1. [OT] doc files on XP
I got a new computer Saturday. It is XP Pro and I'm used to Win98 so I'm still
finding my way around. One very serious problem I have are files
created with WordPad in win98 and saved as filetype .doc. When I try to open
these files in
XP it thinks I want to open a Microsoft Word 6.0 document in Wordpad and
stops me! I looked in FolderTypes and it says for DOC filetypes to open with
WordPad. I've tried to rename the doc files to .rtf or .txt and that loads
them but they are unreadable. I've also tried starting WordPad and opening the
.doc file but, of course, it also presents the same error message.
I didn't let the guy that built the XP rob
my win98 for parts so I could use the win98 to open the files and convert to
.rtf or
.txt but I have 287 files and will take awhile. This will be a problem
anyway since I often get .doc files (which are not M$ Word)in zip files and they
would need to be
transferred to the win98, converted and replaced on the XP. The win98 is
starting to fail so that is not much of an option. There must be an
easier way.
Has anyone run into this when upgrading and how did you solve the problem?
2. Re: [OT] doc files on XP
Judith,
A simple method would be to right click on the .doc file. Click
Properties. Then under "Type of file:" clicke Change... Then select the
program that you want to use to open the .doc file.
Terry
Judith Evans wrote:
>
>
> posted by: Judith Evans <camping at ccewb.net>
>
> I got a new computer Saturday. It is XP Pro and I'm used to Win98 so I'm still
> finding my way around. One very serious problem I have are files
> created with WordPad in win98 and saved as filetype .doc. When I try to open
> these files in
> XP it thinks I want to open a Microsoft Word 6.0 document in Wordpad and
> stops me! I looked in FolderTypes and it says for DOC filetypes to open with
> WordPad. I've tried to rename the doc files to .rtf or .txt and that loads
> them but they are unreadable. I've also tried starting WordPad and opening the
> .doc file but, of course, it also presents the same error message.
>
> I didn't let the guy that built the XP rob
> my win98 for parts so I could use the win98 to open the files and convert to
> .rtf or
> .txt but I have 287 files and will take awhile. This will be a problem
> anyway since I often get .doc files (which are not M$ Word)in zip files and
> they would need to be
> transferred to the win98, converted and replaced on the XP. The win98 is
> starting to fail so that is not much of an option. There must be an
> easier way.
>
> Has anyone run into this when upgrading and how did you solve the problem?
>
>
>
>
3. Re: [OT] doc files on XP
Judith Evans wrote:
> I got a new computer Saturday. It is XP Pro and I'm used to Win98 so I'm still
> finding my way around. One very serious problem I have are files
> created with WordPad in win98 and saved as filetype .doc. When I try to open
> these files in XP it thinks I want to open a Microsoft Word 6.0 document
> in Wordpad and stops me! I looked in FolderTypes and it says for DOC
> filetypes to open with WordPad. I've tried to rename the doc files to
> .rtf or .txt and that loads them but they are unreadable. I've also
> tried starting WordPad and opening the .doc file but, of course, it
> also presents the same error message.
I believe the "Wordpad" program that ships with Win XP is different from
the one that ships with Win 98, and maybe they use different file formats.
> I didn't let the guy that built the XP rob
> my win98 for parts so I could use the win98 to open the files and convert to
> .rtf or .txt but I have 287 files and will take awhile. This will be a problem
> anyway since I often get .doc files (which are not M$ Word)in zip files and
> they would need to be transferred to the win98, converted and replaced
> on the XP. The win98 is starting to fail so that is not much of an
> option. There must be an easier way.
>
> Has anyone run into this when upgrading and how did you solve the problem?
Try to copy the Win 98 Wordpad program to your new XP machine. If the
old program runs on the new machine, opening the files with the old
program is the easiest solution that I currently can think of. To avoid
naming conflicts with the original Win XP Wordpad, it's probably best to
rename the old program to say Wordpad98 or so.
Regards,
Juergen
PS: For this and other reasons, I always recommend not to use proprietary
file formats, but to use formats such as RTF, whenever possible.
4. Re: [OT] doc files on XP
Judith Evans wrote:
>
> I got a new computer Saturday. It is XP Pro and I'm used to Win98 so I'm still
> finding my way around. One very serious problem I have are files
> created with WordPad in win98 and saved as filetype .doc. When I try to open
> these files in
> XP it thinks I want to open a Microsoft Word 6.0 document in Wordpad and
> stops me! I looked in FolderTypes and it says for DOC filetypes to open with
>
> WordPad. I've tried to rename the doc files to .rtf or .txt and that loads
> them but they are unreadable. I've also tried starting WordPad and opening the
> .doc file but, of course, it also presents the same error message.
>
> I didn't let the guy that built the XP rob
> my win98 for parts so I could use the win98 to open the files and convert to
> .rtf or
> .txt but I have 287 files and will take awhile. This will be a problem
> anyway since I often get .doc files (which are not M$ Word)in zip files and
> they would need to be
> transferred to the win98, converted and replaced on the XP. The win98 is
> starting
> to fail so that is not much of an option. There must be an
> easier way.
>
> Has anyone run into this when upgrading and how did you solve the problem?
Hello there,
That's funny, i migrated exactly the same way and my .doc files
all read ok. I tried several from many years back and they all
seem to open just fine.
Im using XP-Pro-SP1 right now. I sometimes use SP2 too, so i'll
retry with that at some point, but i've had both for quite some
time now and never noticed anything funny about .doc files (yet).
Take care,
Al
E boa sorte com sua programacao Euphoria!
My bumper sticker: "I brake for LED's"
From "Black Knight":
"I can live with losing the good fight,
but i can not live without fighting it".
"Well on second thought, maybe not."
5. Re: [OT] doc files on XP
Terry Constant wrote:
>
> Judith,
>
> A simple method would be to right click on the .doc file. Click
> Properties. Then under "Type of file:" clicke Change... Then select the
> program that you want to use to open the .doc file.
>
> Terry
>
The file was written by the version of WordPad on Win98 and I want to open it
with WordPad on XP PRO SP2 and it will not allow that. When I right click as you
suggest 'change' shows WordPad.
Thanks for replying
6. Re: [OT] doc files on XP
Juergen Luethje wrote:
>
> I believe the "Wordpad" program that ships with Win XP is different from
> the one that ships with Win 98, and maybe they use different file formats.
>
That would certainly explain the problem.
> Try to copy the Win 98 Wordpad program to your new XP machine. If the
> old program runs on the new machine, opening the files with the old
> program is the easiest solution that I currently can think of. To avoid
> naming conflicts with the original Win XP Wordpad, it's probably best to
> rename the old program to say Wordpad98 or so.
>
I didn't think of that 
I'll give it a try, thanks!
> Regards,
> Juergen
>
>
> PS: For this and other reasons, I always recommend not to use proprietary
> file formats, but to use formats such as RTF, whenever possible.
>
Wise advice. I wish everyone would do that in zips I download as well.
7. Re: [OT] doc files on XP
Judith Evans wrote:
>
> Terry Constant wrote:
> >
> > Judith,
> >
> > A simple method would be to right click on the .doc file. Click
> > Properties. Then under "Type of file:" clicke Change... Then select the
> > program that you want to use to open the .doc file.
> >
> > Terry
> >
>
> The file was written by the version of WordPad on Win98 and I want to open it
> with WordPad on XP PRO SP2 and it will not allow that. When I right click as
> you suggest 'change' shows WordPad.
>
> Thanks for replying
Judith,
I apologize. I did not spell out my complete train of thought. You could
copy/install another program, one of several freeware word processing programs
that will open the Win98 .doc files or possibly the Win98 version of WordPad, and
use that program, for a while or forever, to open your Win98 .doc files.
8. Re: [OT] doc files on XP
Juergen Luethje wrote:
>
> Judith Evans wrote:
>
> > I got a new computer Saturday. It is XP Pro and I'm used to Win98 so I'm
> > still
> > finding my way around. One very serious problem I have are files
> > created with WordPad in win98 and saved as filetype .doc. When I try to open
> > these files in XP it thinks I want to open a Microsoft Word 6.0 document
> > in Wordpad and stops me! I looked in FolderTypes and it says for DOC
> > filetypes to open with WordPad. I've tried to rename the doc files to
> > .rtf or .txt and that loads them but they are unreadable. I've also
> > tried starting WordPad and opening the .doc file but, of course, it
> > also presents the same error message.
>
> I believe the "Wordpad" program that ships with Win XP is different from
> the one that ships with Win 98, and maybe they use different file formats.
>
> > I didn't let the guy that built the XP rob
> > my win98 for parts so I could use the win98 to open the files and convert to
> > .rtf or .txt but I have 287 files and will take awhile. This will be a
> > problem
> > anyway since I often get .doc files (which are not M$ Word)in zip files and
> > they would need to be transferred to the win98, converted and replaced
> > on the XP. The win98 is starting to fail so that is not much of an
> > option. There must be an easier way.
> >
> > Has anyone run into this when upgrading and how did you solve the problem?
>
> Try to copy the Win 98 Wordpad program to your new XP machine. If the
> old program runs on the new machine, opening the files with the old
> program is the easiest solution that I currently can think of. To avoid
> naming conflicts with the original Win XP Wordpad, it's probably best to
> rename the old program to say Wordpad98 or so.
>
> Regards,
> Juergen
>
>
> PS: For this and other reasons, I always recommend not to use proprietary
> file formats, but to use formats such as RTF, whenever possible.
Hi again,
That doesnt explain how i can open my doc files with no problems...
I use standard text files whenever possible, unless i have to use
a UNICODE format file.
Take care,
Al
E boa sorte com sua programacao Euphoria!
My bumper sticker: "I brake for LED's"
From "Black Knight":
"I can live with losing the good fight,
but i can not live without fighting it".
"Well on second thought, maybe not."
9. Re: [OT] doc files on XP
Judith Evans wrote:
> Juergen Luethje wrote:
>>
>> I believe the "Wordpad" program that ships with Win XP is different from
>> the one that ships with Win 98, and maybe they use different file formats.
>>
> That would certainly explain the problem.
<snip>
Or maybe the reason for your problem is described here;
<http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;883090>
Good luck!
Juergen
10. Re: [OT] doc files on XP
Al Getz wrote:
<snip>
> That doesnt explain how i can open my doc files with no problems...
I know, but maybe it helps Judith. When I replied, trying to do so
was my first priority.
<snip>
Regards,
Juergen
11. Re: [OT] doc files on XP
Juergen Luethje wrote:
> Judith Evans wrote:
>
>> Juergen Luethje wrote:
>>>
>>> I believe the "Wordpad" program that ships with Win XP is different from
>>> the one that ships with Win 98, and maybe they use different file formats.
>>>
>> That would certainly explain the problem.
>
> <snip>
>
> Or maybe the reason for your problem is described here;
> <http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;883090>
>
> Good luck!
I've masked the semi-colons, so that the link hopefully is "clickable"
now: <http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb%3Ben-us%3B883090>
Regards,
Juergen
12. Re: [OT] doc files on XP
Juergen Luethje wrote:
>
> Judith Evans wrote:
>
> > Juergen Luethje wrote:
> >>
> >> I believe the "Wordpad" program that ships with Win XP is different from
> >> the one that ships with Win 98, and maybe they use different file formats.
> >>
> > That would certainly explain the problem.
>
> <snip>
>
> Or maybe the reason for your problem is described here;
> <<a
> href="http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb">http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb</a>;en-us;883090>
>
> Good luck!
>
> Juergen
I was able to copy over wordpad.exe and wordpad.ini under different names and
that method works fine for what I needed today. I'll correct the registry later
after I've learned how system restore works in case I make a mistake.
Thanks to everyone who offered solutions, they were much appreciated.
13. Re: [OT] doc files on XP
Juergen Luethje wrote:
>
> Juergen Luethje wrote:
>
> > Judith Evans wrote:
> >
> >> Juergen Luethje wrote:
> >>>
> >>> I believe the "Wordpad" program that ships with Win XP is different from
> >>> the one that ships with Win 98, and maybe they use different file formats.
> >>>
> >> That would certainly explain the problem.
> >
> > <snip>
> >
> > Or maybe the reason for your problem is described here;
> > <<a
> > href="http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb">http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb</a>;en-us;883090>
> >
> > Good luck!
>
> I've masked the semi-colons, so that the link hopefully is "clickable"
> now: <<a
> href="http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb%3Ben-us%3B883090">http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb%3Ben-us%3B883090</a>>
>
> Regards,
> Juergen
Hi there Juergen,
That seems to explain the problem nicely. I'll have to try my files
now under SP2 to see what happens. The fix is easy enough though.
Thanks for finding that :)
Take care,
Al
E boa sorte com sua programacao Euphoria!
My bumper sticker: "I brake for LED's"
From "Black Knight":
"I can live with losing the good fight,
but i can not live without fighting it".
"Well on second thought, maybe not."
14. Re: [OT] doc files on XP
Juergen Luethje wrote:
>
> Juergen Luethje wrote:
>
> > Judith Evans wrote:
> >
> >> Juergen Luethje wrote:
> >>>
> >>> I believe the "Wordpad" program that ships with Win XP is different from
> >>> the one that ships with Win 98, and maybe they use different file formats.
> >>>
> >> That would certainly explain the problem.
> >
> > <snip>
> >
> > Or maybe the reason for your problem is described here;
> > <<a
> > href="http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb">http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb</a>;en-us;883090>
> >
> > Good luck!
>
> I've masked the semi-colons, so that the link hopefully is "clickable"
> now: <<a
> href="http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb%3Ben-us%3B883090">http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb%3Ben-us%3B883090</a>>
>
> Regards,
> Juergen
Did anyone notice this at that microsoft site?
STATUS
This behavior is by design.
<snip>
<repeat with emphasis:>
THIS BEHAVIOR IS BY *DESIGN*
MORE INFORMATION
The following programs have been reported to be affected by this problem. This
list may not include all affected programs.
High School Advantage 2003
The Lion King Animated Story Book v.1
Visual C++ 2.0 16 bit
Tonka Search and Rescue v1 Software
Quicken 2003 Premier Home and Business v.12.0
Starcraft Expansion Set: Brood War 1.04
PhotoShop Elements 2.0
FreeHand 8 v.8.0
PageMaker 6.5
PageMaker 7.0
FileMaker Pro v.5.0
ViaVoice10
Quicken 2004
Smartsuite Millennium Edition - ScreenCam 9.5 (German)
Encyclopedia Britannica Ready Reference 2003
Command & Conquer Red Alert 2, 1.0
Command & Conquer Red Alert 2
Adventure Workshop 1st-3rd - Storybook Weaver (English)
Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree Animated Storybook
Print Shop Deluxe v. 2.0 (16-bit)
Adventure Workshop Preschool - Reader Rabbit Thinking Adventures Ages 4-6
(English)
Turbo Tax Deluxe v98
WordPerfect Family Pack 5 - Encyclopedia Britannica Ready Reference 2003
(w)holy cr...(ud)!
Dan
15. Re: [OT] doc files on XP
Hello again,
Ok, i have verified that this is a problem under SP2 but not
under SP1.
Also verified that the Microsoft KB article is written just
slightly incorrect, in that the registry key under
HK Local Machine does not exist even after installation of
SP2. This of course means you can not search for it.
Also verified is that after the fix is installed under HKLM
files open normally again, and no rebooting or log off required.
Take care,
Al
E boa sorte com sua programacao Euphoria!
My bumper sticker: "I brake for LED's"
From "Black Knight":
"I can live with losing the good fight,
but i can not live without fighting it".
"Well on second thought, maybe not."
16. Re: [OT] doc files on XP
Al Getz wrote:
> Hello again,
>
> Ok, i have verified that this is a problem under SP2 but not
> under SP1.
> Also verified that the Microsoft KB article is written just
> slightly incorrect, in that the registry key under
> HK Local Machine does not exist even after installation of
> SP2. This of course means you can not search for it.
> Also verified is that after the fix is installed under HKLM
> files open normally again, and no rebooting or log off required.
Another way is, to save the following to plain text files (make sure
that there is a linebreak at the end of the file), and then double-click
at the files.
Fix the problem:
---------------------------[ Wordpad_XP.reg ]---------------------------
REGEDIT4
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Wordpad]
"EnableLegacyConverters"=dword:00000001
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contrary to popular belief, it's also possible to delete keys by using a
.REG file. In this case:
--------------------------[ Wordpad_del.reg ]---------------------------
REGEDIT4
[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Wordpad]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
This will delete the given key (and all it's subkeys).
Regards,
Juergen
