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How do you get Windows 7 to open a wps document from an external hard drive which is in windows XP?

My old computer died but I backed up files on an external hard drive. My new computer has Windows 7 Home  Premium. The old computer used XP. When I try to open these old wps the are in code. How do I get to where  I can read these files?

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WPS is the file extension for a Microsoft Works file. This viewer should read it just fine.

Word Viewer
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=3657CE88-7CFA-457A-9AEC-F4F827F20CAC&displaylang=en

Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Oct. 1, 2004 ~ Sept. 30, 2010
Imperial Beach, CA
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☞ Avoid a post. Backup your data. ☜

Bruce Hagen
MVP: 2004 ~ 2010
2014 ~ Present
Imperial Beach, CA

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Well you need to install an application that will open Works files. Windows won't open them on it's own - not even XP would do that!
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This is an old post, but in case others stumble upon it, as I did, here's the answer:

You're up [  ] creek.  At least thats the impression I'm getting from Microsoft and just about everyone else. You see, the problem is that you and I and a whole lot of other low budget wps'ers never . . . lets see . . . how did the openoffice team put it . . . "join the real world", and shell out the megabucks for an office suite.  And Works is just too beneath them to bother with compatability.  I blew my motherboard, so I had to rebuild my computer, so I upgraded to 7 thinking that Works would be included. Dummy me !  I never needed anything more than Works word processor, so I used it - a lot.  Now, Microsoft is holding my wps files hostage.  And theres absolutely NOBODY, nor software, nor trick filter, in the world that will work with Works files.  So, you'll have to buy Works 9. But then, I heard that it also will not open its own legacy files.  So, you'll have to buy Word.  Thats it.  Sucks, doesn't it !

By the way Bruce, I tried the wps viewer and compatability pack combo as microsoft instructed and neither works on wps files.  All you see is a portion of your text floating amidst cryptic garbage.

Out of desperation, I installed Oracle Openoffice instead of MS word only to find the same developer snobbery - after 11 years they still refuse to import Works.  So, out of spite I will uninstall it.  Maybe try Wordperfect instead - its not a solution - just spite.  I have a lot of work I accumulated over the last few years that is now useless, thanks to microsoft.

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Try downloading and installing the lates version (3.3.1 AFAIK) of either Open Office or Libre Office - there have been some reports of either of those programs being able to open wps files.

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Tried this and it didn't work so i removed it from my computer...

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See if this will help,

Note you can still pick up office 2003 and 2007 pretty cheap,

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315757

Mcafee/Norton/IOBit security should not be Installed on a functioning computer=FreeAdvice

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I purchased the 2010 student and teacher word program and it worked Great. It went into a compatibility mode and they opened perfectly. Then i saved it as a Word document... Good News! Jim

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For Word Viewer to work, you need to install the Works converter at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=12.  Once I installed that, then the word viewer worked opening the .wps file.

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If you have microsoft WORD open it.
(I highly recommend you purchase it because WORKS is rapidly being replaced by WORD and soon 90% of what you receive by email will be in WORD.)

Now that WORD is open, click the icon at the far upper left. That will open a drop down list. Select OPEN.

Now you will need to find that file. If it is in a memory stick just go to computer then find the correct memory stick and open it. If you can't seem to find it this way, go back to the mystery file and drag or save it to the desktop where you CAN find it.

Now use WORD to open that file. Click on the OPEN, and go to desktop where you saved that file. Word can read the file once you do that. Then you need to save it using WORD and there you go. Be sure to rename it to something that describes it clearly.

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I had to buy word, I think it was office? Anyway with word installed I found I could click on a .wps file, then I  had to right click on the file. That opened a place to select word as the app to open the file and it worked. Next, I saved it as a word file so I could open it any time in the future using word.

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Last updated March 23, 2023 Views 4,176 Applies to: