How to Solve Problems in Office Word 97

1. Check the compatibility for your operating system. Although modern computers will far exceed the system requirements to run Office 97, newer operating system architectures actually reverse the compatibility. With Windows 7, for example, you cannot run Office 97. In this case you will need to buy a later version of your Office suite. If you are using an old operating system, try other options to diagnose your issue.
2. Use the command line switches. These are universal to all Office programs, no matter which edition. Click 'Start,' 'Run.' Click 'Browse.' Locate the Office application you want to fix. Click 'Open.' Enclose the entire path with quotation marks, then put a space at the end of the quotation marks.
3. Add the following codes to do different things; add each without quotation marks:'/a' opens the Office application without a template.'/m' prevents any macros from opening when you launch the program.'/w' stops a tip of the day opening when you start Word.'/u' unregisters Word from the registry. Follow this by running it with '/r' to re-register it in the registry.
4. Determine where your problem lies. For example, if you used the '/a' attribute and you have no errors, you know the problem is with your default template. Find a solution to reinstall the default template, or check that file for viruses. If you used the '/m' attribute and the program opens, you know that you have a macro running in the program that is causing an error. Open the 'Macros' menu and disable all the macros. After you have tried opening your Office application without additional factors, you can determine where the problem lies.