When you open a Word file by double-clicking it in Windows Explorer or by using a desktop shortcut, you may receive the following error message: The error message does not appear if you open the file in Word by using the Open command on the File menu or the Open button on the Standard toolbar.

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The Windows registry information for the Microsoft Word Document registered file type is incorrect.

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To resolve this problem, use any of the following methods.

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Method 1: Re-register the Word Program by Running Setup /Y /R

To run Setup with the /y /r switch, follow these steps:

1.	Insert the Word or Office CD into the CD-ROM drive. If you installed Word or Office from disks, insert the Setup Disk 1 in your computer's disk drive.
2.	Click Start, and then click Run.
3.	In the Open box, type the following: drive:\setup /y /r where drive is the letter of the drive that contains the CD or Setup Disk 1.
4.	Click OK.
5.	Click Reinstall.

This re-registers Word (and all Office programs, if you run Office Setup).

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Method 2: Install the Latest Update

Although the latest Word 97 (Office 97) update does not contain a fix for this problem, the Setup program will correct the problem with the registered file types. For additional information about the latest update for Word 97, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

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Method 3: Use the /Unregserver and /Regserver Startup Switches

To correct this problem, unregister the Microsoft Word Document file type and then re-register it.

Unregister the Microsoft Word Document

To unregister the Microsoft Word Document file type, follow these steps:

1.	Click Start, and then click Run.
2.	In the Run dialog box, click Browse.
3.	In the Browse dialog box, locate and select the Winword.exe file, and then click Open. NOTE: By default, the Winword.exe file is located in the following folder: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office
4.	In the Run dialog box, the Open box should now contain the path to the Winword.exe file. Click in the Open box, and move the insertion point to the end of the path statement. After the closing quotation mark, type a space, type /unregserver, and then click OK. The path statement in the Open box should now look similar to the following: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Winword.exe" /unregserver The Microsoft Word Document registered file type will be removed from the Microsoft Windows Registry and the Registered file types list (in Windows Explorer, click Folder Options on the Tools menu, and then click the File Types tab). No message is displayed during or at the end of this process.

Re-register the Microsoft Word Document

To re-register the Microsoft Word Document file type, follow these steps:

1.	Click Start, and then click Run.
2.	In the Run dialog box, click Browse.
3.	In the Browse dialog box, locate and select the Winword.exe file, and then click Open. NOTE: By default, the Winword.exe file is located in the following folder: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office
4.	In the Run dialog box, the Open box should now contain the path to the Winword.exe file. Click in the Open box, and move the insertion point to the end of the path statement. After the closing quotation mark, type a space, type /regserver, and then click OK. The path statement in the Open box should now look similar to the following: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Winword.exe" /regserver The Microsoft Word Document registered file type will be added back to the Microsoft Windows Registry and the Registered file types list (in Windows Explorer, click Folder Options on the Tools menu, and then click the File Types tab). No message is displayed during or at the end of this process.

For additional information about the Word startup switches, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

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Method 4: Remove the Microsoft Word Document File Type

To remove the Microsoft Word Document registered file type, follow these steps:

1.	Quit Microsoft Word, if it is running.
2.	Right-click Start, and click to select Explore from the shortcut menu that appears.
3.	On the View menu, click Folder Options (Options if you are using Microsoft Windows NT).
4.	Click the File Types tab.
5.	Select DOC Microsoft Word Document, and then click Remove.
6.	Restart Word. When you restart Word, the program will be re-registered. NOTE: You may need to restart Windows to update your Word icons.

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Method 5: Edit the Registry to Remove the "%1" Parameter

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 edit the Windows registry, follow these steps:

1.	Click Start, and then click Run.
2.	In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.
3.	Locate and select the following registry key: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Word.Document.8\shell\open\command If you find that the (Default) data string looks like this: "D:\PROGRAM FILES\MICROSOFT OFFICE\OFFICE\winword.exe" /n "%1" you should change the string to look like this: "D:\PROGRAM FILES\MICROSOFT OFFICE\OFFICE\Winword.exe" /n To change the (Default) data string, follow these steps: a. Click to select (Default). b. On the Edit menu, click Modify. c. In the Value data box, delete the "%1" and then click OK. d. On the Registry menu, click Exit.

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