Do I need internet explorer to install Microsoft Office Word?

What is the extension of the file on the disc?

 

Have you tried opening it with Open Office by using its File Open facility?

That is an unexpected message.

No you do not NEED Internet Explorer to open these files in Open Office.

In theory, Open Office should be able to open and edit these files.

As Doug said, in Open Office, have you tried to use the equivalent of the File > Open (you may have to change the "File Type" to be able to see the Word DOC or DOCX files).

Thank you both for your responses. I really do not know why I waste people's time asking a question. I am too unfamiliar with anything about computers except for the few processes I use. For instance: I do not know what an "extension: is in the context of a computer application.  Also, the CD's are not in the Open Office files.  They were created four years ago when I had Microsoft Word.  When I got my present CPU, it had a trial period for Microsoft Office.  During that period, I inserted the cd's in the removable disc slot and clicked on the entry I wanted to view and it immediately opened.. I did not extend the trial period as I prefer to use Open Office.  However, when I do the above process now, I get the message "Internet Explorer has stopped running." That led me to believe that I needed Microsoft Word, in which they were created,to open them. As I say,I do not have Internet Explorer. I deleted it along with the Word trial.  I use Google Chrome'  A few years back, I was having trouble and a techaid advised  that I not use Microsoft Word and Internet Explorer as they often caused problems when used together.  

The "extension" in a filename is the part after the period (.doc or .docx). If you do not have file extensions displayed on your computer, you will not see them, but this can be risky, as it makes it easier for malefactors to send you dangerous attachments. A .doc or .docx file is a Word file.

 

If you need to open and edit the files, then you may want to get Open Office (http://www.openoffice.org/) or LibreOffice (http://www.libreoffice.org/), both of which are free productivity suites that include word processing programs that can open Word files. If you just need to be able to read and print the files, you can get the free Word Viewer from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=3657ce88-7cfa-457a-9aec-f4f827f20cac&displaylang=en.

EDIT: Oops, sorry. I now see that you say you use Open Office (I was evidently remembering a different question). As Rohn007 says, you should be able to open Word documents in Open Office but possibly not from the CD. Also, if you don't know what the file extension is, it's possible the files are actually PDF or HTML files.

This type of question is exactly why I volunteer my time here (more so than 90% of the questions that are really MS's responsibility that we see on the forum, like the "office 365 is broke" type ). Don't worry about "wasting" our time, as long as you follow our suggestions and answer our questions.  If you don't understand don't be shy, we can explain. Trouble shooting and education, we are doing a mix of both here, both require a two-way dialog.

Although computers have become "as common as toasters", they are NOT yet as simple to use. That to use them effectively (and safely) it still means that sometimes you have to learn more about them than you think you "need" to.

I'm not sure what that tech was talking about, Word and Internet Explorer, are not "more" prone to problems than any other software like Chrome and Open Office. But, if those are the tools you are familiar with, no problem, everything I know suggests you should be able to use them in this context.

I do know that Open Office can edit Word files.

One thing I have not yet seen suggested is copy the files to your local hard drive.  I know Word creates "Temporary" work files in the document directory, maybe Open Office does too, but can't because the CD is read only.

You still haven't answered the question, did you try using "File / Open" inside of Open Office to open the file?

I thought I answered it but maybe not in a way you understood.  If I go to open Office and click on "file" and then on "open", it opens the page with the files that I have created with Open Office.  The DVD's I am trying to view are in the in the removable disc tray. Is there another file/open function that I am not finding?Now, when I put a movie in the tray, I then go to the Computer short cut  and click on that. That brings up the page with the hard drive and the removable disc lines.  The removable disc line will have the name of the movie and when click on that the movie begins.  It is the same with music.  When I do that with the discs I am trying to view and click on the specific entry on that disc I want to view it first brings up an empty page with the Internet Explorer "E" icon.  There then appears  another window with the message "Internet Explorer has stopped working. "As i said I do not now have Internet Explorer.

Oh, I will see if there is a way to copy the CD to the hard drivel.  The CD's are read/write.  I always use that .   

OK, it sounds like you are half way there.

In the file open dialog, it opens in a default location.  You should be able to 'navigate' to the CD in the reader to open those files. I don't have Open Office, so I can't give you specific how-to instructions.

You will also probably have to change the "File Type" in the open dialog to be able to see the Word files.

I think your root problem is that the "default file associations" for the Word files are not set to point to OpenOffice.  If the problem was with MS Office I would suggest doing an "Office Repair" to reset the defaults. I don't know if that will work for OpenOffice.  Instead, you can manually point the Office files to OpenOffice as described in this tip:

http://www.7tutorials.com/how-associate-file-type-or-protocol-program