Windows 10: Office 97 no longer compatible after 1709 update

Hello All,

I have been using the Word and Excel programs from Office 97 flawlessly until Microsoft's recent update.

I have already tried uninstalling then re-installing.

I've used the Program Compatibility Troubleshooter and the "issues found" lists "incompatible program."

In fact, though, Word will open without issues. It's just the Excel program which tries to open, then reports Excel.exe has stopped working, and sends a report to Microsoft.

Is this Microsoft deliberately rendering the program useless, or, perhaps, a problem with the update?

Any help is appreciated!
Paul

:)

 

Install Office10 after Windows 10 update

If its Office XP Upgrade version, you will need to insert a qualifying Office 2000 or 97 disc or Microsoft Word 2000/97 or Microsoft Works.

Do you know anyone with a disc you could borrow? Strange it would require this though considering it is no longer supported. I remember my Office 2000 SP1 license required it, but it was removed after 2003.

 

Upper screen toolbar in Windows 10 to locate program shortcuts which launch on mouse clicking

Hi,

Thank you for posting your query on Microsoft Community.

This issue might be due to the compatibility of the Office 97 toolbar application with Windows 10.
I suggest you to install the Office 97 toolbar application in compatibility mode and check.
Follow the steps to install the drivers in compatibility mode.

• Download the drivers from the manufacturer’s website.
• Right-click on the installer and click on "Properties".
• Click on the ‘compatibility’ tab and check the box "Run this program in compatibility mode for” and select previous Operating System from the drop down.
• Click on ‘Apply’ and click ‘OK’ and run the file to install it.

Also, I suggest you to check with the Office 97 toolbar manufacturers once for any updates on the software.

Hope this information is helpful. Do let us know if your issue is resolved. For any further query, feel free to contact us.

Thank you.

 

Hi Paul Bacon

Office 2007 and everything older is no longer supported. Doesn't mean it won't work but there is no support. Unfortunately this means they will also not code the OS to ensure compatibility. I'm very surprised that it has worked this long. There are product announcements you can reference. MS supports things generally for 10 years.

If you want a free, excellent alternative download and install Libre Office available at libreoffice.org.

It will handle 99% of the items found in Office.

Ken

Edit: If you have an Outlook.com (hotmail, live or MSN domain) you can use the new Office products online.

 

The online version of Office is great to use, and also Google Drive. Go to office.com and/or googledrive.com.

 

I think you still need an Outlook.com (or other names) for Office or a gmail account to use googledrive.

I like the office.com link, didn't know I could access there as well. Thanks

 

Thank you for your explanations and suggestions. I'm sorry to lose the programs but I'll look into your suggestions for replacement.

Thanks for the help!

 

The online versions are very good but you have to be online. Libre Office is not exactly the same but a very nice product.

 

You can use Google Drive in offline mode.

 

I learned a couple of things today. Thanks for posting.

 

No problem

.

 

Another contribution to this thread ... I still use Excel 2003, and it works fine for me after the 1709 update.

 

Why aren't you using the online version of Office? It's free, and it's the latest version.

 

Office may not install (NTVDM seems to be required for ACME.exe) but many of the component programs still run, although some may have security concerns.
Just opening both Excel and Word (and Powerpoint) from the Office files of the Office 97 CD copied to a folder on the network still works on Build 17040 x86 the same as it always has in Windows 10 (some warning about StdOLE.dll not found, but that has not caused a problem with that old technology).

Installing Office 97 may now be a problem, since much of it is now deprecated, whereas old .doc and .xls format files seem to work as they ever did. With Office 2007 File Converters, .docx and .xlsx may also be used by 97 Office components. Office 97 hooks into the Windows 10 printing system the same as ever, making it easy to print PDF files or to any modern printer, local or networked, with the same quality as more up-to-date Office suites. I had no problem on 17040 x86 today:





Any call to WinHelp/Winhlp32, of course will not work unless the XP Winhlp32 executable workaround has been used, which has been discussed at length on the General support forum here on TF.





postscript: Still running fine in 64-bit FCU 16299.64 too:

 

Hi there

If you still want to use some of these programs run them in a Virtual Machine --that way you can continue to use them indefinitely. Run them say in an XP VM or whatever --they'll continue to work just fine and a VM can share HDD's with the Host system too.

Cheers
jimbo