MS Word

Install Word on Both OSes in a Dual-Boot Configuration

The Problem:

My PC dual-boots Windows XP and Windows 2000 Professional. I want to use the same copy of Word from each OS, rather than installing it twice.

The Solution:

You can do this, but there are a few restrictions. First, each OS should be installed on a separate partition. If the OSes share a partition, you may find that Windows exhibits what Microsoft terms "irregular" behavior. Second, the partitions must normally use the same formateither NTFS (which is best) or FAT32. If one partition is NTFS and the other is FAT32, you'll probably need to install Office separately on each partition.

WHAT'S A PARTITION?

A partition is a logical division of a physical drive. You typically decide the partition structure of a drive when installing an operating system, but if you're running Windows XP or Windows 2000, you can also create new partitions (or delete existing partitions) by using the Disk Management tool. (To run Disk Management, choose Start » Run, type diskmgmt.msc, and press Enter.)

Disk Management can't resize existing partitions without deleting them first. To resize an existing partition, use either a third-party tool, such as Symantec's PartitionMagic (http://www.symantec.com) or V Communications' Partition Commander (http://www.v-com.com), or an alternative solution such as the Knoppix distribution of Linux, which comes on a bootable CD.

Install All Necessary Graphics Filters

The Problem:

JPEG must be the most widely used picture format on the planet, given that almost every digital camera produces JPEGs of one sort or other. But Word won't let me put a single JPEG in my documents. It doesn't even seem to like GIFs. Every other word processor I've used can handle GIFs and JPEGs! Did I just get out of the wrong side of the bed this morning?

The Solution:

It sounds like the graphics filters you need aren't installed or are corrupted. Choose Start » Control Panel » Add or Remove Programs, click the Office item, and click the Change button. In the Office Setup Wizard, choose the Add or Remove Features option. In Office 2003, check the "Choose advanced customization of applications" box. Expand the Office Shared Features category and the Converters and Filters category underneath it. Click the Graphics Filters item and choose "Run all from My Computer" from the drop-down menu. (Alternatively, expand the Graphics Filters category and choose the individual graphics filters you need.)