Office 97 / Windows 2000 Compatability

Im having trouble referencing Office 97 objects in Windows 2000. I'm in Word 97 and trying to set my object appWord to equal a new word application. My code is:

Dim appWord As Word.Application

Dim docCP As Word.Document

Set appWord = New Word.Application

Set docCP = appWord.Documents.Open(OutputDirectory & FileName, False, False, False)

However on running I get a prompt telling me the document can not be found. This code errors on the line Set appWord = New Word.Application not where the application sets the filepath and name.

I get a similar problem when using he same method for Excel only the message I get is around a missing DLL but its doesn't tell me which one.

If anyone could shed any light on this id be extremely greatful.

Cheers,

AndyCG