows 5.1 came with my 2005 Media Center
and will not open Word 6.0. After an hour of searching, I discovered that
6.0 is an older file (I didn't realize that because of it's number).
Different posts also gave different answers as to how to convert. I
discovered that "Works" and "Office" will open these files. My husband also
could not open old 6.0 files on his laptop, which didn't come with Works or
Office, but discovered WordPerfect will also open Word 6.0 files.
So......... I solved both problems by right-clicking on that file type and
clicking "Open with...." the program on each computer that works.

This was important to us because we have years of stored .doc files mixed in
with newer files, and now we just open any file without wondering which
program to use.

Maybe this can help some others who are still looking to download a program
that converts .doc files. They probably already have a program that does
this.

"Richard Neville" wrote:



If you are trying to open a file by selecting it in Windows Explorer and
double-clicking, this may not work. As an alternative, open Word; then use
File-Open to navigate to the desired file, and open it that way. If
successful, save it in the latest version of Word on your computer.

"gerri" wrote in message
...


Why can't I open Word 6.0 files saved with my old computer, with my new HP
Media Center PC?

So you don't have Word at all, but WordPad, which is something entirely
different, and Microsoft provides a solution in its Knowledge base that will
enable you to continue to do what you want, yet you are unwilling to accept
this advice? What then do you expect from us?

--

Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com
Word MVP web site http://word.mvps.org


gerri wrote:
YES - Windows XP Media Center Edition came with "Microsoft WordPad
Version
5.1 (Build 2600.xpsp_sp2.....). Also, our HP laptop came with the
exact same thing, and I am quoting from the HELP/About menu:
Microsoft WordPad Version
5.1...
AND, this program WILL NOT open .doc files that were saved in
Windows 98 or Windows ME.
The "MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE" states the following (and I copied
and pasted the following directly from
http://support.microsoft.com... "SYMPTOMS
When you try to open a document file, such as a .doc or .wri file, in
Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), you may receive the
following error message:
Cannot load Word for Windows 6.0 files"
"CAUSE
Rich Text Format (RTF) converters are disabled in Windows XP SP2."
"To enable RTF converters in Windows XP SP2, you must modify the
registry." Because I am unwilling to "modify the registry" as
suggested by
Microsoft, I read many posts where many other users were having the
same problem. The other word programs I suggested will open &
convert these .doc files.

"garfield-n-odie" wrote:

There is no such thing as Word 5.1 for Windows. Word version
numbers went from 2.x to 6.0, skipping the numbers 3 thru 5. So
what do you actually have?

gerri wrote:
Guess I wasn't clear - Word for Windows 5.1 came with my 2005 Media
Center and will not open Word 6.0. After an hour of searching, I
discovered that
6.0 is an older file (I didn't realize that because of it's number).
Different posts also gave different answers as to how to convert.
I discovered that "Works" and "Office" will open these files. My
husband also could not open old 6.0 files on his laptop, which
didn't come with Works or Office, but discovered WordPerfect will
also open Word 6.0 files. So......... I solved both problems by
right-clicking on that file type and clicking "Open with...." the
program on each computer that works.

This was important to us because we have years of stored .doc files
mixed in with newer files, and now we just open any file without
wondering which program to use.

Maybe this can help some others who are still looking to download a
program that converts .doc files. They probably already have a
program that does this.

"Richard Neville" wrote:


If you are trying to open a file by selecting it in Windows
Explorer and double-clicking, this may not work. As an
alternative, open Word; then use File-Open to navigate to the
desired file, and open it that way. If successful, save it in the
latest version of Word on your computer.

"gerri" wrote in message
...

Why can't I open Word 6.0 files saved with my old computer, with
my new HP Media Center PC?

----- Original Message -----
From: "Suzanne S. Barnhill"
Newsgroups: microsoft.public.word.docmanagement
Sent: Friday, July 08, 2005 11:21 AM
Subject: Word 6.0 files


WordPad is a Windows Accessory. It is entirely different from Word. If you
are unwilling to modify the Registry, then you have no choice but to find
someone who has Word and can open and convert the files for you.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup
so
all may benefit.

Suzanne and/or Graham,
Might either of you have a URL
for the Registry settings adjustments?
Thanks in advance.

It would appear that gerri was referring to the KB article "Error message
when you open a document file in Windows XP Service Pack 2" at
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=883090

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

"lostinspace" wrote in message
m...
----- Original Message -----
From: "Suzanne S. Barnhill"
Newsgroups: microsoft.public.word.docmanagement
Sent: Friday, July 08, 2005 11:21 AM
Subject: Word 6.0 files


WordPad is a Windows Accessory. It is entirely different from Word. If
you
are unwilling to modify the Registry, then you have no choice but to
find
someone who has Word and can open and convert the files for you.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
newsgroup
so
all may benefit.

Suzanne and/or Graham,
Might either of you have a URL
for the Registry settings adjustments?
Thanks in advance.

Many thanks Suzanne.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Suzanne S. Barnhill"
Newsgroups: microsoft.public.word.docmanagement
Sent: Saturday, July 09, 2005 10:19 AM
Subject: Word 6.0 files


It would appear that gerri was referring to the KB article "Error message
when you open a document file in Windows XP Service Pack 2" at
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=883090

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup
so
all may benefit.

"lostinspace" wrote in message
...
----- Original Message -----
From: "Suzanne S. Barnhill"
Newsgroups: microsoft.public.word.docmanagement
Sent: Friday, July 08, 2005 11:21 AM
Subject: Word 6.0 files


WordPad is a Windows Accessory. It is entirely different from Word. If
you
are unwilling to modify the Registry, then you have no choice but to
find
someone who has Word and can open and convert the files for you.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
newsgroup
so
all may benefit.

Suzanne and/or Graham,
Might either of you have a URL
for the Registry settings adjustments?
Thanks in advance.




Regedit solution worked fine.
Yesterday I had some files created in WordPad prior to the SP Update that
would not open with Word.
Today they do.

Thanks again.