While the updates may seem minor, unanticipated system changes can wreak havoc with complex business computing environments.

A recently released service pack for Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT)’s Office 2003 software suite renders inaccessible files saved in some older formats, including some previous versions of Microsoft Word, according to a support bulletin issued by the software maker.

The bulletin states that Microsoft Office 2003, Service Pack 3, blocks a number of file formats — including Microsoft Word 97 for Windows and Microsoft Word 98 for Macintosh.

Also blocked are file formats found in some older versions of Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint, Lotus Notes, and Corel’s Quattro spreadsheet and Draw programs.

Full story: informationweek.com