Word 2010 Purchase Question

Katallina · Sep 14, 2012

Hey guys!

If I buy a copy of Microsoft Word 2010 and then either have to reformat my PC or buy a new PC, do I need to purchase another copy / license / whatever of the program again?

With an older version of a writing program I would likely not worry about this, but with newer programs that can be a huge concern. I've had my current PC for two years and will likely upgrade in the spring, so I don't want to buy Word (which I would only be using to format stuff for self publishing--I write in Scrivener) and then find out I need to rebuy it again six months from now.

I tried to hunt this up on Google but no one seems to have ever asked it.

Thanks for your time.

katci13 · Sep 14, 2012

It depends on how many licenses you buy. I don't know about hard copies, but if you buy it online, it'll give you an option to buy one, two, or three licenses. The cheapest option is one license. I always get 3 since I change computers every couple of years.

anguswalker · Sep 15, 2012

Short answer: no. If you purchase one licence then so long as you do not have more than one copy installed AT THE SAME TIME you can reinstall using the license key you were given as many times as you want, on the same or different computers. Do remember though, if you sell an old computer and buy a new one and want to use the software from the old one on the new one, you must uninstall it from the old one before letting it go. The same applies to the operating system. Mind you, if you are selling (or even giving away) a computer you should first perform a low-level reformat of the hard disc, in case someone gets hold of it and goes sniffing around for personal data.

Katallina · Sep 15, 2012

Thanks very much.

My computers normally get passed down to the rest of my family. I buy machines set up for gaming (which is why I need to update often) and when my family gets them they are lightyears beyond what anyone else here "needs". It works out well in the end--my parents, brothers or whoever is getting the "old" one donate a bit toward the new one.

Anyway, now I can go ahead with my purchase. I just didn't want to get Word if the license goes into a black hole. *laughs* I remember there was a huge fiasco with Spore a few years back and since then I am very cautious when I buy software.

Williebee · Sep 16, 2012

It also depends upon what type of license you purchase and where from. For example some states have education/student licenses that allow the software to be on more than one machine. Before you purchase it outright, look for a student license through school (if you, or perhaps the recipient of the next machine? are a student or staff).

Me personally, I'd load Kingsoft or LibreOffice, just because they provide most all of the same necessary functions, look pretty much the same (especially the new version of Kingsoft) and are free.

Word 2010 Purchase Question

Katallina

katci13

creative genie

anguswalker

Katallina

Williebee

Capeless, wingless, & yet I fly.