Office 2007 for a hard disk image

We installed a custom configuration of Office 20007 on a clean computer and
captured and distributed an image of the hard disk to several hundred new
computers. Before installing Office on the test computer, I had read the MS
TechNet Step-by-Step Guide for Configuring 2007 Office System for a hard disk
image. The last step in the guide said not to start Office applications on
the test computer before capturing the image.

Although it is unusual for me not to test an application before capturing an
image and wondered why this step was so important, I intended to respect MS's
guide. However, it turns out that Word was started before I had a chance to
capture the image.

After deploying the image, we've noticed a problem. Many users can't open
Office 2000 files (Excel and Word mostly). Specifically, when users open
these files, they get a message:

<filename> is reserved by <My Name>. Enter password
to..........[there are two buttons: "Read Only" and "Close"]

None of the users had enabled any kind of security on the Office 2000
documents and spreadsheets. There is a workaround. A user can select the
"Read Only" button and do a Save As to save the document with a different
name. Then they are able to open the new file without any problem. The
workaround works, but it's a big hassle.

Since we technically did not follow the MS guide and inadvertently opened an
Office application before capturing the hard disk image, is there some way to
prevent or reverse this "error" condition each time a userr opens a Office
2000 document? Is there a property or registry setting I can change? What is
the official reason for NOT opening Office 2007 apps on a test computer
before capturing a hard disk image?