Windows 10: unreadable .doc files - how to open them correctly, offline, for free?

I tried to view some documents in Wordpad, and they couldn't be displayed properly.
since .doc is a Word format, I tried Word, but to my horror I see that I have to upload every file I want to use to OneDrive in order to be allowed to look at it myself ... what fresh hell is this? I knew surveillance capitalism was getting out of hand, but ****ing yikes!! anyway, I clicked yes and still it wouldn't respond and actually display my file anywhere. -- in any case this is not a solution

on Win ME I was able to write and save .doc files freely and easily in Wordpad.
on Win 7 I was able to open old Wordpad .docs in a 'viewer'(-only) program and copy-paste content into a new Wordpad RTF to save them in a current format, converting files on an as-needed basis.
on Win 10 I can't even merely open them correctly anymore.
(what I'd consider a solution is restoring the function I had on Windows ME and Windows 7: 1. correct formatting. 2. offline access to my files. 3. free access to my files)

- Wordpad can, after a fashion, display the bulk of the raw text, but I lose some of the beginning and all of the formatting.

- DOC Viewer Free from the Microsoft store just does the loading symbol then crashes when it tries to open the file

- tenforums threads I've found on this issue only offer solutions for .DOCX format, or provide defunct links to old compatibility software that may or may not have been useful.

a third-party offline DOC to RTF converter would do ...if there's one that works!

- MultiDoc Converter batch converts and says 'ok' to every file, but only RTF and TXT files are converted, .doc files are created as a set of identically sized blank documents.

- Doxillion Document Converter fails: "not a valid .doc file"

I don't see where I can get any properties details that says which kind of .doc file it is, what it was compatible with.

:)

 

Word docs unreadable

Had been working on Word earlier. Came back to open up a document and couldn't do so. Then found out that every Word doc I clicked on that there was a similar problem.

I get the following message:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\WINWORD.EXE

The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable.

 

Mark PDFs, images, and Office files as offline in Google Drive Beta

Source: https://gsuiteupdates.googleblog.com...nary-beta.html

 

How can I get Office 2019 (NOT 365) to open files in offline folders when not connected to the Internet?

Hi,



Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.



Is your computer connected to any Domain Network?



I suggest you to follow the below steps to remove the offline files and clearing the cache and check if you are able to access the files if not connected to the internet.



Before trying the below steps, I suggest you to take a backup of all the files in the Offline Folder.

• Open Sync Center > Click on Manage Offline Files on the left and select
  Disable Offline Files > Restart the computer once.
  
• Then, click on the Start Menu > Search for
  Command Prompt > Right-click on Command Prompt > Click on
  Run As Administrator.
  
• Once the Command Prompt is up and running, type the following commands one by one and hit
  Enter.
  

cd c:\Windows

takeown /f csc /r /a /d y > NUL

icacls csc /grant AdministratorsF) /t /l /q

• Then, delete the folders under C:\Windows\CSC >
  Restart the computer once > Enable Offline Files again and check if you are able to access the files.
  

For reference, you may also refer Can't open
files offline when you use Offline Files and Windows Information Protection.



If your computer is connected to a Domain Network and If you are still facing the same issue after trying the above troubleshooting steps, then I suggest you to post your query in
IT Pro TechNet forums, where we have support professionals who are well equipped with the knowledge
on Offline Files.