XP and Office 97 compatability

I bought a laptop 18 months ago with XP. Worked fine
until 6 weeks ago when I had a unmountable boot volume
error. Repaired the system and was ok for 2 weeks when I
had a kernel data input error and windows could not be
repaired - it was sent back to the manufacturer. On
return, the first thing I did was install Office 97. A
kernel data input error occurred and then another
unmountable boot volume. My manufacturer says that it is
probably due to XP and Office 97 having incompatability
problems (although other ebgineers at the same firm
dismiss this). Does anyone have any answers as to if this
is the problem and therefore if I need to upgrade my
Office software?
Thanks for your help
EK