My older Microsoft Word is not going to work on my new Windows 11 Computer.

snapshot 2022 · Nov 15, 2023

All the way to Windows 10 I was able to use my old Windows Word it came as Microsoft Office with a computer in 1999, have been able to install it on all my computers and I really like how it works.

Now I decided to buy the new Microsoft Word 365 to use on my new Laptop running windows 11, but it does not work the same as my older Microsoft Word.

So I install my older Word but it’s not working as on my other older systems but I did get it working and i created a document, then the real trouble began I was unable to save the file and then could not even close the window with clicking on the X to close it.

The only way to close it is to shut Laptop down.

Guess I will have to get used to the new Microsoft Word even as Microsoft has made it not as simple to use as my older Word.

MisterEd · Nov 15, 2023

Was your old version of Office, Office 97? If so it is really old now.

Did you uninstall Microsoft 365 before you installed the old version? If not then there may be a conflict.

Which Microsoft 365 subscription did you get?

Microsoft 365 Family for $99.99/year
Microsoft 365 Personal for $69.99/year

Microsoft changed how Office looked starting with Office 2007 by switching from menus to ribbons. Is that what you don't like.

I have gone through many versions of Office since 1995 including Office 95, 97, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2019, and 2021. I now mainly use Office 2019 and Office 2021.

cereberus · Nov 15, 2023

snapshot 2022 said:
All the way to Windows 10 I was able to use my old Windows Word it came as Microsoft Office with a computer in 1999, have been able to install it on all my computers and I really like how it works.

Now I decided to buy the new Microsoft Word 365 to use on my new Laptop running windows 11, but it does not work the same as my older Microsoft Word.

So I install my older Word but it’s not working as on my other older systems but I did get it working and i created a document, then the real trouble began I was unable to save the file and then could not even close the window with clicking on the X to close it.

The only way to close it is to shut Laptop down.

Guess I will have to get used to the new Microsoft Word even as Microsoft has made it not as simple to use as my older Word.

I would not say new versions of word are that different to older versions.

By and large, it is really only the gui that has changed the most.

In the end, it is only a familiarity issue - there are loads of online guides.

Why not go through MS's tutorials e.g.

Word for Windows training - Microsoft Support

Training: Watch and learn how to use Word in Windows. Explore Microsoft Word training guides, articles, and how-to videos.

support.microsoft.com

antspants · Nov 15, 2023

Like everyone has said, you just need to figure out where Microsoft has moved icons and functions to. It can be annoying but I much proffer the new. The taskbar is editable and can be exported for backup.

snapshot 2022 · Nov 15, 2023

MisterEd said:
Was your old version of Office, Office 97? If so it is really old now.

Did you uninstall Microsoft 365 before you installed the old version? If not then there may be a conflict.

Which Microsoft 365 subscription did you get?

Microsoft 365 Family for $99.99/year

Microsoft 365 Personal for $69.99/year

Microsoft changed how Office looked starting with Office 2007 by switching from menus to ribbons. Is that what you don't like.

I have gone through many versions of Office since 1995 including Office 95, 97, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2019, and 2021. I now mainly use Office 2019 and Office 2021.

I went with the $69 personal don't think it was just for a year, thought i bought it and own it maybe i have not.
No i kept the word 365 on laptop and am getting used to how it makes me do things as it wants.
Then trying to uninstall the older word uninstall program would not allow it, i had to do as i have many time over the years just remove the files, but as always some just can't be removed.

like some small bits of metal that got stuck in my shoulder and leg years ago in Vietnam, The Doc told me some will work their way out over the years you will get used to it. Ha! Ha! Yeah you do.

snapshot 2022 · Nov 15, 2023

cereberus said:
I would not say new versions of word are that different to older versions.

By and large, it is really only the gui that has changed the most.

In the end, it is only a familiarity issue - there are loads of online guides.

Why not go through MS's tutorials e.g.

Word for Windows training - Microsoft Support

Training: Watch and learn how to use Word in Windows. Explore Microsoft Word training guides, articles, and how-to videos.

support.microsoft.com

Yeah maybe i need to go to Microsoft Word school, but thanks for your advice.

snapshot 2022 · Nov 15, 2023

antspants said:
Like everyone has said, you just need to figure out where Microsoft has moved icons and functions to. It can be annoying but I much proffer the new. The taskbar is editable and can be exported for backup.

Sure i will do a lot of figuring and more figuring i am betting.

RD Mercer · Nov 15, 2023

cereberus said:
I would not say new versions of word are that different to older versions.

By and large, it is really only the gui that has changed the most.

I agree, there’s really not much of a difference,
I still have the old MS Office 2K3, and still use it on my windows 7 machine I really don’t see much difference.

idgat · Nov 15, 2023

A lot could also depend on the device. I had MS Office XP running on an old Dell housebrick laptop (2GB RAM) with a "forced" (Rufus) installation of Windows 11 (novelty value only)

MisterEd · Nov 15, 2023

snapshot 2022 said:
I went with the $69 personal don't think it was just for a year, thought i bought it and own it maybe i have not.
No i kept the word 365 on laptop and am getting used to how it makes me do things as it wants.
Then trying to uninstall the older word uninstall program would not allow it, i had to do as i have many time over the years just remove the files, but as always some just can't be removed.

like some small bits of metal that got stuck in my shoulder and leg years ago in Vietnam, The Doc told me some will work their way out over the years you will get used to it. Ha! Ha! Yeah you do.

You didn't say what version of Office your old one was it could have been one of these:

Microsoft Office 97 was release in November 1996.
Microsoft Office 2000 was release in June 1999.

I suggest you take the time to get used to the new version of Word. I had to do that when I went from Word 2003 to Word 2007. The ribbon was intimidating when I started using Word 2007. Eventually I got used to it and now like it.

Here is a tip. Since your screen space is valuable you might want to hide the ribbon once you get used to it. That way you have more space available to see your document.

If you have Microsoft 365 Personal it is a subscription so you have to pay for it every year (or month). If you have more than one computer you can put it on up to 5 computers.

Microsoft 365 Personal is $69.99/year

For one person
Use on up to 5 devices simultaneously
1 TB (1,000 GB) of secure cloud storage
Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote with offline access and premium features

I have Office 2019 Pro Plus and Office 2021 Pro Plus which are not subscriptions so I only had to pay one time. They only get rare updates. Microsoft 365 subscriptions do have the advantage in that they have frequent updates.

snapshot 2022 · Nov 15, 2023

idgat said:
A lot could also depend on the device. I had MS Office XP running on an old Dell housebrick laptop (2GB RAM) with a "forced" (Rufus) installation of Windows 11 (novelty value only)

Well as long as one can still use an older program and it does what is needed i say wonderful.

Try3 · Nov 15, 2023

snapshot 2022 said:
i kept the word 365 on laptop and am getting used to how it makes me do things as it wants.
Then trying to uninstall the older word uninstall program would not allow it

There's advice on running different Office versions on the same computer in
Install and use different versions of Office on the same PC - MSSupport

Install earlier versions of Office first

So I'd suggest
1 uninstalling both versions, then
2 checking in Settings, Apps lists that you have uninstalled every version of Office, then
3 reinstalling Office97 / Word97, then
4 reinstalling Office 365.

Manually uninstall Office apps - OfficeSupport
Uninstall Office from a PC - Office Support
Download and install or reinstall Office - MSSupport

You might usefully make a new system image before each step and after the whole job's done.

Best of luck,
Denis

snapshot 2022 · Nov 15, 2023

MisterEd said:
I suggest you take the time to get used to the new version of Word. I had to do that when I went from Word 2003 to Word 2007. The ribbon was intimidating when I started using Word 2007. Eventually I got used to it and now like it.

Here is a tip. Since your screen space is valuable you might want to hide the ribbon once you get used to it. That way you have more space available to see your document.

If you have Microsoft 365 Personal it is a subscription so you have to pay for it every year (or month). If you have more than one computer you can put it on up to 5 computers.

Microsoft 365 Personal is $69.99/year

For one person

Use on up to 5 devices simultaneously

1 TB (1,000 GB) of secure cloud storage

Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote with offline access and premium features

I have Office 2019 Pro Plus and Office 2021 Pro Plus which are not subscriptions so I only had to pay one time. They only get rare updates. Microsoft 365 subscriptions do have the advantage in that they have frequent updates.

If thats a fact i am glad i have two other computers running my old Word from 1997, so i will just do all my writing on them, most of the time i just make a document copy it and paste it into an e-mail message.

Try3 · Nov 15, 2023

snapshot 2022 said:
If thats a fact

It is. Office 365 is a subscription not an outright purchase.
- You can carry on using your Office 97 / Word 97 year after year
- You can carry on using Office 365 only for as long as you keep paying the subscription.

Since you've already paid for a year's worth of Office 365, do consider the uninstall-reinstall procedure I posted above [#12] then using whichever one you feel like each time for the next year. You can then cancel renewal of Office 365 if you want to and then uninstall it.

I am still running a component of Office97 in my Windows 11 and experience no problems with it.

All the best,
Denis