Word 97 installed with Outlook XP - Cannot use Word for default editor from Windows Explorer.
- by xpda
I am using Outlook 2002 (Office XP Update) with Word 97 and Excel 97. (The reason is that Microsoft refused to activate my legit copy of office 2003 when I got a new motherboard, Word XP crashed too much, and I prefer the newer Outlook. I would rather not send Microsoft more money to upgrade since they refuse to activate what I've already purchased. Please don't recommend an upgrade.)
Now, I can tell Windows Explorer to use Word 97 to open, for example, a .txt file. But whenever I try to open the text file from Explorer, it either (a) started the Windows XP installer, or (b) tells me that the .txt file is an invalid Win32 application.
Is there some way to straighten out the registry without reinstalling Windows XP? Excel 97 and Outlook 2002 are working fine.