SOS - how to prevent corrupt Word docs?

15 years ago

Hi All - was sent over here from the Cooking Forum.

I've used Word for years but only at a very basic level and am suddenly having problems with corrupt docs. I recently started law school at night and almost lost my mind last night when I couldn't open my class outline. I found a utility that retrieved the content (lost the formatting) but am trying to learn how to prevent it from happening in the future.

For school, I use a laptop running Vista and Office Home and Student 2007. I keep all files on a flash drive and backups in a variety of other places. I save (generally using Control-Save) all Word docs in the "old" 2003 format because I sometimes work on them on my home desktop (larger monitor and better keyboard) running XP and Office 2003. Also, I have to turn in short papers for one class and the prof wants them in the old format.

My outline is simple, using tabs and basic formatting like bold, bulleted lists, etc. I did have a small table in this particular outline that blew up.

Is the problem switching between systems or is there something else I'm doing wrong?

Thanks for any help you can provide!

Sue

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Comments (9)

maybee_gw
15 years ago
This may not answer your question but I had a post here a while back about not being able to open Word 2003 docs. I had always used Word 2000 before with no problems. Then...none of my Word shortcuts would open...you can work around that, but I didn't want to...I wanted them to open.
The solution to my problem was to open Word Program...then Help...there's a little drop down arrow...then, Check for Updates. I had never had to do that with 2000 and didn't know I had to with 2003....that fixed my problem. There is also an option there called, Detect and Repair..which I tried to no avail...the updating worked for me...hope this helps
PKponder TX Z7B
15 years ago
My suggestion would be to save the documents with a slightly different name in a folder somewhere on your computer, so that you can revert back to that copy in case of corruption. If you are closing the documents and Word properly and the computer has not spontaneously shut down, there is no way that I know to determine the cause of the corruption. Did you get any specific errors while working with the document? I assume that you have the Compatibility Pack for the 2007 Office System on the computer running Office 2003.

Pam
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maybee_gw
15 years ago
I'm not sure how to post a link for another thread here, but click in non-responsive programs in search and see if you don't come up with the discussion on Word docs.
maybee_gw
15 years ago
try this....

Here is a link that might be useful: non-resposive programs
camp56
15 years ago
Goldgirl, since you are using Vista, you might be interested in this. Vista has a service called Shadow Copy which makes backups of your files. It is not turned on in Vista Home Basic, but can be turned on by using the following program.

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goldgirl
Original Author
15 years ago
Hi again - When I try to open the file, I get the generic "Word experienced an error trying to open the file message." The standard fixes, like renaming it, using "open and repair," etc. don't work.

I tried a freebie utility (saved it in rich text format) and got some of it back (several pages were garbled letters) but got all the content back with a different program I paid for.

PAM - I don't know anything about the compatibility pack you mention. I never did anything specific to open docs created in Word 2007 with Word 2003 other than making sure to save them in the old format. Maybe I'm missing this piece?

The first time this happened, I thought it was because I had forgotten to save in the old format, but this time it seems random. I had worked on my outline an hour before, saved as usual and then couldn't open it when I got to class.

Sue
goldgirl
Original Author
15 years ago
CAMP56 - I have Vista business and didn't even know it had this feature, which I just turned on. Thanks!! I'm so new to Vista I'm clueless about its features.
PKponder TX Z7B
15 years ago
Can you revert to a recent backup that you have been keeping?

I am providing a link to the Compatability Pack I mentioned. It may help.

Here is a link that might be useful: Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 file formats
camp56
15 years ago
Goldgirl, I love using Vista, there are many great features, but much to learn. I keep this page bookmarked for easy access to learning how to use Vista. Lot's of good information here.

Here is a link that might be useful: Vista Help

SOS - how to prevent corrupt Word docs?

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maybee_gw

PKponder TX Z7B

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SOS - how to prevent corrupt Word docs?

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maybee_gw

PKponder TX Z7B

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