I'm in the process of setting up two donated computers for a non-profit, and am encountering a strange error on one of them. Both are set up as stand-alone systems (non-networked) at this time. Background: Both systems were wiped clean, then new copies of XP pro were installed successfully. I then installed an old copy of Office 97 on each, successfully in both cases. Finally I loaded several documents and spreadsheets from their previous old system. Problem: When I open any Word or Excel file on one of these systems, it gives an error msg indicating this "file is already in use" and "would I like to rename it?" I've checked the Task Mgr and can verify there are no other copies running. This does not occur on the other system. It's a simple process to cancel out of that msg and continue on, but I know this is going to cause considerable consternation among the neophyte users! What is causing the system to believe there is another copy of these files already in use, and how do I set it straight? Thanks! -Doug