Problems with .doc files, how to recover them?

**Giaguara** · #1 June 21st, 2004, 07:51 AM

I have a problem with a few MS Office files. They have been created with MS Office, Windows version of it, around 1997-99. I know for sure at some point some of the files had a macro virus (for Windows), but as far as I know, the viruses were removed from the files, and the files I have now should be leggible and clean.

Anytime I try to open these docs, the system freezes for 5 minutes, then "TextEdit has unexpectedly quit". The same happens when I try to open the files with AppleWorks, SubEthaEdit ... anything I could imagine to deal with text files.
OpenOffice hangs with the file forever, and does not open it, and all the other applications crash.

I have so far managed to open them succesfully only with Vi and Vim, but they loose a lot of the formatting and mistake every single accented charachter. A file of 120 KB of edited text shortens to about 4 KB. What I see with Vim is not the full file, just random pieces of text in it.

How can I extract the full text contents of the files? I don't mind if I have to use Vim, emacs etc to browse them, as long as I'll be able to recover the full text contents in them.

What is making these files crash? Can they still have a problem with the macros?

Last crash report attached...

Zammy-Sam · #2 June 21st, 2004, 08:00 AM

If the file content is not somehow secret, you could send me and I try it for you. Have the feeling it should be possible. I would try it with my current office x and the new office 2004 demo and finally I have OfficeXP and of course a bunch of other editors for mac and windows.
If I got you right, you have no ms word. You can adjust the security level in ms word to very high and macros will be blocked. Maybe this is the prob?!