Can't open 1.0 projects in CS3 (no subtitles)

Question

After working with Encore 1.0 for forever and a day, I finally got PPro CS3 with its accompanying Encore (running on Windows XP SP2). But I cannot open any Encore 1.0 projects. Trying to open my current project, I get this complaint:
>Encore cannot open Encore 1.0 projects. Open and save the project in Encore 2.0 or earlier, then try again.
A search turned up
this Knowledge Base article. It claims the reason is subtitles, but I have no subtitles in this project (in fact, I have only used subtitles once ever, and this was definitely not that project).
As a test, I tried opening various older project files. In a couple instances Encore CS3 gave the same error as above, but most of the time it simply crashed, with the following "details":
>AppName: adobe encore.exe  AppVer: 3.0.0.268  ModName: sonicauthorcore.dll
ModVer: 3.0.0.268  Offset: 004e4e20
The message or crash would not occur immediately, but after the several-second process of "preparing transcode settings", etc. that occurs in a small window with a progress bar, if you know what I'm talking about. So it seems like it doesn't like something about the assets it is processing, but I don't know what, because all these projects are different, and most were started from scratch as fresh projects, with video and menus created independently from other projects (some menus created within Encore 1.0, others using Photoshop CS2; some video streams brought in as AVI, others as MPEG2-DVD).
Ironically, if I try to open the only project I have that actually
does have subtitles, Encore CS3 is the most civil, and in theory it might even successfully open the project. It says:
>This project contains subtitles in an older format. Opening the project will convert the subtitles to the new format, but the subtitles will no longer be compatible with the version of the software used the create them. Would you like to continue opening the project and perform this conversion?
I chose not to "continue" until I know more about why Encore is crashing, because it might convert the subtitles and then crash! But one unique thing about that project (besides the existence of subtitles) is that the solitary video stream is a VOB file from a DVD previously burned, rather than the more typical MPEG2 or AVI. I have no idea if any of this information matters, but I'm telling you everything I know.
Does anyone know what might be causing the problem, particularly with non-subtitled projects, and/or a solution or workaround? I own no version in between 1.0 and CS3, so I can't save it 1.5 or 2.0, which is the only other action suggested by the KB article besides removing my non-existent subtitles...

Answer 1

In followup:
This is a distillation of the process for converting a Project from a previous version of Encore to a newer version remotely.
The problem: a user had Encore 1.0 and needed to get the Project into CS4. They did not have any intermediate version of Encore. The Encore 1.0 Project was shipped to me, to convert it in Encore 2.0, so that CS4 could deal with it. Because the computers were a few thousand miles apart, we had to do more than just Open the Project in Encore 2.0. This would be all that would be required if the versions were on the same machine, or over a LAN and just in different offices.
The entire folder structure is required. The Project will be in a folder (Ill call this the Mother Folder) with the .NCOR file, and then a series of Child Folders below in the hierarchy. The exact names and the exact folder hierarchy is extremely important, as is the placement of some of the necessary files. The name of the .NCOR and the first level of Child Folders must match exactly. The structure is the one we see with each Encore Project:
Mother Folder with .NCOR
Child Folder Level One (same exact name as .NCOR with the
two files:
i ProjectPrefs2.xml &
i ProjectWorkspace.xml
Child Folder Level Two Cache with file mlf.cache.v7"
Child Folder Level Two Sources
Child Folder Level Three Menus with Menu .PSD files
In this case, the folder structure, with Menus and all files, except Video and Audio Assets were shipped to me. All Transcode files, etc. were also omitted.
Once the .NCOR (older version) has been Opened in the later version, a Save_As will create a new Project with folder/file structure. This entire structure needs to be in place on the machine with the newer version to allow it to be Opened. In my case, this complete structure was archived in WinRAR as a .RAR file and shipped out.
All of this is probably very obvious to most others. Again, if one is working on the same machine, or a LAN connected set of machines, it is a lot easier. Im just listing the steps and requirements, should Encore Projects be Opened on remote machines, whether for testing or for conversion.
[I just hope that the formatting of this doesn't get "pear-shaped," when posted]
Hunt