Windows Installer Problem

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MerpsMom

MerpsMom

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
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I put Office2002 on this desktop using the CD I used to install it on the laptop. There was a product key problem and some live person at MS gave me the number to use. I know you're not supposed to use it on two computers---a crock to me anyway---but this live person just let me do it.

When I get a PowerPoint slide presentation and several other types of Excel programs, the Windows Installer comes up and wants the product key typed in.

I'm petrified that due to the difficulty at the outset, my whole Office Suite would lock me out of what's on the desktop and I'd be roadkill trying to get it back.

There is a way to sidestep the Installer but it's complicated. Is there something I'm not getting, or there an easy way to let me view these things? If I cancel the Installer, I can't view the attachments.

Cathie
 
The installer kind of wants what it wants, and isn't very open to negotiation unfortunately :(. It will often do this when it receives an update, too. Was your phone call recent, where if theres a problem you can still call them and get it straightened out? That may be worth doing, too.

One piece of advice is to dump MS Office completely, and download the free workalike from www.openoffice.org It's fantastic, and will work with your existing Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc files. The best part is, it's FREE :) No need to buy a second license of the MS Product.

You can even install this now, without disturbing the malfunction product, and try it out. They can co-exist on the same computer, with no problem.

The 2008 version of OpenOffice has many newer features than the 2002 version of Office. I use this heavily, on all my computers.

Good stuff! :thumbsup:
Mike
 
Oh, Mike. I'll send you the airfare. Maybe I'm becoming more timid with age, but trying to make sure everything is saved and available to me is paramount.

I tried OpenOffice but obviously didn't do it correctly: people couldn't read my pseudo-Word dox. I've always been way too proud to "hire" a brain to do what I thought I could do myself, but this is ticking me off: I can't follow it as easily as before.

No: the phone call was four years ago. :( I probably couldn't even find a human to answer the phone anymore. Da mn 'em.

Cathie
 
Openoffice WRITER can read and write word documents, but has its own native format as a default.

To save a NEW document for word, you'd have to click FILE -> SAVE AS and change the document type to MICROSOFT WORD. After that, folks who only have word and not Openoffice will be able to open it.

Mike
 
openoffice not there???

this prompted me to try to visit openoffice via your link BUT I got:

Forbidden
You don't have permission to access /servlets/ContentHelmNoodle on this server.
Apache Server at www.openoffice.org Port 80


Mike--what's going on with this??? it's like the url/you link info no longer exists(or is it just a bad monday for their server?)
 
MerpsMom said:
I know you're not supposed to use it on two computers
Click to expand...

Office 2007 allows you to install it on a Primary computer and a Secondary one. I installed it on my work computer and laptop with no trouble.
 
Yea the site is having technical difficulties today. It must be from all the grumblers getting it!

Mike
BILL WARD said:
this prompted me to try to visit openoffice via your link BUT I got:

Forbidden
You don't have permission to access /servlets/ContentHelmNoodle on this server.
Apache Server at www.openoffice.org Port 80


Mike--what's going on with this??? it's like the url/you link info no longer exists(or is it just a bad monday for their server?)
Click to expand...
 
David N Waldmann said:
Office 2007 allows you to install it on a Primary computer and a Secondary one. I installed it on my work computer and laptop with no trouble.
Click to expand...

I doubt the OEM license allows for this :) It's only for the (new) computer it was purchased with, and is non transferrable. As with most software, you don't own the cd or software but only the right to use it on the single pc it was first installed on.

Sometimes the registration server won't reject someone until two installs, however, but that doesn't necessarily mean its a valid use of the license.

Lawyers! :(
 
Yes Version 3.0 was released TODAY. That's why their site is overloaded.

Mike
Source: http://www.download.com/8301-2007_4-10064408-12.html


OpenOffice's 3.0 release temporarily closes site

Posted by Dong Ngo

If you go to OpenOffice's Web site right now, you will be greeted with this:

Apologies - our website is struggling to cope with the unprecedented demand for the new release 3.0 of OpenOffice.org. The technical teams are trying to come up with a solution.

Fortunately, however, you will also find links to download the latest version of the well-known, well-loved, and open-source OpenOffice.org suite, the alternative to the notoriously overpriced Microsoft Office.

After a lengthy development time, the company finally released its new 3.0 version of the software suite on Monday, and the download frenzies have forced the company to close all parts of its Web site to dedicate bandwidth for the downloading demand.

Apart from the fact that it's free and open source, the OfficeOffice.org suite is the only office suite that's available in all platforms including Windows, Linux, Solaris, and Mac.

Like previous versions, the OpenOffice.org 3.0 includes applications for word processing, spreadsheets, presentation, drawing, and databases. The new version's initial release offers only read-only support for Microsoft Office 2007 file formats including DOCX (Word), XLSX (Excel), and PPTX (PowerPoint), but can convert them into Office 2003 file formats.



Mike


PS: Here is a direct link http://download.openoffice.org/http://openoffice.bouncer.osuosl.org/?Product=OpenOffice.org&os=winwjre&lang=en-US&version=3.0.0
 
Mike Labbe @ GTP said:
I doubt the OEM license allows for this
Click to expand...

O, O, EM. Yeah, probably not. I had a full version, and I don't remember the exact language (and am too lazy to look it up), but it was easy enough to translate into plain English that it was ok to install it on your second computer. I actually was pretty shocked, and a bit surprised when it actually worked.
 
Okay, let's cut to this: what's your best guess as to what will happen to me if I follow the Installer lead? Let's say the product key number is the same for the Suite on both the laptop and the desktop. That shouldn't raise flags, should it?, unless MS "codes" something somewhere during installation.

Question #1: why am I being asked for it on the desktop? I don't recall that was an issue at the outset. Could it have been I received no PP or Excel attachments? (Sorry...how could you know that?) OTOH, a year or so ago, I had to do a clean reinstall of Windows due to stupidity: could that have been a trigger? Problem began about that time.

I could live without viewing attachments at the desktop, but it's a loose end and they're annoying.
 
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