Well, you can try to follow the byzantine instructions in documents #256986
and #928218 that Microsoft has provided for this problem. It will lead you
through four pages of edits, resets and deletions deep in the bowels of your
operating system and its registry. I methodically went through all the steps
and had no satisfaction.
Even though you can't install the test version, don't be seduced with the
hope that you might have better luck installing the retail version... Save
your $400.
Ironically, I never succeeded in the install of the beta version either. It
failed and the tech support was non-existent, so I gave up. My reward for
trying? Now my 'free' copy of Office 2007 Pro that I received for attending
the lame rollout on Thursday won't install either. Wonderful. I'm too cheap
to pay $90 cost of sending an email to Microsoft's tech support for this
issue. I guess I'll stick with the 2003 version.
By the way, I thought I'd go ahead an use my 'free' copy of Office 2007 on
my brand new, dual core, Vista-ready Dell computer at work - a PC on which I
never attempted to install the Office 2007 beta. Same frustrating experience:
The initial progress meter window blinks off after five minutes and no
replacement screen comes up for fourteen minutes (this takes longer on a PC
with a single-core processor). If you're the impatient sort, you might think
the installation failed to initialize. But if you're observant, you'll
realize your PC is preoccupied to the point that it takes five minutes if you
try to launch Start menu if you think you should shut the computer down.
Fo'get about it. If you're willing to wait an additional twelve minutes, a
very stylish Office 2007 logo appears on a splash screen and you are prompted
to enter the serial number. After you key in the next-to-the-last digit, you
will need to wait two and a half minutes before the screen will register the
last of your twenty-four serial number digits. Be patient. You may then
click 'Upgrade' or 'Custom.' I recommend 'Custom' because you'll have the
opportunity to preserve your previous version of Office. If you select
'Upgrade,' you may find yourself without either. After twenty-nine minutes,
the stylish splash screen blinks out. Be patient. Eighteen minutes later
you will receive an apology screen. Microsoft is sorry for the inconvenience
for a failed install. As a consolation prize, you may take the opportunity
to report the problem! If you click this option, the apology screen blinks
out. You will have virtually no functionality in your PC from this point
forward. It doesn't matter how many gigahertz your processor has, or whether
you have the recommended Vista-ready 2 MB of RAM, this is not your party.
On my first install, I waited two hours before pulling the power on my PC.
On my brand new Dell at the office, nothing happened after thirty-two minutes
and I had to get back to being productive. I eventually had to pull the plug
on this PC as well.
In neither attempt, did I receive the normal check screen that shows the
progress of the error-submission. But then I'm not a patient guy. I have
thirty computers and a couple of servers to keep running. If any of you is
willing to give it a couple of additional days before rebooting, let us know
if the error-submission completes.
