The file not recognised message indicates that you do not have an
application on the XP machine that understands the file type. I assume you
are just double-clicking the file. Instead, open the application that you
expect to use for that type of file, (eg, WORD) and use the File/Open menu
option to access the files.

When you have confirmed that the files aren't really corrupted you can
associate the filename extension (DOC, JPG etc) with the appropriate
application.
--
Jeff Richards
MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
"Actual Food" Actual wrote in message
...
I recently copied some files from my old Win98 PC onto a my new WinXP PC,
but
I cannot open any of the files (doc/jpg/txt etc.) it just says 'Invalid
file
format' or 'file not recognized'.
I've tried copying via floppy, mem stick, and putting the drive as a slave
in my new pc, but nothing works! (The files are fine when I open them on
the
old pc)
I also tried converting the volume to NTFS, but no luck - any ideas
anyone?