Solution: Word offers an auto-repair feature that can usually repair a damaged file that won’t open. From within Word 2007, click the Microsoft Office button and click Open. (In Word 2003, click Open on the File menu.) Locate your document and click it to select it. Click the Down arrow next to the Open button and select Open And Repair.
Solution 2: If that does not work, try temporarily reducing the document’s complexity. Open Word 2007. On the View menu, click Draft in the Document Views section. Click the Microsoft Office button. Click Word Options and select Advanced. Under the Show Document Content section, click the checkboxes in front of Show Picture Placeholders and Use Draft Font In Draft And Outline Views. Under the General section, select the checkbox in front of Allow Opening A Document In Draft View and deselect the checkbox in front of Update Automatic Links At Open. Try to open the document
Word 2003: On the View menu, select Normal. On the Tools menu, select Options and click the View tab. Select the checkboxes in front of Picture Placeholders (in the Show section) and Draft Font (in the Outline And Normal Options section). Click the General tab, and under General Options, deselect the checkbox in front of Update Automatic Links At Open. Click OK. Try to open the document normally.
If the file opens (Word 2007 or Word 2003), resave it with a new file name. Use the steps in “Problem: A Word document freezes or behaves erratically” below to eliminate file corruption issues.
Solution 3: If the document does not open, you can try to convert it to another format using an online converter such as Zamzar, as previously discussed, or a compatible program. (Word 2003 users should employ WordPad; read on.) Best choices are RTF (Rich Text Format) or HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) format, which preserve some formatting. A less-preferable option is TXT, which will save only the verbiage, not any formatting. If you can convert and open the document, copy and paste it into a new file and perform whatever reformatting is necessary.
The Find And Replace feature makes it easy to replace fonts that may be corrupt in a document. If you are not prepared to lose formatting, third-party Word document repair programs may be your best shot. Alternatively, you can look for other versions of the document (no guarantees you can preserve formatting). For assistance, refer to the support article available at support.micro soft.com/kb/827099.
Word 2003: From the Start menu, select Run and then type wordpad in the Open dialog box. When WordPad opens, select Open from the File menu. On the Files Of Type drop-down menu, select Word For Windows (*.doc). Navigate to the problematic file and try to open it. If you are able to do so, save the file in RTF or HTML format. Close and open the RTF or HTML file, resave it as a DOC file, and re-create any formatting you lost.
Word 2003 