MS Word Product Key

52greg · Jun 25, 2009

I had to reboot my computer recently, and now I don't have access to MS Word. When I try to access it, a dialog box appears and tells me to register, including providing the product key. Well, my computer was bought in 2005, and the product key is long gone. I contacted Microsoft, but got no help. Does anyone have any suggestions?

One friend suggested I set the date back to before the reboot. Would that work? If so, how do I do that?

Matera the Mad · Jun 25, 2009

When you say "reboot", I think you may be trying to say "re-install everything". Rebooting means turning the computer off and restarting it, something you have probably done hundreds of times. When you did this drastic thing, did you go through a lot of stuff with a CD?

What version of Word do you have? What version of Windows, XP? What kind of computer-- Oh, what T. F., PM me.

JulieHowe · Jun 25, 2009

I had to reboot my computer recently, and now I don't have access to MS Word. When I try to access it, a dialog box appears and tells me to register, including providing the product key. Well, my computer was bought in 2005, and the product key is long gone. I contacted Microsoft, but got no help. Does anyone have any suggestions?

One friend suggested I set the date back to before the reboot. Would that work? If so, how do I do that?

Click on the time on the lower right-hand corner of your Windows computer screen, and when the clock pops up, you can set the time and date back. However, be warned doing this can screw up other programs, like antivirus and computer security programs that you pay for a year in advance. (Such as Norton Antivirus).

Scribhneoir · Jun 25, 2009

52greg said:
One friend suggested I set the date back to before the reboot. Would that work? If so, how do I do that?

I think your friend meant doing a System Restore, not just setting the clock back. If you're using Windows XP, you'll find this under Performance and Maintenance. Choose a restore point prior to your problem and you should be good.

Matera the Mad · Jun 25, 2009

It would be a good idea to find out first exactly what the real problem is and how it came to be.

Williebee · Jun 25, 2009

What Matera said.

The event viewer can help.

Williebee · Jun 25, 2009

Please understand that I am not assuming that you are, but just to be on the safe side, if you are asking if anyone has an MS Office product key you can use -

It would be inappropriate at best, for someone to post one here on the forum, and illegal at worst.

Just a word of caution.

52greg · Jun 26, 2009

Thanks for all the help. It's true, I do mean re-install. I'd somehow gotten to the point where I couldn't get the computer to do anytthing at all. Windows wouldn't come on. So, my brother pressed the F10 key. That got it going again, but I have this Word problem.

By the way, I do have Windows XP, and the computer is an HP.

Hang of Thursdays · Jun 26, 2009

http://www.openoffice.org/ is a free office suite that includes everything from a Word variant to Excel and Powerpoint. The word processor is able to open up Microsoft Word documents, so if you've got any old files around you'll still be able to open the documents.

If, that is, you can't get the license key back.

52greg · Jun 26, 2009

Thanks, Hang.

Williebee · Jun 26, 2009

Hang's answer was better than mine. Open Office is terrific. It will handle all your old Office documents (not Works, but Office), and will allow you to keep them saved as .doc files if you want to.

52greg · Jun 26, 2009

Okay, I did the System Restore thing, but I couldn't get it to go far enough back. Any suggestions?

I understand about Open Office, but I'm also concerned about the documents I had saved in Word. Hopefully, if I can go back and restore Word, I can also regain access to them.

Hang of Thursdays · Jun 26, 2009

I don't think they system restore is ever going to do it for you -- also, if you go too far back, you might find yourself without some of your documents, because you've restored to a point before they were created.

The license key's a component of the program itself, not the system.

Unless you find that key (or can somehow get in touch with a real person at Microsoft who can get you a new one -- which you probably can't), going back to your most recent restore point (so you've got all your documents) and installing open office is probably your only bet.

ChristineR · Jun 26, 2009

Some of these programs didn't need a "real" key--you could just type in random numbers, and they'd work. If that doesn't work, then you can look for a key you can "borrow," but even that might not work because it may somehow tie your key to your individual CD.

Open Office will open your Word documents, however some of the formatting may be trashed--no biggy, you can fix it, and Oo is much better at formatting than Word anyhow. The biggest downside will come when you want to send somebody a document and they want it to be in .doc format. Oo will write a .doc file, but it probably won't be correctly formatted.

Tweet The Meat · Jun 26, 2009

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/default.aspx

You can get a 60-day free trial if you need to open up your old documents to port them to OpenOffice (which you don't need to do as OpenOffice should read it)

That said, I hate Open Office and much prefer Word. If you're a student, you can usually buy it fairly cheap. And if all you need is a Word Processor, Works isn't half bad.

Matera the Mad · Jun 26, 2009

System Restore will not restore a dead system. The old installation of Windows, and Word, is history. Bitbucket dust. This is something anyone should know; now a few more do, I hope. Uninstall Word and let the dead past bury its dead.

Get AbiWord, if all you want is a word processor. Much smaller download, nice proggie. Or PolyEdit Lite -- another rather cool item that will open and save Word docs.

Clair Dickson · Jun 26, 2009

Losing the product key to your software is akin to losing the title (and registration) to your car. You have a product that you can no longer use. With these, you have evidence that you have legal ownership of the item. Without, you cannot prove you actually own the item. And since you can't prove you own them you can't register.

ALWAYS keep the product key!

Matera the Mad · Jun 26, 2009

...in six different places. All readable.

52greg · Jun 27, 2009

Thanks for all the ideas. One of my brothers, who maintains computers as part of his job, says my best option is to call the Geek Squad and let them sort out the problem.

52greg · Jun 27, 2009

Hang of Thursdays said:
I don't think they system restore is ever going to do it for you -- also, if you go too far back, you might find yourself without some of your documents, because you've restored to a point before they were created.

The license key's a component of the program itself, not the system.

Unless you find that key (or can somehow get in touch with a real person at Microsoft who can get you a new one -- which you probably can't), going back to your most recent restore point (so you've got all your documents) and installing open office is probably your only bet.

The problem is that I haven't yet been able to get back to a restore point where I have access to the documents. According to the documentation, the system creates regular restore points, but so far I can't get to a restore point before the problem. I don't think that's a good sign.

Williebee · Jun 27, 2009

Greg - Check your PMs for a tool.

TabithaTodd · Jun 27, 2009

You can call Microsoft and ask them for a new key without paying for it. You tell them you lost your key code for the product. On the other hand, there's Open Office (openoffice.org) that is exactly like what you are looking for and more and completely open source or free. No shareware, no spyware no paying for it.

It's an alternative that is completely and utterly free that does the same thing as microsoft suite or office. It can convert your old word files and other micro office files as well and reads them it also has the option to save in microsoft and wordperfect file format.

As for re-formatting and loosing your keycode...no amount of roll back in system restore can help there. Those restore files are now gone.

Matera the Mad · Jun 27, 2009

Greg, there is no restore point from before the problem. Have you read some of the posts here?

By now any potentially recoverable deleted files have probably been overwritten too much for any but a high-level forensic expert to get anything out of. Whatever, I'm talking to myself now

Hang of Thursdays · Jun 28, 2009

Matera the Mad said:
Whatever, I'm talking to myself now

Admitting it's often the first step, Matera.

52greg · Jun 28, 2009

Matera the Mad said:
Greg, there is no restore point from before the problem. Have you read some of the posts here?

By now any potentially recoverable deleted files have probably been overwritten too much for any but a high-level forensic expert to get anything out of. Whatever, I'm talking to myself now

That's what I was afraid of.

MS Word Product Key

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