Yes, JLatham, one computer. I recently purchased a Dell and Excel 2003 was
already installed as part of the software offering. I had Office 97 and just
wanted to install Powerpoint. What a mess! Because I needed to retreive my
business spreadsheet quickly, I ended up using my template and reinstalled
all the data needed after loading my backup copy. I was lucky and only had
to retype one day's worth of data. The program (Excel) had no problem
opening and just wouldn't open the xls file I needed. ... kept saying a
version of that file was already opened????? One thing that really confused
me: I backup everyday to a CD-RW and a 3 1/2 floppy. The 'now useless' 3
1/2 is what saved my butt. The CD-RW backup wouldn't open and said it was a
read only. That was just an added issue to my real problem. Thanks for the
reply. It's the first time I posted a question and I didn't know what to
expect for a response. I was in a panic, for sure!

"JLatham" wrote:

Are you talking about just one computer here? I think you are, but want to
make sure.

Can you open Excel at all? I ask because you said "Excel 2003 was..." the
operative word being 'was'.

Sounds to me like you have a couple of options: Reinstall Office 2003 with
Excel 2003 and hopefully regain control of Excel and .xls files, or

Unistall the 97 stuff AND the 2003 stuff. Wipe out the Microsoft Office
folder under My Programs. Install the full Office 97 suite, choosing a
folder name like Office97 instead of the default when you do install it.
Then install Office 2003 again, accepting the default installation locations.
Generally they can reside on the same machine in some kind of harmony if
you'll keep the paths separated like that. The key is that the older version
of Office (applies also if you're trying to get multiple bootable versions of
Windows onto one machine) must be installed FIRST followed by newer versions
in sequence.

One thing to look into would be to get a copy of VirtualPC 2004 (free from
Microsoft) and set up a virtual machine to put your Office 97 package in.
You'll need a licensed copy of an operating system for the virtual machine
also. Then you could have your 'real' machine running Office 2003 and the
virtual machine available for use when you need Office 97 tools and
applications and they definitely won't interfere with one another when set up
like that.

"chughes" wrote:

I installed powerpoint from my Office 97 cd and now I can't open my existing
workbook in Excel 2003. Excel 2003 was installed on my new computer. I have
uninstalled Powerpoint from the Office 97 and did a system restore to the
time before this installation. I don't know how to retreive my workbook! "-(