WD98: File Not Copied or Can't Be Opened from Floppy Disk (177574)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Word 98 Macintosh Edition
This article was previously published under Q177574

SYMPTOMS

When you try to copy a Microsoft Word for Windows document or template file from a floppy disk to the Macintosh hard disk, or when you try to open the files in Microsoft Word 98 Macintosh Edition, one of the following problems will occur.

Macintosh System Software versions 7.5x

The files are copied to the hard disk; however, when you try to open the files in Word 98 Macintosh Edition, you receive the following error message:
Word cannot open the document. Try one or more of the following:

  • On the File menu, click Open to open the document.
  • Make sure the document is a valid Word document <file name>

Mac OS 8.0

Word 6.x for Windows or Windows NT or Word 7.0 for Windows 95 files will not be copied to the hard disk.

When you try to open one of the files in Word 98 Macintosh Edition, you will receive the following error message:
Word cannot open the document. Try one or more of the following:

  • On the File menu, click Open to open the document.
  • Make sure the document is a valid Word document <file name>
When you try to copy a Word 97 for Windows file to the Macintosh hard disk, you will receive the following message:
The <Filename> couldn't be read, because a disk error occurred. Do you want to continue copying?
You must click either Stop or Continue. The file is not copied to the Macintosh hard disk.

CAUSE

The files were initially copied to a PC floppy disk that was formatted with either a Microsoft Windows 3.x DOS Format or with Macintosh PC Exchange DOS 1.4 megabytes (MB) Format.

WORKAROUND

Use a floppy disk that is formatted in Microsoft Windows 95 by doing the following:

  1. Place a PC floppy disk into a drive on a computer running Windows 95.
  2. Double-click My Computer on the Microsoft Windows Desktop.
  3. Right-click the drive containing the floppy disk and then click Format.
  4. Under Capacity, select 1.44 MB (3.5), under Format type, click Full and then click OK.
Once the floppy disk is formatted with Windows 95, it can be used to copy your files from a Windows 3.x machine as well as from Windows 95. The files on this type of formatted disk can be copied to a Macintosh hard disk and can be opened in Word 98 Macintosh Edition.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION

To format a PC floppy disk on a Microsoft Windows 3.x machine, follow these steps:

  1. Open File Manager.
  2. Place a PC floppy disk into drive A.
  3. On the Disk Menu, click Format Disk.
  4. Select 1.44 MB.
To format a floppy disk in PC Exchange on the Macintosh, do the following:

  1. Place a floppy disk into the disk drive.
  2. On the Special menu, click Erase Disk.
  3. Click Format and select the choice of DOS 1.4 MB.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:10/4/2002
Keywords:kbbug kbconversion kbenv KB177574
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