Office XP Pro: White boxes at launch

[Alpha]

Hi,

I have just reinstalled Office XP Pro on a Dell Dimension 8100. The PC
and Office XP Pro were purchased as a package two years ago. The
computer has caused me problem after problem since the day I bought
it, necessitating five or six reinstallations of the OS. I have, in
fact, tried three operating systems: the original Windows 2000 Pro,
Windows 98SE, and, more recently, Windows ME.

The system crashed again last night. I reformatted the hard drive and
did a clean install of Win 98SE, which has probably been the least
troublesome of the operating systems on this PC. This morning I
installed and reactivated Office XP, which has never given me a major
problem. I am wondering whether it has installed correctly. When I
launch an application, the words "This product is licensed to" are
replaced by a row of little white boxes.

I do not know whether this is symptomatic of a dying computer system,
which I hope to replace, whether my Office XP installation CD is
corrupt.

Assuming I do replace my PC, would I be able to install/run my cope of
Office XP Pro on a non-Dell machine. It appears to be a standard
Microsoft copy: no mention of Dell anywhere on the disc.

Any ideas?

Alpha

 

[Bob Buckland ?:-\)]

Hi Alpha,

Check in Tools=>Options=>User Info in Word
to see if you can correct the licensed to information
or in the registry using the information here.
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=290528
There are a couple of things that can cause this,
including choosing a 'decorative' font choice for
one of your system fonts.


If Office XP is an OEM edition it's tied to
the original machine where activated and cannot
be moved.

===========
Hi,

I have just reinstalled Office XP Pro on a Dell Dimension 8100. The PC
and Office XP Pro were purchased as a package two years ago. The
computer has caused me problem after problem since the day I bought
it, necessitating five or six reinstallations of the OS. I have, in
fact, tried three operating systems: the original Windows 2000 Pro,
Windows 98SE, and, more recently, Windows ME.

The system crashed again last night. I reformatted the hard drive and
did a clean install of Win 98SE, which has probably been the least
troublesome of the operating systems on this PC. This morning I
installed and reactivated Office XP, which has never given me a major
problem. I am wondering whether it has installed correctly. When I
launch an application, the words "This product is licensed to" are
replaced by a row of little white boxes.

I do not know whether this is symptomatic of a dying computer system,
which I hope to replace, whether my Office XP installation CD is
corrupt.

Assuming I do replace my PC, would I be able to install/run my cope of
Office XP Pro on a non-Dell machine. It appears to be a standard
Microsoft copy: no mention of Dell anywhere on the disc.

Any ideas?

Alpha >>
--
Hope that helps,

Bob Buckland ? MS Word/Office MVP
http://forums.compuserve.com/gvforums/default.asp?SRV=MSOfficeForum
*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*

 

[Alpha]

Hi Alpha,

Check in Tools=>Options=>User Info in Word
to see if you can correct the licensed to information
or in the registry using the information here.
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=290528
There are a couple of things that can cause this,
including choosing a 'decorative' font choice for
one of your system fonts.


If Office XP is an OEM edition it's tied to
the original machine where activated and cannot
be moved.

Hi Bob,

Thanks for your reply. Curiously, the row of white boxes disappeared
after a couple of hours. I see the usual "This product is licensed
to:" when I launch an Office XP application.

I'll risk sounding a complete idiot and admit that I am staggered to
hear that I will not be able to use my copy of Office XP Pro,
purchased with my hideous Dell Dimension 8100. I did not come as
standard. I paid in the region of £200 for it. I think Dell is now
charging £217. It strikes me as very odd that I can make a legal
purchase, use the product on one PC, as stated in the licence
agreement, but cannot use the software on a replacement system, still
sticking to the licence agreement to use it one PC. It has worked out
a very expensive way to buy software. I doubt that many people would
go for this option if they were fully informed of the facts. As for
me, I'll be looking at non-Microsoft Office software.

Daft questions: how does the Office XP software "know" it's installed
on a different PC? Would it install or install and fail to activate?

Regards,

Alpha

 

[Alpha]

Hi Bob,

Thanks for your reply. Curiously, the row of white boxes disappeared
after a couple of hours. I see the usual "This product is licensed
to:" when I launch an Office XP application.

I'll risk sounding a complete idiot and admit that I am staggered to
hear that I will not be able to use my copy of Office XP Pro,
purchased with my hideous Dell Dimension 8100. I did not come as
standard. I paid in the region of £200 for it. I think Dell is now
charging £217. It strikes me as very odd that I can make a legal
purchase, use the product on one PC, as stated in the licence
agreement, but cannot use the software on a replacement system, still
sticking to the licence agreement to use it one PC. It has worked out
a very expensive way to buy software. I doubt that many people would
go for this option if they were fully informed of the facts. As for
me, I'll be looking at non-Microsoft Office software.

Daft question: how does the Office XP software "know" it's installed
on a different PC?

Regards,

Alpha

 

[Alpha]

Hi Alpha,

The Office software doesn't know when it's
installed that it's a different PC.
It's when you activate it that the records
are checked for a prior install.

========

Hi Bob,

This is what's filtering through to me from a range of sources.
Unfortunaely, it means that I can no longer afford to use Microsoft
Office software. I'm looking for the best alternative.

Thanks for your help,

Alpha

 

[Alpha]

Hi Alpha,

The Office software doesn't know when it's
installed that it's a different PC.
It's when you activate it that the records
are checked for a prior install.

========

Hi Bob,

Thanks for your follow-up reply. This is the information that is
filtering through to me from various sources. Unfortunately, it means
I can no longer afford to run Microsoft Office software. The purchase
via Dell was a bad buy and the "full" product I thought I had bought
is out of my price range. I'm looking at alternative office software
and will probably opt for Sun v.6.

Thanks again for your help,

Alpha

 

[Geoffw]

you can always remove the hard drive and place into new pc
(aka an upgrade of the original dell machine) - then use the
telepohone activation to advise MS that you have upgraded
your pc - the original machine does not exclude changes to
the original configuration - this assumes that the software
is not going to be used on more then one machine

Geoff

 

[Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]]

Why don't you try it before giving up on some rather expensive programs? It
is surprisingly easy and you may not even have to talk to a person. Just
press some numbers on your telephone.

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact.


After searching google.groups.com and finding no answer
Alpha <[email protected]> asked:

| || you can always remove the hard drive and place into new pc
|| (aka an upgrade of the original dell machine) - then use the
|| telepohone activation to advise MS that you have upgraded
|| your pc - the original machine does not exclude changes to
|| the original configuration - this assumes that the software
|| is not going to be used on more then one machine
||
|| Geoff
||
| Thanks, Geoff, but the hard drive will be on the tip with the rest of
| the Dell. Only the floppy drive and CD-RW are fit to be part of a new
| system. Moreover, I've heard that Microsoft don't take kindly to major
| upgrades (e.g. new motherboards) so I doubt I'd get past activation!
| My Star Office is on order.
|
| Regards,
|
| Alpha

 

[Alpha]

Why don't you try it before giving up on some rather expensive programs? It
is surprisingly easy and you may not even have to talk to a person. Just
press some numbers on your telephone.

After searching google.groups.com and finding a consensus of opinion
Alpha <[email protected]> still lives in hope:

Hello Molly,

I am familiar with the activation procedure; I've been through it so
many times since I bought the Dell and Office XP. In the UK, it is
assumed one is going to use the telephone keys rather than speak with
a Microsoft agent. However, this method has failed for me in the past
because there was such a short time between one installation and the
next. More to the point, I'm not trying to cheat Microsoft. I just
want to use my £200 software legally. There is a consensus that it is
not a "full" version and can therefore only be used with the Dell
system and no other. If this is the case, there is little point trying
to activate the software unless there are major flaws in the
activation process itself. You appear to be Microsoft qualified. What
is your view on the matter?

Regards,

Alpha

 

[Alpha]

I would definitely try it with those couple of pieces or
even one of them, major hardware failure is a good reason to
upgrade in my eyes

Or flog the dell, the licence for the software will go with
the computer OS and office
Geoff

Flog the Dell!I don't hate anybody enough.

Alpha