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You receive a "Cannot load Word for Windows 6.0 files" error message when you try to open a "What's new in Quicken" file on a computer that is running Windows XP Service Pack 2, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005, or Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1


View products that this article applies to.

Symptoms

Your computer is running Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005, or Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1). After you install Intuit Quicken 2003 Premier Home and Business or Intuit Quicken 2004 Premier Home and Business, you may receive an error message that is similar to the following:
Cannot load Word for Windows 6.0 files
This problem occurs when you try to open the "What's new in Quicken 2003 Premier Home and Business" file or the "What's new in Quicken 2004 Premier Home and Business" file.

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Cause

This problem occurs because WordPad's Rich Text Format (RTF) converters are disabled in Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005, and Windows Server 2003 SP1. Therefore, .doc and .wri files that require an RTF converter cannot be opened by using WordPad.

When Microsoft Office is not installed, WordPad is set to automatically open .rtf files. However, because the RTF converters are disabled, WordPad cannot convert .rtf files. After you install Microsoft Office Word, Word is set to automatically open .doc and .rtf files. Word also has a built-in RTF converter that Word uses to convert .rtf files. However, WordPad remains the default program for .wri files. Files that use the .wri extension must be manually opened in Word.

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Workaround

To work around this problem, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Use a word-processing program to open the file

Use a word-processing program to manually open the file. For example, use Microsoft Office Word. Word is included in Microsoft Office.

To download a free trial version of Microsoft Office, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

Method 2: Modify the registry

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
322756 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows


Warning This workaround may make your computer or your network more vulnerable to attack by malicious users or by malicious software such as viruses. We do not recommend this workaround but are providing this information so that you can implement this workaround at your own discretion. Use this workaround at your own risk.

On a Windows XP SP2-based computer, you can add an EnableLegacyConverters registry entry that has a DWORD value of 1. To do this, follow these steps.
  1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
  2. Locate the following registry subkey:
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Wordpad
  3. Right-click Wordpad, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.
  4. Type EnableLegacyConverters, and then press ENTER to name the new entry.
  5. Right-click EnableLegacyConverters, and then click Modify.
  6. In the Value data box, type 1, and then click OK.
When you double-click the .rtf file that you are trying to open, WordPad starts. After you have finished using the RTF converter, we recommend that you turn off the EnableLegacyConverters registry entry. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. In Registry Editor, right-click EnableLegacyConverters, and then click Modify.
  2. In the Value data box, type 0 to turn off the .rtf conversion, and then click OK.
  3. Quit Registry Editor.

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References

For more information about programs that are affected by the changes in Rich Text Format, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
886264 Programs that may experience a change in behavior after you install Windows XP Service Pack 2
For more information about this behavior, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
883090 Error message when you open a document file in Windows XP Service Pack 2

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More information

The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.

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Keywords: KB870883, kbprb

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Article Info
Article ID : 870883
Revision : 10
Created on : 2/17/2007
Published on : 2/17/2007
Exists online : False
Views : 397