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Lost Microsoft Office in HD Crash

N

nic01scgt

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 5, 2008
19
0
About a month ago my MacBook's hard drive crashed. I took the laptop into an Apple store and since I was still under warranty they replaced the HD for free and upgrading me to Leopard. Unfortunately, my Microsoft Office 2004 was lost with the old HD.

My problem is that I sold the install disc on Ebay since I only need one of the three install keys. Ignorantly, I also did not write down my install key. Am I screwed or is there anyway to get Microsoft Office back? I'm starting school back up soon and I really don't want to have to buy it again.

Thanks,

Nic
 
well it is against the license to use a product after you sold it

aka you shouldnt have sold the disk on ebay if you wanted to use the program

so your options are to buy office again or download neooffice (which is office compatible for free)

we wont help with you trying to pirate office though
 
Duff-Man says...yup, looks like you screwed yourself. You really should have paid a bit more attention to the license agreement before selling the discs. Those 3 install keys are not given without any strings attached and are not meant to be shared amongst any 3 users in the world...oh yeah!
 
dukebound85 said:
well it is against the license to use a product after you sold it

aka you shouldnt have sold the disk on ebay if you wanted to use the program

so your options are to buy office again or download neooffice (which is office compatible for free)

we wont help with you trying to pirate office though
Click to expand...

I didn't realize I needed to keep the disc after buying it. It comes with 3 installs so it would have been a waste for me to keep 2 perfectly good install keys in storage.

I'm not trying to pirate it either. I guess I'll have to re-buy it. NeoOffice sounds neat but I need Excel for school and work.

Thanks.
 
At worst a photocopy of the keys would have helped.

Keeping that stuff around, even writing it on you OS X box is helpful.

Generally you might misplace some of the other paperwork -- but you tend to hunt down the OS X box for repairs without mercy.

---

If you are in college, the cost should be quite a bit less that the $150 retail for MS Office Student & Home.
 
are you sure the spreadsheet app in neooffice wont work for you? it handles excel files very well and can save in the .xls or .xlsx format

just tryin to save you the 125ish bucks!
 
Sun Baked said:
At worst a photocopy of the keys would have helped.

Keeping that stuff around, even writing it on you OS X box is helpful.

Generally you might misplace some of the other paperwork -- but you tend to hunt down the OS X box for repairs without mercy.

---

If you are in college, the cost should be quite a bit less that the $150 retail for MS Office Student & Home.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it totally slipped my mind. I made photo copies of everything else including my receipts, UPC codes, etc. but forgot about MS Office. Like you said, it should be a lot cheaper since I'm a student but it's still money I don't have. I still need to renew my Apple Care!
 
dukebound85 said:
are you sure the spreadsheet app in neooffice wont work for you? it handles excel files very well and can save in the .xls or .xlsx format

just tryin to save you the 125ish bucks!
Click to expand...

I figured NeoOffice was just a word processor. I might have to check it out then if it will handle Excel docs...
 
dukebound85 said:
also does ppt, drawing and database (office equivalent to access)
Click to expand...

Neat! It looks like I won't need MS Office after all! I just downloaded NeoOffice and it looks very similar to MS Office and super easy to use. So with this software I can write a word document and make spread sheets that someone else would be able to open in MS Word and Excel? And I will also be able to open and edit Word and Excel files in NeoOffice?
 
nic01scgt said:
Neat! It looks like I won't need MS Office after all! I just downloaded NeoOffice and it looks very similar to MS Office and super easy to use. So with this software I can write a word document and make spread sheets that someone else would be able to open in MS Word and Excel? And I will also be able to open and edit Word and Excel files in NeoOffice?
Click to expand...

yup sure can. the point of neooffice is to replicate the features of office so you dont have to "pay" for it

with that said, while the compatibility between neooffice and office is great, its not perfect like office is with itself (usually it comes with fonts and formatting but i havent found it to be a big issue as it hardly occurs for me). very good substitute though
 
dukebound85 said:
yup sure can. the point of neooffice is to replicate the features of office so you dont have to "pay" for it

with that said, while the compatibility between neooffice and office is great, its not perfect like office is with itself. very good substitute though
Click to expand...

How cool! Boy am I glad I posted here first. Even though I'm not able to get my MS Office back you guys sure did offer a nice alternative! Thanks for saving me some money!

Nic
 
Can I Re-use Install Product Key if Lost in HD Crash?

I'm hoping someone might still be checking in on this subject matter--as I had a crashing HD experience w/my MacBook, about a month ago, as well! No warning--just a reboot and it was dead!

My Office for Mac 2004 software allowed me three installations, but the HD crash made me use up my third one, in order to re-install Office for Mac back onto the MacBook. Now, I want to put Office for Mac 2004 on my new iMac, as well as having it on the two laptops.

Does anyone know if I can re-use the key that is, now, NOT being used, as that installation was LOST in the HD crash? I'm not looking to violate any protocol, but, rather, believe it is legitimate for 3 installations to be operational, as it was a straight forward purchase of the software and three licenses, to begin with.

Thank you to anyone taking the time to respond.
 
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