Searching content of 16-bit files from XP

[Guest]

The "Search" utility in Windows XP cannot access the content of formerly created document files, apparently because these are 16-bit files while the modern xp is 32-bit. I have thousands of document files that are now unsearchable. These were created with Elecrtric Pencil, Wordstar, and Wordperfect on CP/M, MSDOS, Win95, Win98, Win2000, 2000Pro, and XP platforms. I want to either convert them to a searchable form or search them as is
How do I do either

 

[Guest]

I hope this is of help

I believe you will have to use the built-in serch features of the programs used to create these files. You could aslo convert these files to ms-dos text. I hope their just text files. I believe their are some companies on the internet that specialize in converting large numbers of files to other formats if you don't know how for a fee.