I uninstalled Office 2007 Trial

[Travis]

I uninstalled my trial version of Office 2007 on both my machines. Now I
cannot run Access or Word or Excel on either machine.

Both computers XP Home w/SP3. One machine Office 2002, the other 2000.
Trying to run on either machine gets "Preparing to Install".

Taking only the desktop for now, I then get "The feature you are trying to
use is on a CD-ROM or other removable disk that is not available. Insert
the 'Microsoft Office 2000 SR-1 Professional' disk and click OK."

The desktop is a PC clone, and the shop I bought it from did not supply
disks. They are now out of business, but the software has been confirmed to
be genuine.

So I don't have any disks. I immediately tried a System Restore, but I get
a message that my machine has not been changed, pick another restore point.
I'm back 2 months, with updates from Microsoft, and it won't restore.

If I cancel install and try to run Access, I get a message "An error
occurred and this feature is no longer functioning properly. Would you like
to repair this feature now?" A NO response gets "Selected collating sequence
not supported by the operating system." Of course a YES response gets me
back to the installer.

Any way to get my old Office programs working after trying Office 2007?

 

[Earle Horton]

I uninstalled my trial version of Office 2007 on both my machines. Now I
cannot run Access or Word or Excel on either machine.

Both computers XP Home w/SP3. One machine Office 2002, the other 2000.
Trying to run on either machine gets "Preparing to Install".

Taking only the desktop for now, I then get "The feature you are trying to
use is on a CD-ROM or other removable disk that is not available. Insert
the 'Microsoft Office 2000 SR-1 Professional' disk and click OK."

The desktop is a PC clone, and the shop I bought it from did not supply
disks. They are now out of business, but the software has been confirmed
to
be genuine.

Retail or OEM? Do you have Certificates of Authenticity, with Product Key?
It may be possible to acquire replacement media from Microsoft, as your
system builder is out of business. See the following article for details.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/326246

Scroll down to where it says, "Media replacement for users of system
builders' computers".

If you could find someone with install CDs for these products, you could
legally borrow or copy them, as long as you used your own Product Key.

Cheers,

Earle
That Office 2007 Trial really screwed things up for you, didn't it? I have
been reading these groups for a couple years, and really, Office Trials are
a big problem.

 

[DL]

Its not entirely clear whether you mean you dont have Office disks
MS No longer supplies replacement media for Office 2000 or 2002
If you do have the Office disks run a repair installation.
If you do not have windows xp disks you will have to buy them

 

[Travis]

I tried the Microsoft Site suggested, but it wants a COA number, which is
supposed to be on a sticker on the computer. There are XP stickers, but no
Office stickers.

So my "Free" trial is going to cost me several hundred dollars to buy a
product that I didn't like.

I had legit copies of Office, as was necessary in order to install the
"Free" trial of Office 2007. Now I don't have anything, and Microsoft gets
to sell me something. I think I have been had!

 

[Susan Ramlet]

Hi, Travis,

Are you writing in reference to an earlier posting? There's no context here
about what the problem is that you are trying to solve. I think that,
perhaps you had a pre-installed version of Office from your OEM installation
on your computer which is now not working because of the Office 2007 trial?
If so, contact the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) to see about
restoring your installation. Perhaps they provided you disks with your
computer for restoring the system?

If you don't like Office, try Open Office. It's free and reads Office files.

 

[Travis]

Sorry about no continuity, I pressed reply on a reply to my original post,
and tried to respond. As your post is within the thread I started, I don't
understand why I have to repeat myself. But...

I have a PC clone from a store that is no longer in business. It has an
XP-Home sticker on it, but no Office 2000 sticker, so I don't have a COA. I
was given no disks when I purchased it. I cannot go back to a business that
no longer exists.

I do like Office 2000. I did not like 2007, so I decided not to purchase it
after a "Free Trial". Now I want a working Access, Excel, and Word. I
bought them, and Office 2007 has rendered them unusable.

I have tried System Restore, first to before the removal of Office 2007,
then to before I installed Office 2007, and get the same message, "No changes
were made to your computer".

My question is: How do I put my computer back to the state it was in before
the Free Trial?

 

[Susan Ramlet]

Ah, I see. Thanks. I came into the thread late; sorry. I've now read your
original message and Earle's reply. Yes, the trial has been frustrating for
lots of people in the same situation, and generally the recommendation is to
remove it and re-install your licensed version (which obviously you can't
do).

If an early, early system restore doesn't work, I'm not sure how to help,
unless someone in a Windows newsgroup might have more info.

Without disks or a COA for Office 2000, I suspect you may be out of luck, as
you have no proof of owning the valid license, which I agree is really
unfortunate. And, unfortunately, Office 2000 was the last version that
required the CDs or access to the original installation media (before the
LIS - Local Install Source was used).

Did you try any of the steps shown for manually removing Office 2007? I'm
not too optimistic it would resolve things, but perhaps there is a registry
entry or other remnant that is causing Office 2000 to still be superceded by
the Trial.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928218

I suppose I'd try that as a last-ditch before either replacing a version of
Office I like OR gettinga free version of Open Office (which I run on a
couple of my systems at home and like a lot).

Sorry I can't be of much help--

 

[Dan at ITAssociates]

"The desktop is a PC clone, and the shop I bought it from did not supply
disks. They are now out of business, but the software has been confirmed to
be genuine"

Sorry, classic case of software piracy known as "hard disk loading." Very
likely these were pirated Volume Licensing editions.

Consumer editions of Office 2000/XP/2003 ALL require a genuine Certificate
of Authenticity and genuine retail or OEM CDs to be legitimately licensed
installations.

The software may have passed Office Genuine Advantage validation, if so it
means the *rightful owner* is still licensed to use it. Without a CoA, CDs
and an End User Licesning Agrement, you are NOT the rightful owner.

 

[Travis]

1) I removed this using the Add/Remove from the Control Panel. This
completed normally, ending with the fact that I must reboot, which I
obviously did.
2) Before allowing me to try Office 2007, Microsoft's webside verified that
I had a valid copy of Office 2000, so at that point there was no question of
authenticity. Now that Microsoft has destroyed what was mine, I need proof
that I owned it.
3) I have tried Open Office in the past and it was not fully compatable with
Access VBA, so none of my Access programs would run. Also, there aren't a
lot of sites that I found to get help like can be done with Office.
4) I think that probably a dll is overwritten by 2007, or deleted in the
2007 remove.

I'm trying the various steps at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928218

I'm assuming that O2007 was not uninstalled, and so trying all the steps.
When I get to Step 3.3 after I enter %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Office and
click OK, there are no instructions about what to do with the results.

On Step 3.4, I cannot locate a MSOCache folder on my C:\ drive, even with
the view options as stated. So I cannot do Step 3.5
Step 4.5 & 4.6 I cannot delete "Perflib_Perfdata_de4.dat" as it is being
used by another program. Only open are IE7 and Windows Exploring (and all
that junk in the system tray).

I did not try to change the registry. Whenever there are instructions to do
so, it always says to backup the registry first. But I have read the
instructions about restarting a computer if the registry is corrupt, and I
don't understand, so I would not be able to recover.

I think this is do-able. In the above exercise, I note that "Microsoft
Office 2000 SR-1 Professional" is in the Add/Remove list, along with
"Microsoft Office 2000 SR-1 Disc 2". With sizes at 165MB and 198MB, these
may be the disks I don't have. But I can't find them with Search of C:\ and
don't know where to look. Tried Program Files and Windows, but cannot find.

 

[Travis]

I have a product ID 01402-OEM-*******-***** which says it is licensed to me.
I have had Microsoft validate Office 2000 as it did when it installed O2007.

In the Add/Remove list, I have "Microsoft Office 2000 SR-1 Professional"
165MB, and "Microsoft Office 2000 SR-1 Disc 2" 198MB. But I cannot find
these names with a search of C:\ but they might prove I own the programs.

I am offered the option to Browse... when asked for the original discs, but
I don't know where to browse to. Apparently having the source on the hard
drive is expected.

How do I find these?

 

[aussiegirlone]

If restore does not work the normal way, try doing it in safe mode. 99.99% it
will work provided you have restore points to select from. click the button
that says "choose a different restore point" than the recommended one

 

[Earle Horton]

If you did not get a Certificate of Authenticity then chances are really,
really good that you did not get a legal license to use the product. Unlike
Office XP and later versions, Office 2000 did not use product activation to
verify that you had a legal and unique copy of the program. Every customer
who bought a copy of the program from your out-of-business computer
assembler probably got an illegal copy of the same licensed program. As
another poster pointed out this is called "hard disk loading", a form of
software piracy. I have a copy of "Microsoft Office 2000 SR-1
Professional", OEM version. It came with a booklet that says "For
Distribution with a New PC Only. For product support, contact the
manufacturer of your PC" and "Certificate of Authenticity" with a
twenty-five digit Product Key and a bar code. The CD is labeled "For
Distribution with a New PC Only. For product support, contact the
manufacturer of your PC" and "Do Not Make Illegal Copies of This Disc".

Without the COA, there is no way to determine whether you are the legal
owner of the program, or if in fact there is one. There are numerous copies
of Office 2000 for sale on Amazon Marketplace. I advise you to buy one, and
to save the COA and the CD in a safe place once you have legally installed
it.

Cheers,

Earle

 

[garfield-n-odie [MVP]]

Actually, Office 2000 was the first Office version that required
product activation. Quoting from
http://www.microsoft.com/piracy/activation_faq.mspx , "Product
Activation was piloted in Office 2000 in its 1999 release in six
countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China (including Hong Kong
SAR), New Zealand and the United States."

 

[Earle Horton]

The copies of Office 2000 that I have do not require activation. I assume
that the pilot program referred to was limited in scope.

Earle

 

[Travis]

Why does everyone work from the position that I must have an illegal copy of
Office. I think I did have booklets saying "Distribution with New PC".

Microsoft verified my Office 2000 before allowing the 60 day free trial, so
they believe my copy legit.

The only positive idea here is to restore in "Safe" mode. How do I do that?

In the Add/Remove list, I have "Microsoft Office 2000 SR-1 Professional"
165MB, and "Microsoft Office 2000 SR-1 Disc 2" 198MB. But I cannot find
these names or sizes with a search of C:\ but they might prove I own the
programs.

I am offered the option to Browse... when asked for the original discs, but
I don't know where to browse to. Apparently having the source on the hard
drive is expected.

How do I find these?

 

[kevin z.]

I have the exact same problem and question. What I found out after doing a
little bit of searching is that when a person installs the trial 2007, they
are unaware that they have the opportunity to keep the office 2000 or have it
removed when the 2007 is activated. This I did not know when I installed the
2007 and after getting mad as hell that MS would do something that sneaky, I
wanted to know more. I dont want to pay for the old version if I have to
replace the office suites anyway, it makes no sense. And I think that is what
MS wanted to do. To give us no choice but to buy their stuff since their
trials hijacked our latest versions! In other words: Entrapment and Crooks!
If that was not their plan they would have given us notice that our latest
versions will dissappear if we use the trial (in big bold letters-not fine
print)!

 

[JoAnn Paules]

You were given the option to upgrade or not. If you didn't read the
instructions, then you can't blame Microsoft. Sometimes you have to be
responsible for your own actions instead of expecting everyone else to dumb
everything down so you don't have to read or learn anything.

 

[Earle Horton]

Why does everyone work from the position that I must have an illegal copy
of
Office. I think I did have booklets saying "Distribution with New PC".

That booklet is your proof of ownership. It is your only proof of
ownership. Getting information in these newsgroups is like pulling teeth.
You didn't mention having the booklet before. I would be looking for it now
in your position.

Microsoft verified my Office 2000 before allowing the 60 day free trial,
so
they believe my copy legit.

Microsoft doesn't have any way to verify that Office 2000 is legit. They
can verify that the program was installed with a valid Product Key, but they
cannot verify that the same Product Key was not also installed on hundreds
of other machines. That is why product activation was introduced for XP and
Office XP.

Looked at another way, the Office 2007 Trial installer only verified, that
your program was not one of the obvious pirate schemes.

The only positive idea here is to restore in "Safe" mode. How do I do
that?

In the Add/Remove list, I have "Microsoft Office 2000 SR-1 Professional"
165MB, and "Microsoft Office 2000 SR-1 Disc 2" 198MB. But I cannot find
these names or sizes with a search of C:\ but they might prove I own the
programs.

The only way to prove that you own the programs, is with the booklet. It
has a hologram, barcode and unique twenty-five digit number on it. The
question is moot because Microsoft no longer provides media replacement for
your product.

I am offered the option to Browse... when asked for the original discs,
but
I don't know where to browse to. Apparently having the source on the hard
drive is expected.

Putting the source on the hard disk is something introduced with Office
2003. For your version you need the CD. The browse button is so you can
point to the CD once you find it.

Earle

 

[Marina]

That booklet is your proof of ownership.  It is your only proof of
ownership.  Getting information in these newsgroups is like pulling teeth.
You didn't mention having the booklet before.  I would be looking for it now
in your position.




Microsoft doesn't have any way to verify that Office 2000 is legit.  They
can verify that the program was installed with a valid Product Key, but they
cannot verify that the same Product Key was not also installed on hundreds
of other machines.  That is why product activation was introduced for XP and
Office XP.

Looked at another way, the Office 2007 Trial installer only verified, that
your program was not one of the obvious pirate schemes.





The only way to prove that you own the programs, is with the booklet.  It
has a hologram, barcode and unique twenty-five digit number on it.  The
question is moot because Microsoft no longer provides media replacement for
your product.




Putting the source on the hard disk is something introduced with Office
2003.  For your version you need the CD.  The browse button is so youcan
point to the CD once you find it.

Earle

Jorton por qué te fuiste de nuestra casita? snif...snif...bwwaaaa! yo
te extraño.

 

[kevin z.]

If you were replying to me, you have some nerves! So what your'e good at
2007, cookies and milk for you! I dont need an air-head "tech" person who is
more of giving advice and opinions than she is with helping to solve
problems. That's what this forum is for, it's not a twitter! "OH, you should
have read the instructions"! Is this how you answer tech questions? If so,
ill make sure to NOT call you! And for the REAL TECH people who have real
solutions - Thanks for your help! Unintelllllllijentttt people like me must
read the instructions first. LOL!

You were given the option to upgrade or not. If you didn't read the
instructions, then you can't blame Microsoft. Sometimes you have to be
responsible for your own actions instead of expecting everyone else to dumb
everything down so you don't have to read or learn anything.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]
Tech Editor for "Microsoft Publisher 2007 For Dummies"

I have the exact same problem and question. What I found out after doing a
little bit of searching is that when a person installs the trial 2007,
they
are unaware that they have the opportunity to keep the office 2000 or have
it
removed when the 2007 is activated. This I did not know when I installed
the
2007 and after getting mad as hell that MS would do something that sneaky,
I
wanted to know more. I dont want to pay for the old version if I have to
replace the office suites anyway, it makes no sense. And I think that is
what
MS wanted to do. To give us no choice but to buy their stuff since their
trials hijacked our latest versions! In other words: Entrapment and
Crooks!
If that was not their plan they would have given us notice that our latest
versions will dissappear if we use the trial (in big bold letters-not fine
print)!