old software on xp

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?