mswrd632.wpc Word cannot start the converter error
You may receive the following error: Word cannot start the converter mswrd632.wpc
This error appears because of the security update for Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows Server 2003 on December 8, 2009. You may experience a mail merge issues write files are parsed but no message is shown.
To resolve this issue, an affected user can unregister the mswrd632 converter by editing the registry as follows:
Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Text Converters\Import\MSWord6.wpc
On the Edit menu, click Delete.
Click Yes.
Exit Registry Editor.
NOTE: For x64 systems above path is slightly changed:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Applets\Wordpad
This change will effectively unregister the mswrd632 converter and disable it for third-party applications and for Microsoft Office. Microsoft Office will use its own text converters to open these kinds of files.
You can also fix this issue with applying the registry fix, but that is a less secure way according to Microsoft, as this fix actually creates ‘AllowConversion‘ key in the new ‘Wordpad‘ subfolder. (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Wordpad)
There is another way to solve this issue by copying the MSWrd632.wpc file from another computer that doesn’t have this issue. Make sure that this file comes from a trusted source on your network. This file can be found on the following path:
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\TextConv
UPDATE: Above fix was not helpful to some of our readers, so Thomas Lewis offered another suggestion which should also help.
Go to Tools > Options > General (Tab) in Word 2003
And check “Confirm Conversion at Open”
When you next try to open the document it will prompt you with a list to convert from. Choose Word 2007 and your document will open.
Have in mind that you will have to unregister mswrd632 first, which is noted above, before you make this changes.
NOTE: If none of this works, please check that your file is not corrupted, or that you or someone else didn’t add X at the end of .doc extension or vise versa. This WILL NOT work! You have to convert the document using Office 2007 or 2010.
Another reported solution is to try to convert the extension of the file to .xls or .doc
Feel free to post your comments below.
It works, Thanks 😉
Thank you very much, this solved a friends issue.
There’s no wordpad under Applets on my laptop. I just created the AllowConversion under it and set bit to 1, but unable still to open the doc. Help. This is my school project I need to submit tomorrow.
This worked great for me, thanks for the help.
Repaired all issues we were having with our mail merge, great thanks.
With the registry script everything was solved. thank you
thanks,
problemfixed
This was very helpful!
I’d have been totally unable to print of a long Christmas list without the information given here.
All done! Thanks! 🙂
Thanks!!!!!!! Reg add works!
Having received the mswrd632.wpc error I downloaded the Registry Entry. The document now opens but it seems to have been corrupted somewhere along the way. The document is full of ‘y’s with two dots on top.
Not to worry. The document is not that important.
I appreciate very much the excellent service you are providing.
Thanks it worked fine
my problem remains unsolved. Your solution has completely failed to rectify my problem. Kindly give another solution.
@farhan,
have you tried to use the registry script provided in the bottom of this article?
It works fine !! Many thanks
My documents still don’t open correctly unfortunately…
Thanks for the fix — Word docs within Calyx POINT now open!
I tried both the KB973904 instructions listed above, and the link provided, both to no avail. My docs will open, and they look fine to me, but the error message pops up each time I try to open one, and I have to click OK twice for the message to go away! It’s more of an annoyance for me…it’s really slowing down my productivity. Any other suggestions?
@Uzoras
Try to import registry fix once again. It should solve your issue.
I tried it a 3rd time with no luck. The computer I’m using is actually at work, and we have a closed-circuit type of driver/server…I don’t know if that makes a difference. The MSWord registry looks fine when I locate it following the directions above. Also, my MS programs (only on my computer) run on Citrix.
@Uzoras,
Ah that explains it. If you run MS applications on Citrix, you should pass this registry key to your Citrix administrator.
This registry key has to be applied on a Citrix server where this applications are published.
Regards,
Nik
Thank you Nik! I will talk to our admin…of course, he’s clueless, so it may not help. I appreciate your help!
It should definitely help, after all I’m Citrix admin 😉
This patch is working when you apply it on client machine. Citrix just passes over picture to your PC from the server, so if you’re using MS Word which is published on Citrix, there’s nothing you can do on your local PC to fix this issue.
Regards,
Nik
Re-enabling a vulnerable WordPad converter is not the appropriate fix to prevent this error in Word. Instead, just unregister the converter following the instructions on http:support.microsoft.com/kb/973904.
Thanks Jeanne,
I will update my first post, but Microsoft released this update (more secure) yesterday. First given fix was provided in the original post.
‘tworks!
Great fix. Thanks
Thanks It worked
Gracias, Thanks, Grazas. llevo dos dias intentando solucionar este tema.;-);-);-)
Many thanks for this fix. The registry key delete worked for me. Now have MS Word mail merge working again along with MS Office Accounting. Thanks again. Russell.
ACCURATE ANSWER. THANKS A LOT
thanks alot, that has been bugging me for days, all fixed
Thanks your suggestion solved the problem..
Thank you , i have sent it to you and i hope it will work with you 🙂
Someone in a microsoft news group suggested the file might be Word 2007 (…docx) but named as an earlier version (.doc). I renamed the file in question and it opened properly.
Mistook “Name” for “Title”
I did change the version from (docx) to (doc) but still not open !!
I just had this problem with two Word 2003 .doc files on a thumb drive. Other Word test files open fine. The registry fix in the KB mentioned above got rid of the error message but then the files just open as untranslated gobbledegook, as also mentioned above. I suspect I actually just hosed these two files (I pulled the thumb drive off without using its “eject” menu) and this is just the response Word has to files that aren’t quite right. So, solution may be, don’t corrupt your files…
Registry changes did not work for me. The suggestion of changing the name from .doc to .docx DID work! Thanks–IT Tech on vacation, am sure I will need it upon return.
Thanks! i had an important document that i wasn’t able to read because of this problem. =)
Thank you so much,that’s OK for me.:-)
I have tried both options, but still no joy for me. Any other options???:sad:
THANKS
You solved my problem,thank you so much.
you’re kinda orator v.v
WELL WELL THANX IT REALLY HELP US , there is dead line for filing a suit and word doc showe said error , thanxthis is great save lot of our time
:-*8)
Registry change worked for me!!!! Thanks.
thanking you for saving me manually doing word docs!
cheers
I have done every thing sugested here and my doc look like a lot of small boxes
I’ve tried both suggestions and this is what I get:
П ๱ ñ€ kà $š $ >@
’þÿ 0‹ Bà‚ !€ˆ Ö Â ˆ _ ¹š €þÿï¿ @€UP ÿþÿÿ¿ÿÿ¾•ÿÿ¿ÿÿú÷ÿÛÿÿýïÏÿÿþÿÿßÿþÿÿÿÿÿÿÿûëÿÿÿmÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿßÿþÿýÿ¿ÿýÿûÿÿÿÿÿ
Any others?
If are are renaming the file the docx and trying to open with 2003 don’t forget you need to have the 2007 document converter installed. http://download.microsoft.com/download/9/2/2/9222d67f-7630-4f49-bd26-476b51517fc1/FileFormatConverters.exe
Thanks so much. That worked!;-)
Registry fixes did not work.
Prompt for converter no longer appears, but documents now opening with cryptic characters
users all are running Window XP, SP3
users all are running MS Office 2003 ( we have not yet converted)
users all have the MS Office 2007 Compatability Patch.
Documents were never created with Office 2007…all original 2003 files.
Documents were accessible and readable Before Dec 2009.
System Restore did not resolve the problem.
Hello Dave, have you tried with using this?
http://download.microsoft.com/download/9/2/2/9222d67f-7630-4f49-bd26-476b51517fc1/FileFormatConverters.exe
It worked on all three workstations that were getting that error. Thanks so much. 😉
reinstalled the compatibility pack and ran the REG fix. still can’t open the doc.
this did not work for me for some reason. i am still gettig the error….yikes! i hope i have not lost all of the stuff i’ve done…
I am having same problem. Have tried regedit and reg fix. Three word 2003 docs that I have been working on for a month open as gobbledy gook. Tried renaming as .docx. Same problem with all my backups of these docs. help – so much work has gone into these docs and I don’t know what to do
THANK U VERY VERY VERY MUCH.:-)
I hope this does not effect my system on the long run.:cry:
Regfix was a temporary solution.
Although, safer solution is to delete the following registry key.
Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftShared ToolsText ConvertersImportMSWord6.wpc
On the Edit menu, click Delete.
Click Yes.
Exit Registry Editor.
j, have you tried to install file converters?
http://download.microsoft.com/download/9/2/2/9222d67f-7630-4f49-bd26-476b51517fc1/FileFormatConverters.exe
Good work !! Your fix worked, thanks heaps 😉
No meu caso, eu recebi um arquivo word 2007 que estava salvo com “.doc”
Renomeei o arquivo corretamente para “.docx” e o conversor abriu corretamente o arquivo no meu office 2003.
Thanks a lot!
It work at the first try^^
i tried to delete the file but it wouldnt let me
rachel, do you have administrative permissions?
can you try to run regedit in as Administrator?
I DIDNT GOT FULL PATH IN MY SYSTEM.
(TEXT CONVERTER IMPORT MSWRD6.WPC
Found another work-around when using Office 2003 with converters installed for Office 2007, and trying to open embedded .docx objects inside a .docx document:
Right click on the embedded > Package Object > Edit Package
Pop-up window appears
File > Save Contents > enter file with same extension to local folder (no feedback that it saved)
Go to local folder > Open doc, installed converter runs > Save As a 2003 type doc (ie: .doc instead of .docx)
Now you can reopen the doc and it will not go through the conversion process.
Worked for me! thanks!
Hi.I`m having a problem that when i try to convert the file it still shows hieroglifs and no text that was in there. What should i Do?
Great fix. My first time doing this.
Nik, Help! I tried all 3 suggestions you made: registry change, registry fix & downloading the converters. Nothing has worked. Thank you.
Yeahh, I’ve tried all this, Including the reg fix etc,
Seems to work for others but not all. I open the file and get just boxes. Looks like the file might be corrupted?
Hello Paul,
have you tried solution from other visitor?
Found another work-around when using Office 2003 with converters installed for Office 2007, and trying to open embedded .docx objects inside a .docx document:
Right click on the embedded > Package Object > Edit Package
Pop-up window appears
File > Save Contents > enter file with same extension to local folder (no feedback that it saved)
Go to local folder > Open doc, installed converter runs > Save As a 2003 type doc (ie: .doc instead of .docx)
Now you can reopen the doc and it will not go through the conversion process.
It could be that your document is corrupted. You can try to search online for some free applications which can fix corrupted office documents.
This Registry fix is a permanent solution and you are not deleting anything.
When using Office 2007 and opening a *.PPTX file with embedded text from an earlier Word version do the following:
Locate the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftShared ToolsText ConvertersImportMSWord6.wpc
Right click the Extensions string value and choose Modify.
Make sure the Value Data field has the following: doc docx
Click, OK
Exit Registry Editor.
Enjoy,
Ken B
Sorry, I typed too fast. The problem just surfaced on another machine and the only way around it was to rename or delete the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftShared ToolsText ConvertersImportMSWord6.wpc registry key.
Hope this helps,
No, this didn’t work for me
Thankyou very much. There are some answers to this issue, but only yours resolve the problem! 😀
Nik:
“have you tried solution from other visitor?”
Which solution?
“Right click on the embedded > Package Object > Edit Package”
What is embedded?
And suggestions on how to convert “recovered” files?
Tnx Worked 100% 8)
OOOO Thanks, this solution saved VCojocaru 🙂
I can not get this to work with deletion. Yes-I have 97 and living in the past.
Can you help me?
It worked well, thank you very much!
Worked ! Thanks for the help
thanks its worked immidiate.
Thanks to the post from Dec 29th – resave the file as a Office 2007 (docx) and it opens fine. Otherwise the regedit solution will still delivery an ASCII file.
yes, it works, thank you 😉
No change, waste of time. Still can’t open / convert / import text to Word. Skootcapt2@aol.com
I accidentally deleted a bunch of files and had to use a data recovery program. Music files and photos came back fine but now none of the Word, Excel, or Power Point files will open without looking like a jumbled mess. I reinstalled Microsoft Office 2003 and I’ve tried all these fixes. Any other suggestions for me?
There are a lot of suggestions in comments of this article. Have you tried all of this suggestions?
I just could not install registry as message appears that same has been blocked by adminstrator. Pl help.
Unfortunately, you need administrative privileges to modify the registry.
I followed the instructions, but when I click Delete I get the following message: “Unable to delete all specified values” HELP!!!..Thanks
I cannot make labels with office 2000 and windows XP I recieve error
Ok I tried the registry fix it didn’t work for me. But by just renaming the word document from .doc to .docx then opened the file it worked. This was a pc with MS Office 2003 also. Hopefully this will help someone.
THANK YOU!! I have been trying to fix this for a week with no luck. Problem solved!!:-)
Thanks.
This fix worked great.:-)
Hi, My computer was hit by virus. Then i used bit-defender to remove it when(ESET couldn’t). But in the process i lost a lot of my data. Movies, pics, doc files. When i recovered them using Tune-up utilities.My word (doc.) files won’t open. They showed “Word cannot start the converter mswrd632.wpc” error.
I unregistered the mswrd632 converter by editing the registry by following the steps suggested by admin. But the files till show gibberish data.
Pls help !
Sato
blazing.sato@hotmail.com
Please read through the comments. There are several useful suggestions on what you can do.
My recovered pics also do not open. When i recoverd them the condition status shown in Tune-Up utilities was: “Bad”. But even the good status files don’t open.
I have gone through the regedit method to fix this problem and I no longer get the error message, however, MSWord is now trying to install another converter to open the file, but I don’t have the disk and I’m not sure what it is that needs to be installed.
Any suggestions?
Which type of file you’re trying to open. Which office version are you using?
I have tried the suggested fixes including the REG fix, now all that happens is that I don’t get the Word message when I open the file, but I still end up with squares instead of texts…I even tried labelling it do .docx but still the same…I have been working on Word 2003. Any ideas??
Nik I even tried installing the convertors but I get the message “installation of this package failed”. Any other ideas? I’m screwed aren’t I?
I ended up giving the File Format Converters compatability pack a go and it worked. I’m using 2002 Word, and I’m still not sure what type of file it is because I downloaded it off a website. Thanks so much for your help!!
hye,
i already try both of that way…delete the msword6.wpc n import the registry that i download.
the error gone but contain of the file all is converted
to symbol (like boxs).
Can give me the another way to solve this problem. tq
Thank you!
The first steps didn;t work for me, I just got another error, but the script worked like a charm!
FYI, we got this error when the files were actually Word TEMPLATES named wrong.
i.e. Renamed the “.DOC” to “.DOTX”, error went away.
So, if renaming the “.DOC” to “.DOCX” doesn’t work, try “.DOTX”
This totally Worked…
Thank you totally saved me today
I clicked the download link, but when I click “run” it doesn’t give me a chance to type anything in. A dialogue box comes up that says “Are you sure you want to add the information in C:Documents and Settings… to the registry?” Then you choose yes or no, and then it just closes. I clicked “yes” hoping it would allow me to follow your instructions, but it just closed and I still can’t open word files.
Thanks a lot for the help. 😉
Fabulous! I had to unregister the converter as instructed and install the REG fix. Problem solved, thanks!!
Hi!
Thanks a lot!
I’ve just used the RegFix, which worked very nice indeed.
Hi,
I have a problem with .doc file: when i’m opening the file, i see a lot of strange characters.
I have Windows Vista and Office 2007. Is there someone who can help me ( with some tips or with opening the file for me ) ?
Thanks in advance!
nutu2002as@yahoo.com
Deleting the registrty key seems to have worked fine. I hope. THANKS!!!
Easy fix with REGEDIT, as described above.
Thanks
Super. Easy to Understand Instructions. Works.
Ohhh Your are intelegent…
Thanks
yeah i got absolutely nothing. i SERIOUSLY need help, i tried everything. my paper is due like yesterday.
I lost the dialogue box, but text still won’t appear
tank you
8)8)
I tried both suggestions above but cannot get my files read. For about 6 months I’ve used the same thumbdrive and I switch it back and forth between a Mac and PC for my documents. Up until now it worked fine on each. Now it doesn’t. Help me Rhonda.24
I tried both suggestions above but cannot get my files read. For about 6 months I’ve used the same thumbdrive and I switch it back and forth between a Mac and PC for my documents. Up until now it worked fine on each. Now it doesn’t. Help me Rhonda.
Thanks, this was very annoying until I applied your fix
Thanks! It worked perfectly:-)
Solved a corporate wide issue -May Thanks
Tried everything here w/o succcess. You indicated the downloadable registry fix (AllowConversion.reg) could cause a security problem. I’d like to remove the registry change that AllowConversion.reg made. Can you provide any instructions to go into regedit and undo the changes made by AllowConversion.reg?
@Steve,
Open registry editor and navigate to the following folder:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionAppletsWordpad
Delete the following key:
“AllowConversion”=dword:00000001
That’s it. You shouldn’t have any issues by deleting this key, but try it first on a test pc if possible.
Regards
If after applying the registry fix (repeated numerous times above) Word 2003 still opens the file in random characters try this:
Go to Tools > Options > General (Tab)
And check “Confirm Conversion at Open”
When you next try to open the document it will prompt you with a list to convert from. Choose Word 2007 and your document will open.
but you must unregister mswrd632 first as stated above
The error doesn’t come up anymore, and i’ve read through all the comments, yet nothing seems to help. I have xp, latest edition. And everytime i open it up it comes up with cryptic symbols, the squares and lines.
If anyone knows how to convert it to proper writing? It is quite important.
thanks.
If after applying the registry fix (repeated numerous times above) Word 2003 still opens the file in random characters try this:
Go to Tools > Options > General (Tab)
And check “Confirm Conversion at Open”
When you next try to open the document it will prompt you with a list to convert from. Choose Word 2007 and your document will open.
but you must unregister mswrd632 first as stated above
*****************************
Can anyone who has 2007 Word interpret how to do the above?? I am still getting the weird characters
Thank you!!! The error desapeared.
Changing the extension of the file from .doc to .docx wor as long as it was a 2007 file orginally. thanks for your help.
Many word files were fixed. But some, I’m left with a file that tells me I have to chose “File Conversion – (filename)”. Choices include Windows, MS-DOS or Other. What should I do now? Windows , other choices do not work. My computer now is responding very slowly. MSWord error no program response. Typing this comment is very slow going.
Thanks Thomas Lewis. This is what finally fixed it for me after trying all the other things above. I did the following in Word 2003 and now I get a “Convert File” window when opening these weird .doc files and I can pick Word 2007 as an option and the document finally opens normal.
Go to Tools > Options > General (Tab) in Word 2003
And check “Confirm Conversion at Open”
When you next try to open the document it will prompt you with a list to convert from. Choose Word 2007 and your document will open.
Hey i am getting the Word cannot start the converter mswrd632.wpc error message and my document is opening as pages and pages of little boxes. I followed all your instructions and now the error message doesnt come up but i still cant read my text! i have Microsoft office professional with frontpage 2003. When i try the Thomas lewis solution there is no word 2007 option and none of the other options will work… Help! Important document!
im using ms word2007. i cant open the document located on my usb.it has the same error so i used your steps but still…theres nothing happened…help pls:-)
Registry fix did not work; however, changing the options to prompt for conversion when opening a document did the trick. Thanks so much!!! 😉
Helped great, thanks! Just the regfix did it.
voila! like magic, my problem (using ProWrite label mail merge from Outlook to word … which is a great time saver for me) is gone. thank you. (i was hesitant to edit the registry entry at first.)
after all of the above, i still cant open my document.
It returns : error opening the file.
It appears i started experiencing this on all word documents i copeied with a particulr pend drive.
Any more options:::-???
Grazie del consiglio funziona pefettamente.
Adriano
I have the same problem. It still not work.. The file can’t open. I have delete the following key 00000001 from my computer, but without no luck. I need all my documents for my school. Is there any other opyions??
Thanks…
Actually I can’t get it.. Because I have save all my documents after this new security update on December 8, 2009. Why can’t it not work now?? Thats strange.
i really need help with this because my coursework is due in tomorrow and my file isn’t opening after the steps i followed at the top of this page, can any please, please, please help me i am in urgent need of help, i can send the file through to you through email if u can get it fixed for me some how. i am in desperate need of help thank you.
We are using Word 97 at the office with the Compatibility Pack installed. Up until a few months ago, we had no problems opening Word 2007 (.docx) documents. We started receiving the “Word cannot start the converter mswrd632.wpc” error. We used the Microsoft fix and the error went away but now Word 2007 documents just show a bunch of special characters when opening.
Interestingly, there is another computer in the office with the same setup (Word 97 w/ Compatibility Pack) and Word 2007 documents open just fine and without any errors.
I’ve can’t seem to find a solution except for maybe reinstalling Word 97. I know that others have had the problem with Word 2007 documents opening as gibberish with other versions of Word. Has anyone found a solution for that problem with any version of Word?
Thanks
Thomas Lewis’ solution worked! Thanks.
Thanx it works really…….;-)
Characters still look like symbols. I need more help to change symbols back to characters to be able to read.
Thanks! Worked like a charm!
The registry file fixed the problem with Word 2K/Excel 2K on my XP64 system. I was originally looking to see why Word hung when opening a Mail Merge Template.
thanks alot. its working…!
I have an important assignment due, (it’s actually overdue due to crashes and this issue) whenever i try and open up my document, all it has are boxes, like squares, which i think mean that the symbols aren’t supported. also, when i copy paste these boxes it just comes up with…
…nothing.
please help me.
Working like a charm 😉
tried everything. nothing works. I just can’t open my file
I did all what is suggested above but the list of suggested covnersions doesan’t include word 2007. what can i do?
thanks
I am now getting black word documents…..any help?
sorry, meant blank (no content)
Try this, launch the document. You will receive error msg, just click to continue. The document will eventually launch, now you save (SAVE AS) the document in .docm format. Works for me this morning.
It works. Thank you Thomas Lewis8)
nothings working! pls help!
Maestraso, muchas gracias
thanks i am very happy for this help
not only have I not been able to open the document after trying the various fixes, I clearly did something wrong as now ALL my previously saved Word docs have transformed to WordPad. Is there a way to covert those back to Word. At this point I don’t care about the original document that I still can’t open.. Thanks.
Try the following:
Open the document using MS Word. To do so, select File/Open and in the window that opens choose All Files in the Files of Type dropdown. Select the Wordpad document you wish to open. Then, to save as a MS Word document, select File/Save As and select Word Document in the Save as Type dropdown. Enter a name, and you are good to go.
Thanks Nik. I did all of the above before but had not changed the document name. I will try that. Otherwise, it did not work. All the docs kept showing “A” icon meaning WordPad as opposed to the blue “W”. .doc is the common extension for both. So, when I go to a folder and open I get a list of “A”s .. not Ws.. even when I select show all Word files.
From your answer, it appears I am going to have to resave ALL the documents in my computer as there is no way to do a batch conversion back to Word on all those documents. Understand, every single Word document in every single folder and subfolder turned into a WordPad document after I attmpted all those fixes. The next time I see this error message, I am going to delete the document.
Hmm, you can try to change the default application for the .doc file type. That should do it.
I’ve made an article for you, although I’m guessing your already know how to achieve this.
https://www.wincert.net/tips/microsoft-windows/2142-how-to-set-the-default-application-for-a-file-type-or-extension.html
Thank You again. I wasn’t exactly sure how to do it..but I followed the instructions. Thank You very much for taking the time to write the article. The files still aren’t converting. Very weird is that there are a couple of files with the W but the “type” in that column of My Documents says its an RTF file. If only I knew what I did??!?! So frustrating! Thanks again. s
OK Nik – get this…I went to browse history and deleted everything, Hx, temp files, cookies…just about everything converted back to Word. They have the W and are identified under Type as Word docs..no longer WordPad! Those couple that were typed as RTF still are, but I can live with that as they open and close fine, even though I keep trying to save them as Word docs. This is soooo beyond me!!!
This worked out great for me.
I had an issue of opening interaction templates in Navision (NAV 5.0).
This procedure solved my problem:
Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftShared ToolsText ConvertersImportMSWord6.wpc
On the Edit menu, click Delete.
Click Yes.
Exit Registry Editor.
Thanks a lot!
The REG fix worked
The fix got rid of the message but still cant cut/paste from an already saved word file, only from a new one before it is saved.
worked..first time..!
thank you…
Tried the suggestions with no luck. Am angry that I cannot the work I brought home on an external drive. Microsoft created this problem–they should fix it!
😀 Xie Xie! Great!
The bottom of the article works!
Word 2003->word 2007!:-)
Thanks a lot…its working great…
Using XP, Office 2003. Had a recent hard drive crash. Only one IMPORTANT document didn’t make it to new hard drive–it’s the only corrupted file.
Tried just about everything listed here. Now I get a message that “There was an error opening the file.” Trying some online fixes, to no avail.
Anyone have a suggestion about this particular turn?
i doesn’t work for me 🙁
Thanks!!!! You best “WORDer”)))
Obrigado cara….Brasil!!!!!
Thank you. Needed to complete both parts and was able to open file. Thank you.
Sorry it doesn’t work….i tried.
Thank you so much, after following both instructions all documents now open successfully!
I tried the registry, and the patch, but… it still didn’t work.
is there any other way to resolve that problem?
using Word 2003 / Firefox
Trying to recover deleted files.
Says I can’t open; need msowrd632.wp
Followed instructions above to delete it from registry.
Went into Tools/Options in Word to convert to Word 2007 (don’t have Word 2007)
Downloaded the Word 2007 converter
Pop Up box now comes up to Convert File From: (choose Word 2007)
Pop Up box – “There was an error opening the file”
The Tools/Option is now grayed out.
Now what????
In my case, renaming the file from *.doc to *.pdf worked. Whoever put it up on this website had used the wrong file-type. Grrrr!
HELP!!!!
i wrote my bachelorthesis – and now its gone
i have windows xp and word 2003
the last document i made with 9 sites text has now suddenly 0 byte and when i try to open it shows that the mswrd632 is missing – but i have the installation cd not with me in vienna to install it
it was a little bit strange cause when i saved my document a notice popped up that i cannot save it cause ists alredady used or something like that so i saved as new document
love lene
who has no knowlegde about pc and doesnt want to experiment because its her bachelorwork
yes, it worked, made me be the coolest guy in the office today 8)
Tried setting specified in the end. It works. Thanks
Hi all,
Didn’t have regedit powers, but found a damn simple solution. Right click on the document in question, and click “Save As…”. Choose something like .docx and save, open and voila. Worked a charm without having to use regedit.
In my case I also had to add the location of the default mailmerge target to the trusted location in the trust center – locations of Word 2007.
the problem is still present
the delete feature is disabled and there is a box on the right side with 2 items that mean nothing to me
When I try to open a doc, I get a msg “thr item(filename) that this shortcut refers to has been changed or moved, so this shortcut will no longer work properly” then it asks me if I wnat to delete the shortcut
Shortcut business means nothing to me. Anyone make sense of the msg?
Thanks it worked…
Funciona!! Gracias
🙂 Thanks I used the confirm in old word 2003 and I nolonger have this issue using MSOP 2009
thanks, it worked for me using the the top and bottom options
thanx much for this clear and easy explanation..
LIFESAVER!! I had typed up a lease when my computer just randomly turned off. I got the mswrd632 error message and this fixed it perfectly, once I completed the second set of steps inside word itself.
THANKS!!!!!!!
Registry fixes did not work for me, not the first nor the second.
Prompt to converter no loner appears but now files open, are blank and there are no further instructions or error messages. Help, please.
I am trying to open attachments being emailed from a school intranet. These are another teacher’s lesson plans and I believe they were created using MSWord. I have read the comments regarding converting to .docx but I don’t know how to go about trying that.
Hi Cecilia,
what Office version are you using?
This guide was a lifesaver, thanks allot.
Error:
word cannot start the converter msword632.wpc
I was recieving the same error, after further research I found out in our case it was related to the cases that the docx files were renamed to doc file that was causing this error to occur, once I renamed them back to docx it worked fine. Hope this helps.
I can only get so far with your steps. Can you think of a reason why I can’t find “Shared Tools” in the regedit? It stops at HKEY…..Microsoft
Oh, I’m using MS Office 2003, by the way
Thanks
Did not work. I still get the error. When I choose Word 2007, I get a doc will not open error.
Hello..i need help.I”ve tried to follow the instructions stated in the article but still it wont work. Actually I dont have the Word 2007. I only found Word 2003 and it says: the File is not the right file type.(word 97).
let me restate the last sentence…I only found Word 97 and it says: the file is not the right file type(Word 97). By the way, I’m using MS Word 2003.
thanksssss
hai am facing still the same prob even after trying your resolvingg issue its not unable to open… pls try to resolve my issue
I just ran into this problem for the first time. I simply changed the file properties to a PDF file, and then opened it in Adobe Reader with no problems. Go figure.
I tried your solution, of deleting the entry frm registry and checking the “confirm conversion open” now when I open the document it ask for the option but “word 2007” opetion is not there, what do I do?
There is no option of “word 2007”, I am using word2003, pls help.
i have office 2007 and i dont know how can find “Confirm Conversion at Open”
in it:
Tools > Options > General (Tab) in Word 2003
And check “Confirm Conversion at Open”
please help me to fix the problem
snhekmat@gmail.com
this fixed my pproblem. But I recognized that when i open any word document that is in my PC, it opens slower than before. It takes some time. Can the deletion of file mswrd632.wpc may have resulted in such delay???
thanks for your help
hey i make all of the above and when my file open i see only squares. my world document have 18000 characters and i see only 6 pages with squares
how i fix this problem???
Try this one:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/973904
Scroll down and click FIX IT button
Thomas Lewis’ answer worked a treat with a document created on an apple mac. Thank you!
still doesnt work, deleted file, also tried downloading reg fix, and still doesnt open? says that there is an error or just comes up with the squares?
thanks…that was very usefull
Hello to you. I have read all the comments and have tried all suggestions. I downloaded all window 2007 apps. I deleted the converter mswrd632…. all of it, and I am still experiencing the ‘gobbligook’ that others have. Do I have to close everything down and restart??? I am on a very old windows xp version, 2000 does that have anything to do with it?? Any other advice you can give would be great!!! What you have listed here so far seems to work for most.
Have a great day 🙂
The combo worked for me!
I can’t delete MSWord6.wpc 🙁
Last one worked for me thanks.
Worked like a charm! thanks for the quick/correct fix!
i followed the steps in the registry editor but when i reach to the import part, there’s no msword6.wpc, , pls help! 🙁
I remove the entry from the registry and the configured word to prompt me for the version of word. It did not work for me. I realised I didnt have the x in the .docx, so saved it with the .docx extension. Also did not work.
So, I had to save the document in Word 2003. That worked
I did the micrsoft “fix” but still got an unreadable document. I then did the final suggestion and it worked. Even though we only use Word 2003…I could then resave the document as a word 2003 .doc. Thank so much 🙂
Have also suffered mswrd632.wpc error but only on a few Word documents. Tried all of the solutions offered above and many others but without success. I am using Office 2003.
I then downloaded and installed the MS Office 2007 Compatibility Pack. Problem solved. It seems that the problematic files were created as docx or xml files then renamed as *.doc, not realising this did not make them compatible with previous office releases. Download the compatibility pack from http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/support/microsoft-office-compatibility-pack-for-word-excel-and-powerpoint-2007-file-formats-HA010168676.aspx (a cut & paste job !!!!)
THANKYOU!
You’re amazing. I spent ages wondering why the documents wouldn’t open when they weren’t even saved in a docx format. This was a great help
This worked!
I used:
To resolve this issue, an affected user can unregister the mswrd632 converter by editing the registry as follows:
Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftShared ToolsText ConvertersImportMSWord6.wpc
On the Edit menu, click Delete.
Click Yes.
Exit Registry Editor.
Thank you!
I had this problem with a file a co-worker was having problems with and tried everything to no avail. Finally at one point when I was looking through the gibberish that opened in Word, I read the word “Workbook” and immediately suspected that the document was in actuality an EXCEL document and NOT a WORD document. I proceded to change the extension to .xls and it opened as an Excel file! I don’t know how this file ended up with a .doc extension, but maybe, just MAYBE some of you are having the same problem!
Good Luck!
Regards,
MaskMarvl
I’ve done everything said here but when I try to open it as a 2007 word document it says “Error opening file”.
What do you suggest I do?
It’s really important I get it fixed because it’s a piece of coursework 🙁
Thanks!
Thank you so much! just found ur helpful post over the internet, and you saved me! 😀
Works like a charm! THNX!
Like everyone said, it works.
thank you 🙂
Nailed that sucker. Thanks dude
8)
Just tried the first option; no longer getting the “cannot start converter” message, but opened document is still in hieroglyphs
I also have this problem, but only when opening the .DOCX from a 3rd party application, opening from the desktop works fine. I have tried all of the above fixes and ensured that the compatibility view is up to date, but still not working. Documents open fine through the 3rd party app using Office 2007 & Office 2010, but not on any Office 2003 machines.
I used this solution:
Go to Tools > Options > General (Tab) in Word 2003
And check “Confirm Conversion at Open”
When you next try to open the document it will prompt you with a list to convert from. Choose Word 2007 and your document will open.
Have in mind that you will have to unregister mswrd632 first, which is noted above, before you make this changes.
————————
However, it did not work, but when I clicked on “Recover Text from any File” instead of “Word 2007” the document opened.
I hope this helps!
I must be the only one unable to do any of this/ I followed everything said here. I got the error message too . I tried the recover text and it is still gibberish. I downloaded the patch, I did the reg thingy, I unchecked whatever I was supposed to uncheck..
it works .. thanks 😉
I didn’t want to UN-PROTECT my system so I went with:
Go to Tools; Options; General (Tab) in Word 2003
And check “Confirm Conversion at Open”
When you next try to open the document it will prompt you with a list to convert from. Choose Word 2007 and your document will open.
NOW – FYI – It doesn’t say it – but You will get the error message – a few more times – just keep clicking OK until the CONFIRM option comes up
AND this part:
“Have in mind that you will have to unregister mswrd632 first, which is noted above, before you make this changes.”
I DID NOT HAVE TO DO THIS FIRST as stated and it worked perfectly – I have been having this problem for awhile with a P2P site that clients upload docs to and I guess they don’t have the fix on his/her computer as I have or had and EVEN older version of WORD than I have – I have 2003
The Tools; Options suggestion worked wonders for me, and I didn’t even have to edit the registry. Thank you!!! : )
easiest way to do it, sign up for a Google account and go into Google documents. Go to upload and upload the file you need to open. It should then work perfectly fine. If not, file is corrupted and ur screwed
Sorry if this appears in other comments– there are too many for me review them all:
You can use notepad to determine if the document is actually another file type. That can cause this error if you, for example, attempt to open a Da PDF document with Word and the file has an erroneous extension.
For example, I received this error trying to open a .PDF file which someone had accidentally changed the extension to and it was now a .DOC file. The start of the file when it was opened in notepad read %PDF-1.0.
Simply changing the extension back to PDF allowed the file to open (with Adobe PDF Reader of course).
This information should have been available from Microsoft help pages within Word or on the web but far as I know, it was not.
word fail in not open pleas open the fail solution. ok
Thank you, it works
The suggestions were helpful esp. tools>options>… select word 2007 document
Thanks… 🙂
Awesome! Thanks for the advise – you just saved me about 3 hrs of work!!!
The “Tools – Options – General Tab, etc fix worked like a charm when the other solutions offered did not. THANK YOU!
Thanks for the help.
Hi! The suggestion to “Go to Tools > Options > General (Tab) in Word 2003
And check “Confirm Conversion at Open”,When you next try to open the document it will prompt you with a list to convert from. Choose Word 2007 and your document will open.
It all worked until the part where you are supposed to select “Word 2007”. The box I have in Word 2003 doesn’t have “Word 2007” as a selection. Is there anything else I can choose to help me get this document open. Thanks Deb
I went through the steps of deleting the registry key for the Word6 converter and the whole “confirm Text Conversion on open” routine, and it worked for me. I did a registry compare before and after going through the “confirm conversion at open” process. From that I found one registry key that changed as a result. Below are the two command lines that should produce the same result as doing all of the stuff at the beginning of this thread. Try them at your own risk, but they worked for me. If you want to create an executable batch file, just copy the lines below into a text file and save it with a .bat extension:
@ECHO OFF
REG DELETE HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Text Converters\Import\MSWord6.wpc /f
REG ADD HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\UserData\S-1-5-18\Products /v TCRecoverFilesIntl_1033 /t reg_dword /d 3f210001
EXIT
downloaded the reg file
Mormally I can open these file with EDIT but what ever I try it wil RUN the file.
To that I only can say, WHAT ARE THEY TRYING TO DO, so I tell my self its CRAP!!!!
Or VIRUS or what ever. Thougth that wincert.net was reel!
Please don’t insult us if you are unsure in what you are doing.
When you try to edit file you will see a
Open File – Security Warning. This is a normal situation since this file has been downloaded from the internet. When you click RUN, you WON’T open the file, but edit it.
If you would like to avoid this prompt for this file, click properties on the file and in the bottom of the Properties windows choose Unblock option.
For error word cannot start the converter mswrd632.wpc
if the word file on the server is created as win 2003 format and on the server MS Office is 2007 then there is an option in winword. Open the necessary winword and click the Office Button Click, Then click word options then Save.. just mention the save file format as 97-2003*.doc option. Then click ok.
This will open the files in the client machines as .doc and not .docx. So the word convertor will not be required in this case. So the error of word converter will not appear.
Thomas Lewis – Thanks for the last step by step instruction to correct the Word Conversion Error Message. It worked when the above two or three steps did not! Kudos!
I got that same error message.
It turned out that the document I tried to open was a pdf-file, not a word document. I changed “.doc” to “.pdf” and it opened.
Worked for me.
Wow awesome bro.. never expected such a silly thing to work but one of the documents i received worked because of your comment… thanks a lot
HELP! My documents were recovered after a virus and some produced the error above, I used the recommened first fix of deleting from my registry. Now a “conversion” box comes up asking how I wish to have my files be read with windows default being the option, MS DOS another etc, but it is all garbage…..
What to do now? The documents WERE not destryoyed by the virus as I had them at one point in time, after “unhiding” them, but my computer was still messed up, so I upgraded to Windows 7 from Vista and they were lost again….Please help me! thank you
Thank you for the tip. It helped a lot
I recovered some “.doc” files I had deleted in error.. I got the files back OK but when I try to open them, I get the error message: “Word Cannot Start the Converter MSWRD632.WPC”. I am able to open all other “.doc” files in my computer. Why not these? Any ideas?
Change the extension to DOCX to open with either Word 2003 or 2010. It’s that simple. You geeks make the simple complicated.
I was able to fix the issue. Thank you!
I followed Steve Shabazian instructions and could opened the file. Thanks Steve!!!
Go to Tools > Options > General (Tab) in Word 2003
And check “Confirm Conversion at Open”
Pozdrav thanks
i am having this problem when i transport my files from a mac at school to my home pc, i tryed both suggestions and got nothing, but what i do get is a duplicate of the file that i can open, so when i look at my usb there is one document that is faded and will not open, and one that is in full color and will open. should this happen?
Excellent!!! Thanks a LOT!
I unregistered mswrd632, then followed this:
Go to Tools > Options > General (Tab) in Word 2003 And check “Confirm Conversion at Open”
Thomas Lewis suggestion worked great. Thanks!!!
SIMPLE:
Change the file extension to -> .docx
and see the magic 🙂
That did it. Simple – thanks Virendra!
That’s the best advice I’ve ever had from one of these forum things!!
Same here – worked like a charm!!
This is old but still occuring on companies that support WXP and W7.
Once you have removed the registry keys, do not tick the tickbox in Word – simply install FileFormatConverters.exe which will load the text converter for Office 2007/2010 documents.
This will allow you to open the files without issues.
i followed steve shabazian steps
its worked thanks lot to steve
I used MS Word 2007. My word files are corrupted due to installing windows again. Now when I open the file it displays message that “Word can’t find the converter mswrd632.” but the new file that are created after installing widows are opened correctly.
what was wrong with files created with MS Word 2007 before windows installation. I used the updated Anti-Virus and there will be no virus there.
Plz help if you can.
I tried all above steps already. plz tell me another possible solution.
thanks
It has helped me a lot. I could namely also open a file by using Thomas Lewis’s suggession. THANKS
Gabor
Hi,
I only read comments #260 to before my response & wanted to let you know my scenario.
I received a doc in gmail – appeared to be “Word doc”. I tried to open it in IE first, it opened fine but when I tried to print that is when I got the “word cannot start the converter mswrd632”.
So not really wanting to play with registry keys – opened Word 2003 – Tools – General (tab) & clicked on “Confirm conversion on open”. (Now I can’t remember if I ran through the attempt to open/print in Chrome before opening Word 2003. I am able to print the doc in Chrome now.
Back to IE. Attempted to open file. Hit Print & now I decide to click “find file to open with” (reason is because I see “.doc.pdf” at end of file & remember another comment that it could’ve been saved incorrectly) so I find “PDF Viewer SE Plus” & I didn’t see regular Adobe in my list so I ran with that choice…..SUCCESS! it allowed me to print!
No solution I found on the ‘net would work. I’m using Office2003 and have the Converters installed. The document I had was a Word2003 with a Word2007 one embedded within it.
However … I found that right-clicking on the embedded 2007 document (then clicking OK every time the error message popped up) I was eventually getting the right-click menu. Selecting “Document Object/Open” from there actually opened the document OK!
My Word and Excel docs are messed up, like they are encrypted.
Have tried almost all these so-called suggestions and none have worked for me. How about something that actually works for a change.
I’ve deleted this and changed that, been on to the Microsoft “Help” pages, forums etc. Nothing.
Easier said than done with the .wpc file. Try again.
Thank you so much – it works perfectly and came easy – not a trial and error story:
Removal of registry key from top of quiry
check what was suggested by Thomas Lewis.