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Corrupted .wps file not fixed by conversion etc

Anonymous
2014-07-03T23:08:35+00:00

Hi all,

This is a pretty desperate situation. I have a 100-page script draft that was in .wps due to only recently switching over my documents to my newer computer. I had saved the file successfully in Microsoft Word under this extension with no issue numerous times. However, tonight I saved the file, forced shut down on my computer (due to the mouse freezing) and restarted only to find the document was completely corrupted -- just one big, 100-page long paragraph of squares.

I have done everything I can think of: converted into plain text, converted using LibreOffice, used the "recover text from all file types" option, looked for temp files (although how thoroughly I am not sure), used online convertors (which always say 'error' on this document for some reason -- perhaps something to do with the corruption?), downloaded Microsoft Works Convertor (which my version of Microsoft Office will not run, most likely due to it being 'inactivated' as I cannot find the product activation code). Nothing works. 

Is there anything I can do at all? This document is vitally important to me. I am running Windows 8 and an inactivated version of Microsoft Office 2013. 

(UPDATE: It seems Microsoft Word will now not open ANY .wps file -- all are corrupted to a certain degree. What could have caused this?)

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  1. Anonymous
    2014-07-04T17:49:14+00:00

    Hi Emma,

    Let me help you recover the content from the .wps extension file.

    You may perform repair of the document following the steps below.

    • Open Word
    • Click File, go to Open
    • Select Computer, Browse
    • Click the drop down arrow on the Open button and choose Open and Repair.
    • Browse and open the document.

    Let us know if the suggestions provided is helpful. Do get back to us if you need further assistance.

    Thank you.

    4 people found this answer helpful.
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  2. Doug Robbins - MVP - Office Apps and Services 322.9K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2014-07-05T04:20:06+00:00

    Maybe your problem is that you have not activated Office.  Why don't you do that?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
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  3. Doug Robbins - MVP - Office Apps and Services 322.9K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2014-07-04T23:37:14+00:00

    If you send me an earlier version of the file (one before you opened it and it became corrupted), and also the latest file, I will see if I can do anything with it.

    1 person found this answer helpful.
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  4. Anonymous
    2014-07-05T00:33:45+00:00

    Hi,

    Thanks so much for the offer of assistance; however, I do not have an earlier version of the file, as unfortunately I deleted all my back-up documents to free up space (an action I now thoroughly regret!) so am currently left with only the corrupted file. 

    Would you have any further knowledge that may be relevant to the new issue I am facing regarding the installation/use of the Microsoft Works Convertor 6 to 9? The details are above in my reply to Aravinda. 

    Thanks again, much appreciated.

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  5. Anonymous
    2014-07-05T00:25:54+00:00

    Hi,

    Thanks so much. I followed the steps you suggested, however I receive this error upon opening the document (which comes out completely blank): 

    "Word cannot start the convertor Wks9Pxy". I imagine this is the Works 6 to 9 convertor available on the Microsoft website which I have downloaded.

    Hitting "Show Help" shows the following information:

    This message can appear if:

    The converter was not properly registered.[I downloaded the converter from the Microsoft Website, so it was registered in that sense. However, my Office is not "activated" as explained above -- could this have an effect?]

    The converter was inadvertently deleted without removing the registry information.[Unsure how this could have happened]

    The converter support files are corrupt.[Unsure how this could have happened]

    The converter installation was removed and the uninstall tool did not finish clearing the registry settings.[I did not uninstall the converter]

    The hard disk is damaged where the converter files were stored.

    Regarding the installation of the converter, after hitting "agree to terms", the window closed and did not appear to proceed to any installation window. However, the fact that Office recognises there IS a converter available on the system suggests to me that it must be installed. Any advice on this would be much appreciated!

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