Installing Office X on 2 machines

[Dixter]

Hi - As per the licence for Office X, I've installed it on my iMac
desktop and my 12" powerbook laptop, which I use for travelling around.


I have recently changed the iMac for a 17" powerbook to use as my
desktop machine, and came to load Office X onto it, but it wouldn't let
me do so, as apparenlty you can only install it on one desktop and one
laptop. I'm still only using it on my two Macs, so I don't see how my
choice of Mac makes a difference to the licence, but obviously there is
a protection mechanism built into Office X to stop me loading it onto a
second laptop instead of a desktop.

Anybody got any insight into this and how I might be able to load it
onto a second laptop instead of a desktop?

Thanks,

Steve

 

[Daiya Mitchell]

This is news to me...

At what point did it not let you load it?

Were the two laptops connected when you tried to install it? Perhaps
wirelessly?

 

[Dixter]

The software was loaded onto the new machine during the firewire
transfer as part of the set-up of the new laptop. When you come to open
any of the Office elements, however, a message appears saying:

Microsoft Office X cannot start because Microsoft Office is already in
use. An office programe is being used by Steve Bustin (me). Your
installation exceed the number of installations permitted by the
licence agreements. Click 'more information' to learn about Microsoft
Office licensing.

When I click the 'more information' button, that's where I found out
about being allowed to install on one desktop and one laptop - the
button points to:

http://www.microsoft.com/mac/otherproducts/officex/using.aspx?pid=usingoffic

ex&type=howto&article=/mac/LIBRARY/how_to_articles/office2004/pid_infraction

..xml

Both laptops are on the same Airport network, if that makes a
difference!

 

[Michel Bintener]

Hi.
It's true, you're allowed to install Office on your desktop and on your
laptop. However, the license agreement also says that you're supposed to use
*only one version at the same time*. This means that if Office is running on
your laptop, you're not supposed to use it on your desktop, and vice-versa.
To use Office applications simultaneously on both machines, you'd need two
different registration codes, and, as we all know, one is already expensive
enough. You'll have to quit any Office applications first before you can
open them on the other computer.
As to how this happens: this is indeed related to your Airport network.
Office regularly checks if other copies with the same registration code are
running on the network, and prevents them from launching, or quits to allow
the other copy to run; this is to prevent people from using illegal copies.

Michel

 

[Dixter]

Thanks for the info - I never had this problem with the old iMac
desktop, though, and often had them both open and running at the same
time in different parts of the house but on the same airport network -
any idea why this would have become an issue now?

 

[Daiya Mitchell]

Not a clue. You might find the thread "Re: Ports 3978 and 2222" on this
group interesting.

This is the way it is designed to work, so it'd probably be tricky to
circumvent. It has nothing to do with two laptops, and everything to do with
two copies on the same network (at least from the point of view of Office,
as far as I know). It's possible that two laptops sets up the network
slightly differently and thus Office can now find the other running program
while before it couldn't, but I'm just randomly speculating on that.

 

[Paul Berkowitz]

Thanks for the info - I never had this problem with the old iMac
desktop, though, and often had them both open and running at the same
time in different parts of the house but on the same airport network -
any idea why this would have become an issue now?

You were right first time: you can only run Office on one desktop and one
laptop, not two laptops (nor two desktops). That's in the EULA. Obviously
this can only be checked when the computers are both open simultaneously on
a network and, as Michel says, they do check your Airport network. The check
can tell whether a computer has a battery or not - that's how it knows if
it's a laptop.

--
Paul Berkowitz
MVP MacOffice
Entourage FAQ Page: <http://www.entourage.mvps.org/faq/index.html>
AppleScripts for Entourage: <http://macscripter.net/scriptbuilders/>

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