Microsoft office GRR

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

I purchased a laptop in 2015 and along with it, I bought Microsoft office and had it installed. Everything just fine these 7 years, until today. Suddenly I can't do many things in Word and the screen flashes that my trial has expired. I never had a trial version. I bought and paid for the version of Office I got in 2015. I can not find anything on line and can't even find a microsoft help site. Unfortunately, the box and card for what I bought were lost in a house fire. The computer store says records that old are out of their system. I am seriously angry.

[Lee Schierer]

You could always switch to Open Office which does most everything Office will do and it's free.

[Greg Funk]

Do you have an online microsoft account? If not there's likely a key buried in your computer somewhere that could be recovered. Annoying but you should be able to contact customer support and get the issue sorted out.

[Aaron Rosenthal]

I get emails from Easus (I’m a customer) and they have a product that recovers product keys.

[Andrew More]

This sounds helpful, essentially they suggest there might be a trial version of Word, along with the version you own:
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...9-0a7f2b6aa2f0

Also it might be a virus, try running a virus scanner.

[glenn bradley]

Two words: Libre Office. When I left corporate America I knew that the license would expire eventually. I started using Libre Office a few months before retirement without issue and continue to use it today. The Visio replacement is not what I wish it was but I have no need of Visio anymore in retirement land.

[Dan Bundy]

Another vote for Libre Office

[Dave Fritz]

I had a similar thing happen. I contacted the store I bought it from and the tech recovered the original program they installed. I just say no to everything Microsoft pops up and try's to sell.

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

Thanks every one. I am a dinosaur when it comes to computers. I had open office, but some things, I could never figure out. Like addressing envelopes, etc.

[Curt Harms]

You could always switch to Open Office which does most everything Office will do and it's free.

I would recommend Libre Office over Open Office. Open Office developers left and started Libre Office when Oracle got involved with Open Office IIRC so development of Open Office has pretty much come to a halt. If MS office file compatibility is important, there may be better but lesser known options. Only Office is one that gets pretty good reviews. For my limited uses, if I save a word processor document or spreadsheet as a .doc or .xls I've had no complaints. I use the older Microsoft file formats when concerned about compatibility because Microsoft is no longer 'improving' the older file formats. They do tinker with .docx and .xlsx which can break compability with non-Microsoft office suites. Libre Office will save the newer Microsoft file formats and the newer file formats open fine. It's saving in the new file formats where problems have been known to appear. Perhaps that's fixed, dunno.

[Curt Harms]

Thanks every one. I am a dinosaur when it comes to computers. I had open office, but some things, I could never figure out. Like addressing envelopes, etc.

I had a large format printer (11 X 17) that I could never get to print envelopes reliably. The problem was with the printer driver not the software. One thing about Libre Office and other non-Microsoft software is that they don't use a 'ribbon' interface. Some people, probably younger and have never used anything but MS Office swear by the ribbon interface. Others swear at it.

[Tom M King]

I've never studied the different ones, or been interested in putting time into doing it. We just pay the yearly fee to MS. Updates get installed automatically, and it's all worked flawlessly. The hundred bucks a year is just not worth putting a lot of time in to save as long as it's working as good as it has. Everything works including decades old Powerpoints and Word files.

[John K Jordan]

You might try restoring the system (if you've set a restore point). Don't know if it will work.


Something I always do: I record software purchase info and keys/codes in a text file, save the file in multiple places including a thumb drive, and print it out. Just today I installed a program on a new computer and had to apply the key. I also write any keys on the CDs that applications used to come on.

(As for MS Office, I'm happy with the Office 2000 version I bought years ago. Does everything I need. If occasionally asks me to register it and I politely decline. If for some reason Word and Excel catastrophically failed I'd find something else even if I had to pay for it, and never look back.)

[Mike Henderson]

I finally broke down and bought a subscription to Office 365. It's $99/year. For that, you get six installations so you can install it on all of your family and friends' computers. And you get continual updates.

I had been buying Office standalone but I'd upgrade every few years. I figure this will be about the same price long term. I have three computers in my house.

Mike

[Tom M King]

That's what I was talking about. I haven't had to think about any of those programs in Office since I started buying the yearly subscription. Any time they have an update, it's on our computers when I wake up in the morning.