Word docs garbled after SP2 install

[Guest]

Help!

I upgraded a laptop w/XP SP2 (using a disk, not a download). The update
seemed to go well but now I can't open my Word docs. When I try, I just get
garbled characters within the document (no error boxes, etc.)

I have not yet gone to the MS site to grab updates since the disk was
created. Maybe that will help but I can't imagine why the SP2 install would
change anything related to Word (btw, it's part of Office 2003 Pro).

I'm afraid I'll lose a lot of impt. documents if I can't fix this. Can
anyone offer any explanations and suggestions, please ??

Thanks!
Jill

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Help!

I upgraded a laptop w/XP SP2 (using a disk, not a download). The update
seemed to go well but now I can't open my Word docs. When I try, I just get
garbled characters within the document (no error boxes, etc.)

I have not yet gone to the MS site to grab updates since the disk was
created. Maybe that will help but I can't imagine why the SP2 install would
change anything related to Word (btw, it's part of Office 2003 Pro).

I'm afraid I'll lose a lot of impt. documents if I can't fix this. Can
anyone offer any explanations and suggestions, please ??

Thanks!
Jill

Send one of the problem documents to a friend to work out
if the document is garbled or if your Word installation has a
problem. The result will determine the next step.

Your comment "I'm afraid I'll lose a lot of impt. documents
if I can't fix this" is disturbing. The is a firm rule in computing
that says that all important documents must be backed up
regularly (e.g. once a week) to an independent medium.
A 2.5" hard disk in an external USB case is cheap and it
makes an excellent backup medium. We keep reading about
students losing a whole thesis when their laptop gets stolen
but the message does not appear to sink in.

 

[Guest]

Thanks, will try this. I know, I should backup more often but aren't always
as disciplined as I'd like to be - I'm sure I'm not alone here.

If anyone else has any experience w/this issue (eg, if it's a known issue
with a fix ?), I'd really appreciate more info.

Thanks again,
Jill