Off-Topic -- Apparently intractable problem with MSWord

[BrennerNY@xxxxxxxx]

  I apologize for taking the list's time with a non-Xywrite question. But
there's a chance that one of you can shed some light on this problem:
  Several weeks ago, my computer froze when I attempted to open a Word
document on a Zip disk sent to me by a researcher with whom I am working.
  The messages on the screen: "Error 1035 - Templates is not a short file
name."
  And "The system is dangerous low in resources. WinWord is not responding."
  I rebooted and tried again several times with the same result.
  The files I was opening had originally be MAC files, which the researcher
had translated for p/c so I could read them. I had opened several without
difficulty before disaster hit.
  Since then, I can do anything on my computer except open any Word
document.
  I write for a living and am computer-illiterate, but my computer guru has
worked for hours to no avail trying to figure out what went wrong. He has
taken the machine into his shop, run virus checks (finding nothing), deleted
and reinstalled MS Word, and actually got it to function briefly, went to bed
thinking it was fixed, and woke up the next day to find it broken again. He
says this makes him think it's a virus of some kind -- but he's never
encountered one like it, nor have the people he has consulted.
  Everything else seems fine, including Xywrite -- which thank God is what
I work in. And I am using only a fraction of the hard drive capacity. But
everyone with whom I communicate professionally sends me copy in Word. I
can't function very long without it.
  The only remaining recourse I'm aware of is to remove and reinstall the
operating system, which is Windows 98. I haven't yet tried that and naturally
I'd rather avoid it if possible.
  Has any of you heard of anything like this before?
 
  Lynn Brenner
  (718) 855 2179