Error message when you open a document file in Windows XP Service Pack 2

When you try to open a document file, such as a .doc or .wri file, in Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), you may receive the following error message:
A document may open with WordPad and may have extraneous or garbage characters at the beginning and at the end of the file.

Rich Text Format (RTF) converters are disabled in Windows XP SP2.

Warning If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

To enable RTF converters in Windows XP SP2, you must modify the registry. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then press ENTER.
2. Locate and then click one of the following registry subkeys:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Wordpad
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Wordpad
3. Click Edit, click New, click DWORD Value, type EnableLegacyConverters, and then press ENTER.
4. Right-click EnableLegacyConverters, click Modify, and then change the Value data to 1.
5. Click OK, and then quit Registry Editor.

This behavior is by design.

The following programs have been reported to be affected by this problem. This list may not include all affected programs.


For information about your hardware manufacturer, visit the following Web site: 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.