? for Computer Gurus

[Johnny Reefer]

Hey there,

I bought a new computer a few months ago.

It came with a trial version of MicroSoft Office Student/Teacher 2003.

It was to expire Aug 31.

My old computer had MicroSoft Office 97 Pro edition.

I had a data transfer done from old computer to new computer.

Consequently, MS Office 97 was transfered.

For some reason, I thought that the trial version, MS Office 2003, was overriding the 97 ed. and that the 97 ed. was history, even though it was still on the computer.

In anticipation of the trial version expiring, I went out and bought MS Office Student/Teacher 2003 and installed it.

I then started getting a dialog box pop up when ever I went to open a Word document.

It said "The command cannot be performed because a dialog box is open. Click OK, and then close the dialog boxes to continue."
It's kinda BS 'cuz no dialog box is open other than the dialog box saying I have a dialog box open.

I then click OK and the document opens. So, this is not preventing access to the document. It's just a pain in the ol' behind.

It seems that 97 and 2003 are conflicting with each other when it comes to opening up a Word document. I don't know. (Shoulder shrug).

(Excel is fine and does not generate this annoying dialog box).

Also, when I go to Start Menu/All Programs/Microsoft Word and try opening a new word document, I get this:
"The windows registry has reported that one or more required files are damaged or missing. To correct the problem run the word setup again".
So, I go to run word setup again and I get "The setup configuration file 'C:\PROGRA~1\MI933~1\OFFICE\SETUP\OFF97Pro.STF' is missing or corrupted. Try running Setup again from where you originally ran it."
Admittedly, I didn't read the file name detail, at first, and didn't notice the "OFF97" part.

Anyhoo, I tried removing MS Office 97 and got what I think was the same message. I didn't make a note of that message at that time and now I don't want to try removing MS Office 97 again because.....
I removed MS Office Student/Teacher 2003.

So now with Student/Teacher 2003 removed, (both trial and the one I bought), I can open Word documents again without the annoying dialog box popping up. Seems MS Office 97 Pro is working fine with 2003 outa the way.

All this now leads me to believe that MS Office 2003 wasn't the one running all along, but rather, the old MS Office 97 Pro was in control. I don't know. (Shoulder shrug).

So now I don't know what to do.

I blew $200.00 on the new MS Office 2003 and kinda want to make use of that software to justify the expense.
A few questions then, (finally, and thanx for staying with me on this)...
1) Think I should I just stay with MS Office 97? (And eat the $200)
2) Is there much of a significant difference between 97 and 2003 Word and Excel?
3) Could I remove MS Office 97 safely, without risk of losing all my MS Word and Excel documents? (I would like to remove 97, if it will let me, and then reinstall the 2003 ed. But between that, there would be no Office program on the computer and I'm concerned about losing all my documents).

Any ideas and advice on this will be greatly appreciated.

Thanx much,

[adidas]

did u just transfer the word 97 folder over to the new pc??

[Johnny Reefer]

Originally Posted by adidas

did u just transfer the word 97 folder over to the new pc??

No. It was a complete data transfer of everything on my C drive.
The retailer that I bought the new computer from did the transfer.

Anyhoo, for any one who might care....an update here...I took the risk and tried removing Office 97 but was told no. (That missing or corrupted file message came up).

So then I tried to just delete the MS Office folder from the Program Files folder. Again, I was told no.

So then I reinstalled Office 2003 and during the process I was told that a previous version was detected and did I want to have it remove. Uh, ya?!
(Don't recall seeing this request the first time).

So after the 2003 reinstallation, I am back to where I was and I'm getting this "...dialog box open..." message again whenever I try opening a Word document.

So I go into Program Files\MS Office folder and see that, among alot of files\folders dated 2005, there are still files there that are dated 1997, even though the 2003 reinstallation said it would remove the previous version.

So now I am wondering...Can I safely delete anything MS Office related that has a date 1997 associated with it?

BTW the 2003 installation option chosen during the process was a "Complete Installation" not an "Upgrade".

Thanx much,

[adidas]

u will need to remove the office 97 registry entries to remove it properly. if u just delete the folder, there will be a link to the missing files in the resistry, causing the error.

[Invigor]

http://www.glocksoft.com/?source=AATools is a good tool for cleaning the registry.

It deletes all registry entries that return null. [english]it checks the registry entries against the file/folder they're for, and if the folder doesn't exist, it flags it for removal[/english]

[adidas]

ah, good tool...that will make it easier for him to fix it.

[Johnny Reefer]

Thanx for the replies guys.

I'm not sure what's goin' on.

I managed to uninstall the old Office 97 program. (Although a whack of 97 files remain in the varoius folders).

And with 97 gone and 2003 uninstalled and reinstalled again, I'm still gettin' this "...dialog box is open..." message. JEEZ!!! NO THERE ISN'T!

I can still get in to Word documents. It just slows things down some.

Also, I get PO'ed when things don't work as they are supposed to.

Thanx for the web link. I'm not sure that I need that anymore, (since I got 97 uninstalled). And for $75 US, I could afford to get a "Nerds On Wheels" guy, or something, in instead.

Anyway, thanx again and cheers,

[Johnny Reefer]

Originally Posted by adidas

ah, good tool...that will make it easier for him to fix it.

Would those registry entries still be hangin' around, even after I uninstalled Office 97?

[Matt]

Are you running Norton AV? This is a known problem with the Norton AV Office plugin.

[StirCrazy]

woulden't it have been easier to format the drive and reinstall everything? gives you the opertunity to clean up the drive at the same time.

Steve