Lost key number for Office 97

[Danny]

I purchased Office 97 in 1998 but have lost my key number
that would allow me to load it (actually reload after
reformating the hard drive) on my computer. I need to
know if it's possible to get my key number from
Microsoft? I've tried calling but none of the options
seemed to fit my need. I've tried looking at the website
but again, no success in finding how to contact the
appropriate person.

If anyone could help with this, I would appreciate it. As
it stands now, I can't even upgrade to a more recent
version.

Thanks for your help.
Danny

 

[Beth Melton]

Hi Danny,

Microsoft will replace CD keys but I'm not sure if they will for
Office 97 since they no longer support it.

It doesn't hurt to call though. Unlike other companies, such as
Symantec, they don't require a credit card before allowing you to
speak and then hang up on you if don't provide one within a matter of
seconds. (I am NOT impressed with Symantec support!) Now, they may
charge a nominal fee for the replacement key but not for asking if
they provide replacement CD keys for Office 97.

If it is a retail version contact Microsoft at (800) 936-5700 or if
outside the US see this site: http://microsoft.com/worldwide

--
Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/

 

[Howard Kaikow]

Hi Danny,

Microsoft will replace CD keys but I'm not sure if they will for
Office 97 since they no longer support it.

It doesn't hurt to call though. Unlike other companies, such as
Symantec, they don't require a credit card before allowing you to
speak and then hang up on you if don't provide one within a matter of
seconds. (I am NOT impressed with Symantec support!)

To be polite, I would say that "Symantec support" is as much of an oxymoron
as is "adequate documentation" for most software products.

"Symantec support" was barely tolerable when they had Symantec support
forums. Now that those forums are gone, "Symantec support" is IMHO
worthless.

 

[Beth Melton]

To be polite, I would say that "Symantec support" is as much of an oxymoron
as is "adequate documentation" for most software products.

"Symantec support" was barely tolerable when they had Symantec support
forums. Now that those forums are gone, "Symantec support" is IMHO
worthless.

My recent experience with them has made me even more irritated with
them than before. I had just installed their latest version and when I
tried to update the DAT files I kept encountering an error. Per their
support article I needed to uninstall and reinstall. (Heh, the new
version had only been installed for 10 minutes.) Since I downloaded
NAV (over 5 hours on dial-up) I wanted to know if I needed to download
it again to reinstall. (I could still use it with the old DAT files
but I wasn't going down the dial-up route again!) Simple yes or no
question. Upon answering the call (after more than 10 minutes of
waiting) they immediately asked for my credit card number. I quickly
asked, "I just need to know if I have to download NAV again if I need
to reinstall". The guy told me, "Unless you are willing to give me
your credit card number I can not answer that question." I hesitated
and he hung up.

I called back, since I selected a package deal based on a 'free
support' incentive and was told free support was their internet based
support. (Another 10-15 minutes wasted sitting on hold.)

Their support forums weren't the greatest either. When problems with
the Norton Office Plug-in started cropping up they updated the virus
scanner several times in an attempt to correct the issues. I kept
asking about documentation on the updates and requested more
information on how the level of protection the Office Plug-in option
was different than the AutoProtect layer and either received no
replies or was provided with unintelligent answers. <sigh>

I know I should have read the fine print so that's my stupid mistake.
But for anyone else that may read this, PLEASE learn from my stupid
mistake so it won't be a total waste.

btw, the only reason I use NAV is so I can learn about any new Office
issues that crop up and reproduce the various problems reported and
pass them along so they can be documented. If it wasn't for that then
I wouldn't use it.

~Beth Melton