I need to make a back up copy of Office 2008 programs

[tuckerdogavl]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger)
Processor: Power PC

Apparently I am the only person in the world that has ever experienced this. After wasting 30 minutes in forum, blogs, products, how tos, registering, confirming email for whatever reason this is necessary, I cannot find out how to do this. I HAVE the license number. I BOUGHT the program. I OWN it. I PAID for it. I have LOST the DVD. Can't find it. How do I make a back up copy of the program that I have purchased and licensed? Can anyone out there help me?

 

[Rob Schneider]

Suggest you call Microsoft and/or the vendor from whom you bought the
license and ask them.

I suspect you are out of luck to expect them to give you a copy.

(how can you copy what you have lost?)

--rms

 

[CyberTaz]

You're certainly not the only person who's been in that situation. With all
due respect for your frustration, however, you need to stand back & take a
look from a more objective viewpoint You did not *buy* Office 2008, nor
do you *own* it, Microsoft does.

What you paid for is the license/right to *use* it... It's owned by
Microsoft. If you read the EULA [which most of us never bother to do, we
just click "I Agree"] you'll find that clearly stated - that's a part of
what you're acknowledging & agreeing to when you click the button.

That point made, it's the responsibility of the user to keep track of their
source material just like anything else... If you lease a car & forget where
you parked it do you expect the mfr or leasing company to absolve you of
responsibility & just replace it without question? Even warranted items
which are purchased outright don't get replaced by the vendor if the loss is
due to our carelessness or negligence... That's what *insurance* is for

Contact MS Customer Support & explain the situation. If you can
satisfactorily provide proof of purchase they may surprise you & provide a
replacement disk for a nominal fee... You don't know until you try, but on a
personal note I'd suggest that you don't fly in their face from the same
perspective as the message you posted here.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;[ln];326246

Good Luck |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[tuckerdogavl]

You're not following me. All the programs are on my computer. I use them all the time. I want to make a copy of the programs onto a DVD that is reinstallable in the event the system crashes or I need to reinstall on a new computer (Which I am currently in the market for). If I can just copy everything or do a firewire transfer. Fine. Perfect. No problem. But, I would like to know how to copy the programs and install folders/files so it is installable if I need to.

 

[Rob Schneider]

That's not how things work and certainly Microsoft does not provide that
as a standard function. In fact, they probably do a lot to make sure
it's not pssible.

What's in your computer is what the installation programme copied from
the CD/DVD and "transformed" it into a working program on the PC. There
isn't a way (far as I know) to "un-transform" an office application from
an installed computer back onto a CD in a form capable of re-installation.

--rms

 

[tuckerdogavl]

Yes, reading the 45 page EULA written in language to completely distract the buyer. You are right. But, if you are offended by the way I wrote this message, take heart. It is the only way to get a response from corporations. Period. I have been trying with no avail, to get a specific problem handled by MacMall, for example, who acknowledges the problem 1)isn't my fault; 2)nothing I could have done; 3) is their end; 4) and they "are working toward the resolution." For 34 days and counting. This is only after six conversations with Order takers, I mean CSRs, three with a Manager, three with his supervisor, another one with another CSR (that was just for kicks), then back to the supervisor who 'assured me" four days ago they were "on it. " Yeah. Right. Read the EULA. And yes, I'll waste the time listening to how I can get support by going to double u, double u, double u....dot....and go through triage phone tree in it's attempt to get rid of me, to then prove that I registered the program (which I did) and give someone? if I'm lucky...someone the license number (which I have) who may deem it gracious enough to replace the DVD. Sure. Maybe I'll start Monday. By mid September, I'll report back.

 

[William Smith [MVP]]

You're not following me. All the programs are on my computer. I use
them all the time. I want to make a copy of the programs onto a DVD
that is reinstallable in the event the system crashes or I need to
reinstall on a new computer (Which I am currently in the market for).
If I can just copy everything or do a firewire transfer. Fine.
Perfect. No problem. But, I would like to know how to copy the
programs and install folders/files so it is installable if I need to.

If you're using Mac OS X 10.5's Time Machine then consider yourself covered.

If you want to manually back up you Office 2008 installation so that you
can restore it in a useful way later then copy these items to your
backup drive:

/Applications/Microsoft Office 2008
/Library/Application Support/Microsoft
/Library/Fonts/Microsoft

I believe those are the only three locations where the Installer
actually places files. This does *not* copy your personal data and
preferences, which are in your home folder.

To restore them from your backup just copy the items back in place.

Hope this helps!

--

bill

Entourage Help Page <http://entourage.mvps.org/>
Entourage Help Blog <http://blog.entourage.mvps.org/>
YouTalk <http://nine.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/youtalk>
Twitter: follow <http://twitter.com/meck>

 

[tuckerdogavl]

Thank you William. I found the disks by the way. I had them in the safe deposit box where I guess all of these should go since the EULA tells you you really don't buy anything or own anything, you just get to use it for awhile.

I'm sure there isn't anyway to make a backup copy from the disks either; wouldn't want to miss out on collecting another $125 if we're lucky....

Again...thanks for the short answer William. I'll do that for practice sake.

 

[CyberTaz]

Hello Again:

I'm assuming this is a response to my reply but can't be sure since there is
no quoteback of what you're responding to. At any rate, please see below;

Yes, reading the 45 page EULA written in language to completely distract the
buyer. You are right. But, if you are offended by the way I wrote this
message, take heart.

I'm not offended at all - it doesn't involve me in any way other than my
attempt to assist.

It is the only way to get a response from corporations.

If you're looking for a response from a "corporation" you're in the wrong
place... This is a peer-to-peer newsgroup. Those who participate here do so
voluntarily & are not employed bo nor authorized on behalf of Microsoft.

Period. I have been trying with no avail, to get a specific problem handled by
MacMall, for example, who acknowledges the problem 1)isn't my fault; 2)nothing
I could have done; 3) is their end; 4) and they "are working toward the
resolution." For 34 days and counting. This is only after six conversations
with Order takers, I mean CSRs, three with a Manager, three with his
supervisor, another one with another CSR (that was just for kicks), then back
to the supervisor who 'assured me" four days ago they were "on it. " Yeah.
Right.

OK, you've got a legitimate gripe with MacMall -- what purpose does it serve
to vent your anger on others who have no connection in any way?

Read the EULA. And yes, I'll waste the time listening to how I can get
support by going to double u, double u, double u....dot....and go through
triage phone tree in it's attempt to get rid of me, to then prove that I
registered the program (which I did) and give someone? if I'm lucky...someone
the license number (which I have) who may deem it gracious enough to replace
the DVD. Sure. Maybe I'll start Monday. By mid September, I'll report back.

Sorry, but the system is in place & it works. I don't know of any company -
large, small or anywhere in between - that simply gives away product to
anyone who claims to have "had one & lost it"... At least not if it expects
to stay in business very long. If you choose to not take advantage of the
options available there isn't much anyone else can do.

Good Luck |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[Diane Ross]

I believe those are the only three locations where the Installer
actually places files.

You missed the mdimporter files for Spotlight and there might be others like
Automator actions.

 

[tuckerdogavl]

Yes, you assumed correctly, but not being the extraintelligent person that you must be, I didn't quote back. I applaud your deductive reasoning. I had already received a response that helped, so there was no reason to write back. Hence, there is no reason to read this message. > Hello Again:

 

[CyberTaz]

Hi Bill;

Apparently the OP has no use for anything I have to offer, so I'm just
asking for clarification on this. I'm not sure you caught the point made in
one of the messages that the OP is actually looking to be able to "move"
Office to a different Mac once it is acquired. It isn't so much a matter of
a backup of the current installation. Can you use Time Machine to restore
it's backups to a *different* Mac?

In fact, based on the problems I've seen with the use of Migration Assistant
& other attempts to move Office from one Mac to another rather than actually
*installing* I'm a bit skeptical. In fact, a number of users have had
problems which I believe - can't prove - resulted from upgrading Tiger to
Leopard on the same Mac & trying to bypass reinstalling Office.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[William Smith [MVP]]

You missed the mdimporter files for Spotlight and there might be others like
Automator actions.

For Entourage 2008, the mdimporter is bundled into the Entourage
application itself. Entourage 2004 has its importer outside in the
/Library folder.

--

bill

Entourage Help Page <http://entourage.mvps.org/>
Entourage Help Blog <http://blog.entourage.mvps.org/>
YouTalk <http://nine.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/youtalk>
Twitter: follow <http://twitter.com/meck>

 

[William Smith [MVP]]

Apparently the OP has no use for anything I have to offer, so I'm just
asking for clarification on this. I'm not sure you caught the point made in
one of the messages that the OP is actually looking to be able to "move"
Office to a different Mac once it is acquired. It isn't so much a matter of
a backup of the current installation. Can you use Time Machine to restore
it's backups to a *different* Mac?

I think the advice you gave about requesting a new DVD from Microsoft
was spot-on. That's what I'd do and I would imagine the cost wouldn't be
more than US $20.00.

Time Machine makes a backup that you can open and browse from any
computer. Yes, you'd have to manually copy files from it but you can use
it to "restore" Office 2008 to a new machine. This isn't the method I'd
use but it's possible.

In fact, based on the problems I've seen with the use of Migration Assistant
& other attempts to move Office from one Mac to another rather than actually
*installing* I'm a bit skeptical. In fact, a number of users have had
problems which I believe - can't prove - resulted from upgrading Tiger to
Leopard on the same Mac & trying to bypass reinstalling Office.

At work we have to mass deploy application such as Office. While we
don't do this anymore with Office 2008 (because it now comes as an Apple
Installer package) we would simply take a snapshot of files on a
machine, install Office, take a new snapshot, and compare old and new
snapshots to determine the necessary files for "re-packaging".

Office may be a complex suite of applications but its installation is
very simply and very self-contained. I'm going by memory, but I'm fairly
sure that manually copying the items I mentioned earlier should result
in a working install on a new machine (including the OfficePID).

As for Apple's Migration Assistant, most of the problems with it were
due to the Office Test Drive for Office 2004. However, I'd prefer to
always start with a fresh Mac OS and re-install everything. It takes
more time but I have more faith in that.

--

bill

Entourage Help Page <http://entourage.mvps.org/>
Entourage Help Blog <http://blog.entourage.mvps.org/>
YouTalk <http://nine.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/youtalk>
Twitter: follow <http://twitter.com/meck>

 

[William Smith [MVP]]

Thank you William. I found the disks by the way. I had them in the
safe deposit box where I guess all of these should go since the EULA
tells you you really don't buy anything or own anything, you just get
to use it for awhile.

I'm sure there isn't anyway to make a backup copy from the disks
either; wouldn't want to miss out on collecting another $125 if we're
lucky....

Bob had a good point in his earlier message about "license" versus "buy".

You're paying the $125.00 for the license to use the software. The media
(your DVD) is nominal and probably costs Microsoft 50 cents at most. In
other words, the cost of replacing your DVD shouldn't be very expensive
at all provided you can offer proof to them that you have purchased the
license. They have no need to make you buy a new license.

As I stated in an earlier message, I wouldn't think that replacing your
DVD would cost you more than US $20.00, which would be the cost of
shipping and handling. Keep this in mind if you lose your DVD again or
lose your media for any other application for that matter.

Hope this helps explain it a little better.

You can make a backup of your DVD using the Disk Utility application
found in /Applications/Utilities. I prefer to make a disk image file (a
..dmg file) and keep it on my backup hard drive. That way I don't need to
keep track of more DVDs.

--

bill

Entourage Help Page <http://entourage.mvps.org/>
Entourage Help Blog <http://blog.entourage.mvps.org/>
YouTalk <http://nine.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/youtalk>
Twitter: follow <http://twitter.com/meck>

 

[tuckerdogavl]

If "email me when replies are posted" is not clicked and I don't have this set up anywhere that I can find, can someone tell me why I'm still getting copies of this thread in my email box?

Not to be an A**hole, but I am satisfied with the answer and am no longer in need of getting the posts.

Again, thanks for the info and clarification. I will make a disk utility image file back up for safe keeping. Now, how does one turn off the email alerts?

 

[Rob Schneider]

Depends fully on the functions provided by the web site *you* are using
to be the "front end" of this newsgroup. Unique to that web site.

--rms