Windows can't open this type of file (.doc)

That's what it claims just now.

It's a .doc file created in Word 97.

I have letters written in Word 97, can edit them etc.

It's more of a curiosity than anything else.

But why does it do this?

Do you have any copy of Office or Word installed on your computer?

Online Document Viewer - Multiple File Formats Viewer

Yes.

Berton said:

The only part of a Windows installation that can open .doc format file is WordPad, in Start, W section, Windows Accessories.

If your installed Word can't open a particular .doc file I've found it most usually is corrupted.

The .doc format is common for Word 97 through Word 2003 but also can be used with Office 2007 and later even though they have the .docx format as default. Office 2010 was the first available as 64-bit as well as 32-bit but both can work with the same file formats. So can the free LibreOffice.

Speaking of LibreOffice, I've had occasions where Microsoft Word was unable to read a corrupted .doc file but LibreOffice Writer was able to read it successfully. Then I saved a copy of the file from LibreOffice and presto! Microsoft Word could read the copy!

I wonder.....just rename it to whatever.doc and try again....