Vista - .doc is not a valid win32 application

We have a new computer that came with Vista 64bit. We have Word 03 docs that we can't open and receive this error message: .doc is not a valid win32 application. What can we do to fix this so we can access our old documents? We have some of the same problems when trying to access files from the net that may be in Word format. Thanks for your help

.doc ISNT a win32 application. its a file extension. try installing the office compatibility pack available from the office website. it allows you to open older documents in the newer version of office.

I had changed the file association to what I thought was the MSWord app but apparently it was a shortcut. Where can i find the actual application file for MS Word in Office 07?

C:\program files/microsoft office/office12/winword

I just looked where you said and I don't see winword there, just a file folder called "1033", and a couple DLL's. Reinstall time?

search your hard drive for winword.exe and take note of its location. if you cant find it, you probably have to reinstall. i may have the folder name wrong. the office 12 folder is for office 2007. i dont know the name of the folder in office 2003

if you are downloading this file from internet as an attachment, then its not fully downloaded. try a different browser.

Just for a quick read, go to start> run> and type wordpad hit enter and see if you can read the docs with that.

Just until you find out whats wrong. Hope that helps

Thanks for the tip. I think I have it working correctly now since I ran the Office 07 repair program that was on the CD. It appears all my old Word docs open OK now. Thanks for all the help!