Error opening word docx file in Office 2003

By "file Format converter" do you mean you have the "Office Compatibitliy Pack" installed?

To download the Compatibility Pack, visit the following Microsoft Web site: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/thankyou.aspx?familyId=941B3470-3AE9-4AEE-8F43-C6BB74CD1466

Pay attention to what else you are doing when the problem occurs. Does it happen only with specific files or seemingly random ones.

Next time you get the error, try going into the event viewer and seeing if you can find an associated error logged:

This may be related to the fact that Word 2003 cannot handle Office 2007/2010 format templates - see http://www.gmayor.com/Problems_opening_2007_docs.htm

By "file Format converter" do you mean you have the "Office Compatibitliy Pack" installed?

To download the Compatibility Pack, visit the following Microsoft Web site: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/thankyou.aspx?familyId=941B3470-3AE9-4AEE-8F43-C6BB74CD1466

Pay attention to what else you are doing when the problem occurs. Does it happen only with specific files or seemingly random ones.

Next time you get the error, try going into the event viewer and seeing if you can find an associated error logged:

Examine the Vista/Win7 Event Viewer

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Open-Event-Viewer how to start event viewer

http://www.petri.co.il/vista-event-viewer.htm - what you are seeing in the event viewer & how to use it

Vista and Win7 Event Viewer are essentially the same.

Something is “broke”. What is happening when you try to open it? Is there an error message?

Take a look in the Event viewer, go to the Start menu, enter "event" in the search window, click on "Event Viewer".

In event viewer, open the Error and Warning message categories. Look for a source like Outlook or MS Office and also look for the time that you had the problem (ie just a couple of minutes ago).

Report the error code and full, exact error message text you find that appear relevant.

 

This may be related to the fact that Word 2003 cannot handle Office 2007/2010 format templates - see http://www.gmayor.com/Problems_opening_2007_docs.htm

I have windows 10 (upgraded from 7) and office 2003.  Several months ago I installed the converters to access DOCX files and didn't have any issue.

About a week ago, it stopped working with "Error opening file" and I was stuck with only being able to access .DOC files.

After much messing about, regregistering the dll and checking forums etc., I simply uninstalled the compatability pack and reinstalled it.  All works perfectly again now.

I suspect I installed some add-in that broke stuff.