How to Convert Old Word Documents Into Newer Formats

1. Visit the Microsoft website and download the version of Word converter you need. For versions of Word before 97, you will need to download a special converter available from the Microsoft FTP site (See References). This file is called WDSUPCNV.EXE. There are several conversion files included with this file. The one you need will be DOSWRD32.CNV.
2. Browse your computer on the C drive and follow this path: \\Program Files\\Common Files\\Microsoft Shared\\Textconv. This last folder, \"Textconv,\" is where you will place the DOSWRD32.CNV file.
3. Open your version of Word with the converter in place. You will be able to browse to the location of your Word 5 or earlier versions and open the file. There will be little format loss during the conversion process.