Files Saved as Word 2.0 Files Can't Be Opened by Word 6.0

• Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c

SYMPTOMS

If after receiving error messages in a Word version 6.0 document, you then save the file in Word version 2.0 format, you may be unable to open the file you just saved. You receive either of the following error messages when you try to reopen the file in Word version 6.0:

   Word cannot open the document

   -or-

   WINWORD caused a General Protection Fault in module WINWORD.EXE

   There is an unrecoverable disk error on file rosoft 2.0.

   There is an unrecoverable disk error on file P8.

CAUSE

This problem is a result of an embedded object turning into a blank box in a reopened document, causing document corruption. When the original problem is not corrected and you attempt to solve the problem by saving the file in Word 2.0 format, one of the error messages listed at the beginning of this article appears.

NOTE: This is NOT the same as the problem in which a Word 2.x document object becomes corrupt after you edit it in Word 6.0, which is discussed in the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q115095
   TITLE     : Embedded Object Becomes Blank Box in Reopened Document

   ARTICLE-ID: Q112709
   TITLE     : Word 2.x Document Object Corrupt After Editing in Word 6.0

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was corrected in Word version 7.0 for Windows 95.

WORKAROUND

To correct the corrupted document so that you can open it in Word 6.0, do the following:

1. Start Word 2.0.

2. Turn off all toolbars, ribbons, and scrollbars.

3. Turn on draft view.

4. Open the document.

5. Look for a closing brace (sometimes called a right curly bracket). (It can be difficult to locate, as it is small.) This character contains the document corruption. Select the closing brace and delete it.

6. Save the file.