Ask a new question

OPENING WORD 1997-2003 DOCUMENTS IN WORD 2013

Earlier this year I installed Office 2013, since when I've been unable to open older, Word 1997-2003 documents.  On attempting to, I'm immediately faced with 'word cannot start the converter WPFT532.CNV'.

The Help prompt reads 'if removing and reinstalling the converter is not successful, there may be a problem with a resource on the computer (for example, an executable file that is needed to properly register the converters on the computer has failed or stopped running). In this case, it is best to turn off the computer and start over'.

I've previously tried Microsoft Support and countless downloads without success.  Microsoft advised that Word was corrupted, but after reinstalling it, I'm no nearer a solution.

Is there a fix, or have I really lost 2 years of work?

Thank you.

* Please try a lower page number.

* Please enter only numbers.

* Please try a lower page number.

* Please enter only numbers.

Hello,

 

Which version of Office were these files created in?

 

Let us try opening the files from within Word application by going to File and Open and then verify the results.

 

If issue persists, repair the Office 2013 installation and check if it helps resolve the issue:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-in/project-help/repair-or-remove-office-HA010357402.aspx

 

I hope this helps. If you need any further information, you can always reply and I’ll be happy to help you.

 

Thank you

6 people found this reply helpful

·

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn't help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

Girish,

Thank you so much for your swift response.

The Word documents I can no longer access were created before I installed Office 2013 in about Feb/Mar 13.  I reported the issue to MS Tech Sp and they helped uninstall and install Office 2013 on several occasions, eventually returning the laptop to its factory setting, effectively deleting all my programmes: I was less than happy.

Some files were created on another laptop using Word 2003 and Windows XP, although all were accessible on this laptop using Office 2010 and Windows 7.  I'm still using Windows 7, but now with Office 2013, which I believe is where the problem started.

When I open most Word documents, I receive the error message about the converter, which when I click OK reads,



I will now try your link, but am fairly sure I've previously tried this option without success.

Thanks again.

Richard

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn't help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

If Word is producing a file converter error for WPFT532.CNV then the files are being (mis)identified as Word Perfect for DOS format. You can get the old WP converter from my web site, but I don't think that this will help, if these old documents are indeed Word documents and not Word Perfect documents.

There are two possibilities that spring to mind.

1. The old files are blocked in Word's Trust Center file block options,
2. They are actually Word Perfect documents.

You could also set the Word option to Confirm file format conversion on open and manually select Word 97 - 2003 DOC format.
Graham Mayor (Microsoft Word MVP 2002-2019)
For more Word tips and downloads visit my web site
https://www.gmayor.com/Word_pages.htm

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn't help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

Thanks Graham,

The files are definitely Word documents, albeit none were created in Word 2013, and of those created in Word 2010, all were saved in a 1997-2003 format.

Why might some Word documents open (particularly those in zipped folders), and others no.

I'll try the Word's Trust Center option.

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn't help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

Graham,

I've now uninstalled and installed Word 2013 once more, but still receive the same error message, 'word cannot start the converter WPFT532.CNV'.  When I click okay three times, I'm then presented with three options for opening the document (as attached), each of which results in a page of unreadable text.

Unfortunately, 90% of my OU work now appears unrecoverable, and my backups all have the same problem.

Thanks for your support.

1 person found this reply helpful

·

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn't help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

Do you have filename extensions being displayed in Windows? The default for this is to not display them.

Your screen shot says it is trying to open a .wbk file which is not a regular Word document. This extension is given to automatically generated backup files. It may be given to files by some program other than Word, as well. I'm not sure. I believe it is used by WordPerfect for some purposes as well.

See recovering a lost document.

 I'm not sure what "OU work" means.

Volunteering to "pay forward" the help I've received in the Microsoft user community.


Charles Kenyon
Sun Prairie, Wisconsin
wordfaq[at]addbalance[dot]com

Legal site: https://addbalance.com

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn't help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

hi, my document is damaged, save file is Microsoft word 1997-2003, may i know how to open the document in Microsoft word 2010?

Thank you.

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn't help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

After selecting the document in the Open dialog, expand the Open dropdown and then click on "Open and Repair"

Alternatively, expand the File type dropdown and then select "Recover Text from Any File (*.*) and then select the document and then click on Open.

Hope this helps,
Doug Robbins - MVP Office Apps & Services (Word)
dougrobbinsmvp@gmail.com
It's time to replace ‘Diversity, Equity & Inclusion’ with ‘Excellence, Opportunity & Civility’ - V Ramaswamy

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn't help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

Thank you Girish,

I appreciate your intervention.  I've now wrestled with this problem for about 18 months or more.  I've pais for technical support, and even send a file to a commercial organisation offering 'no fix, no fee', but still nothing.

The document was created in Word 2010, but didn't survive the upgrade.

Thank you.

 Screenshot of Fault

1 person found this reply helpful

·

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn't help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

Thank you Doug,

I've tried both options without success.  Microsoft paid technicians even gave up.

I'm unsure if there's a solution, but am grateful for your thoughts.

Thanks again.

Screensot on 'opening' .doc

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn't help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

* Please try a lower page number.

* Please enter only numbers.

* Please try a lower page number.

* Please enter only numbers.

 
 

Question Info

Last updated March 18, 2022 Views 10,179 Applies to: