Cannot open files - Please Help.

zziplex

Hello,

Firstly im a dope when it comes to tech so go easy.

I knew a few weeks back my old laptop was on the way out so i saved all files (microsoft works word processor) onto a usb stick, Went out last week and got a new laptop and saved the files from the usb stick into the documents folder. My problem now is i cant open them on this new laptop, I have tried to open them via wordpad and notepad but they wont open. There saved as wps files at the moment is that why they wont open? Actually they are opening but its a load of random numbers, letters and rectangular boxes is all thats showing up.

On another issue i cant activate my free trial of microsoft office so trying to open these files in that way cant be tried.

Please help and thanks in advance.

Capt'n Midnight

you need a compatible program to read them

there are different versions of works - earlier versions may not open newer files

be very careful about spending money on microsoft office - I've this feeling that they dropped support for some old files and may be works ?
cba checking it out


Word viewer should allow you to see view the files as read only
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=4


www.libreoffice.org should edit .wps files - you may have to choose custom install and choose converters

bonzodog2

If your old laptop is still working, see if Works will save the docs as a different file type, e.g. Word97 or *.rtf

johnfar_ie

I'm pretty sure OpenOffice will open these files as well

Torqay

OpenOffice does not support Microsoft Works.

If you don't have access to a computer with Microsoft Works, you can use some online conversion service, e.g. ZamZar to convert your WPS files to RTF or DOC. (Note: be careful with the cloud and confidential documents.)

FreeViewer can also open WPS files. FreeViewer has some basic conversion capabilities, though I wouldn't know if they cover WPS. Worth a try before spending money on MS Office anyway.

zziplex

Thank you very much folks for all the speedy replys, I spent the last few hours typing like a madman to make up for lost time/work.

I might just might get the old laptop going .... Last time i tried it took 30 min.

Im out of trouble for now anyway so ill try all the above stuff to retrieve the other files.

Thanks again!