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I've tried using WINE to install Word 2002 (MS Works Suite 2003) but keep getting "serious error". Is there a way to get it to work?

Do you really need Word or is LibreOffice good enough for what you need? That may be the easier path.

If you really need Word 2002 rather than Libre Office or another program, you can consider Cross Over. There's a free trial version, but it costs $60 to buy, and I realize that Linux users aren't used to paying for software.

We're going to need a lot more info to be able to help with this. In the meantime, something behind this page might help you out.

- What versions of Ubuntu and Wine are you using?
- How did you go about setting up Wine, and what other MS-land components (if any) did you put in it?
- Have you done anything else with Wine on this Ubuntu install, and if so have you paid any attention to prefixes/bottles?
- Are you using Winetricks or something similar?
- When does this error message show up?
- Can you tell what program spawned it (Wine versus Office)?
- Is there any other content at all associated with the error message?
- If everything is running in a terminal, does anything interesting show up there?
- What have you tried so far to fix it?

This may be relevant: https://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager. ... n&iId=3514

winehq.org wrote:

Office 2002/XP does not install due to bug 5163. This bug is unlikely to ever be fixed.

The platinum test reports above are from users who had slipstreamed, volume licensed installers that did not ask for a registration key, and hence were not affected by bug 5163. Unless you have such a copy, you will not be able to install Office XP in Wine.

For the determined, there is a hack/patch attached to bug 5163. It will not apply to current Wine; you will have to get the source for 1.0.1, patch it, and pray that it compiles on a modern system (it might not). This hack is unsupported; use at your own risk.

Looking through the entries for other versions of MS Office (https://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager. ... ion&iId=31) it appears that Office 2002 is especially problematic. You're likely to have better luck with pretty much any other version...

Yan wrote:

If you really need Word 2002 rather than Libre Office or another program, you can consider Cross Over. There's a free trial version, but it costs $60 to buy, and I realize that Linux users aren't used to paying for software.

And at that point, you might as install install Virtualbox and an old copy of Windows.

Thanks for all the replies. I'll give Cross Over a try.
I use Libre Office for everything except word processing. Libre's Writer if good for short documents, but it's Normal mode is very annoying for long documents, but that's just a matter of taste. I just prefer Word's Normal display mode.
(Out of curiosity, I wonder how many people are using Linux now because of a dislike for the direction Microsoft is taking it's business model. In the early days MS was a good company that had it's customer's best interest at heart. Now, the people who use Windows are just objects to be exploited in the marketplace to advertisers. Sad.)

OsakaJ wrote:

(Out of curiosity, I wonder how many people are using Linux now because of a dislike for the direction Microsoft is taking it's business model. In the early days MS was a good company that had it's customer's best interest at heart. Now, the people who use Windows are just objects to be exploited in the marketplace to advertisers. Sad.)

For me, the thing that pushed me over the edge was Vista. Started using Ubuntu 8.04 back around 2009 and haven't looked back. I still keep a Windows VM around, but only use it a couple of times a month.

TBH I think a lot of the churn you're seeing right now in terms of business model is a sign of MS trying to stay relevant in an era where the importance of desktop PCs and traditional enterprise file/mail servers is waning. Clearly they need to do *something*... at least they're taking a stab at thinking outside their historical box. Not always successfully (see: Windows Phone), but at least they're trying.

If you want to go the Crossover route, it's on sale through Neowin for $20 right now:

https://deals.neowin.net/sales/crossove ... ne-support

Given that Crossover is based on Wine, and Wine seems to have trouble specifically with Office 2002/XP, I'd look for some sort of confirmation of compatibility before paying for it.

Is there a particular reason you need Office 2002/XP?

You may be able to find Office 2003/2007 for cheap these days and avoid the issue with getting that version running.

Alternately, you could use Office 365 and the online version of Word. That works just about anywhere and it's pretty solid.