old software on xp

NTAdmin

I use an older office suite called Arkose Works. The
underlying software was previously called Perfectworks and
before that Word Perfect Works. I like it because it is
simple and doesn't try to mess up your formatting by
anticipating what you want to do. The simple database
interface is also easy to work with. I also have thousands
of files saved in wpw format.

The software was designed for win95 and I've used it on 98,
win2k and xphomesp1 with no problems. It's also working on
a Vista laptop. However, I'm having problems on two xp pro
boxes, one a gateway PIII-400 sp2 and the other a Dell
P4-2ghz sp3.

I have two problems.
1. I create a new document and save it. I then go to open
it and and a dialog box pops up saying, "An error occured
reading the document."

2. I use the Open File dialog box to open a file created on
another machine. I select a file and click OPEN (or dbl
click the file). The screen flashes and returns to the Open
File dialog box without opening the file.

Both of these problems are intermittent. I can open some
existing files. But once a file is rejected, I cannot open
that one again. What confuses me is that the software works
with no problem on XP Home Sp1. But on the XP Pro machines
it cannot open some existing files. Is there something about
XP Pro that causes this problem? Or might it be from SP2/SP3?

Can someone who knows xp point me in the right direction to
troubleshoot this problem?