Works: How to Recover Information from a Damaged Works Word Processor Document (200334)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Works 7.0
  • Microsoft Works 6
  • Microsoft Works 2000
  • Microsoft Works 4.5
  • Microsoft Works for Windows 95, version 4.0
This article was previously published under Q200334

SUMMARY

This article describes how to recover information from a damaged Works word processor document.

Damaged Works documents can cause unexpected behavior when Works tries to interpret incorrect information in the file. To protect your documents, back up your files on a regular basis.

You can use a third-party disk recovery utility or contact a data recovery company to retrieve information from a damaged file. If neither of these options are available, you can use the methods outlined in this article to try to recover the damaged document.

MORE INFORMATION

If You Can Open the Document in Works

To preserve formatting when you recover a damaged Works word processor (.wps) document, convert the document to Rich Text Format (.rtf) and then back to Works for Windows file format. To do this:
  1. On the File menu, click Save As.
  2. In the Files Of Type box, click RTF (*.rtf), and then click Save.
  3. On the File menu, click Close.
  4. On the File menu, click Open.
  5. In the Files Of Type box, click RTF (*.rtf).
  6. Click the document you saved in step 2, and then click Open.
  7. On the File menu, click Save As.
  8. In the Files Of Type box, click Works WP, and then click Save.
If the issue continues to occur, repeat these steps using a different word processor file format. If all else fails, repeat these steps using plain text (.txt) file format.

NOTE: If you save a damaged document in plain text (.txt) file format, you are more likely to repair the document, but the format of the document is lost. Microsoft recommends that you save the document as a plain text file only if you cannot use the other file formats to resolve the issue.

If You Cannot Open the Document in Works

If you cannot use Works to open the damaged document, you may be able to use Microsoft WordPad or Microsoft Write to recover the file. To do this:
  1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, and then click WordPad.

    If you run Works on a Microsoft Windows NT 3.51-based computer, open the Accessories group in Program Manager, and then double-click Write.
  2. On the File menu, click Open.
  3. In the File Name box, type the complete path to and name of the damaged document, and then click Open.
  4. When you are prompted to convert the file, click No Conversion.
  5. Delete any strange looking characters you see at the beginning or end of the document.
  6. On the File menu, click Save As.
  7. In the File Name box, type a new name for the document, and then click OK.
  8. On the File menu, click Exit.
  9. Start Works, and then open the file you saved from WordPad or Write.
  10. On the File menu, click Save As.
  11. In the Files Of Type box, click Works WP.
  12. In the File Name box, type a new name for the file, and then click OK.
If you cannot use Write or WordPad to open the damaged document, follow these steps to strip the header information from the document:

NOTE: Use this method only as a last resort. When you strip the header information, the format of the document is lost.
  1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories and then click Command Prompt.

    If you run Works on a Microsoft Windows NT 3.51-based computer, open the Main group in Program Manager, and then double-click Command Prompt.
  2. At the command prompt, type the following line, and then press ENTER

    copy con+name.wps name.txt

    where name is the name of the damaged file.
  3. At the CON prompt, press the SPACEBAR twelve times.
  4. Press F6, and then press ENTER.
  5. At the command prompt, type exit, and then press ENTER.
  6. Start Works.
  7. On the File menu, click Open.
  8. In the Files Of Type box, click Text (.txt).
  9. Click the new text file, and then click Open.
  10. Click Word Processor.
  11. Delete any strange looking characters at the beginning and end of the file. Verify that the document text is intact.
  12. Format the document.
  13. On the File menu, click Save As.
  14. In the Files Of Type box, click Works WP.
  15. In the File Name box, type a name for the new document, and then click Save.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:11/15/2004
Keywords:kbhowto KB200334
©2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.