Service Pack 2

[bravocharlie]

This is making me a bit shy. Well, I got the Intel based cutie. Now, I want to install MS office. How do I go about that? Can I use my old one for the Powerbook, simply stick in the CD and go from there? And do I need to get the Service Pack 2 from Microsoft? I was kinda hoping to be able to dodge those damn updates once switching to mac.

Best,

BC

 

[yippy]

If you take Office off of your old computer then yes. Just put the CD into into your new computer and install it the same way your did on your Powerbook.

Service Pack 2 is only for Windows. Unless you use bootcamp to install Windows on your computer you don't need to even think about it.

 

[Eraserhead]

If you take Office off of your old computer then yes. Just put the CD into into your new computer and install it the same way your did on your Powerbook.

Or you can just copy your /Applications/Microsoft Office/ folder to your new Mac and it should just work!

If you reinstall and are talking about service pack 2 for office, then yes you'll need to redownload it. But if you copy the application across as above you won't need to.

 

[bravocharlie]

but what about this...

Thank you for responding. But what does this mean: http://www.microsoft.com/mac/default.aspx?pid=office2004sp2

From reading that, I was assuming that I HAD to get Service Pack 2 in order to run Office on my macbook?

 

[mduser63]

Thank you for responding. But what does this mean: http://www.microsoft.com/mac/default.aspx?pid=office2004sp2

From reading that, I was assuming that I HAD to get Service Pack 2 in order to run Office on my macbook?

I'm not sure why you would assume that. AFAIK, Office 2004 works fine on Intel Macs in Rosetta even without installing any updates. Of course, it's (almost) always a good idea to install the updates, but you can install Office first and then update it, no problem.

 

[yippy]

Ah, that service pack 2. No you do not have to have it. Yes it is recommended. By the way, it is only for Office 2004, if you have the older Office X you don't need it.

As eraserhead said, if you copy your Microsoft Office folder over that should be all you need.

That said, if you install it from the CD, just run the Microsoft Updater program and it should install service pack 2 without much hassle.

Unfortunately, updates are a fact of life, on any system. However, the frequent security updates or the huge Windows Service packs that caused so many problems (unrelated to the Office service packs) are not on the Mac.

 

[nadyne]

Thank you for responding. But what does this mean: http://www.microsoft.com/mac/default.aspx?pid=office2004sp2
From reading that, I was assuming that I HAD to get Service Pack 2 in order to run Office on my macbook?

I'm not sure what about that webpage makes you think that you need to get SP2. What makes you think that?

We highly recommend that you keep Office:Mac updated, just as you should keep all of your software updated to the latest versions. We made several performance improvements across the suite, as well as several improvements for Entourage users who are in a Microsoft Exchange environment. (If you're not sure if you're an Exchange user, you're probably not.)

Also, make sure that you remove the Test Drive of Office:Mac that was included with your MacBook before you begin the installation. If you don't, you'll run into problems when the 30-day trial expires (even though you do have a license for Office:Mac).

Regards,
Nadyne.

--
Nadyne Mielke | user experience researcher
Microsoft Corporation | Macintosh Business Unit

 

[bravocharlie]

I'm not sure what about that webpage makes you think that you need to get SP2. What makes you think that?

Well, just some official Danish mac site, using way more imperatives.

You've all be so kind and swift in your responses! Thanks, I a newbie when it comes to macs (had an old PB with office in it), won't service pack 2 bug out and stall the office programs if I just copy the folder? I hear they do that on PCs...?

 

[yippy]

Nope, the Mac version is completely contained in the Office folder. The CD even has dragging a pre-made Office folder onto your hard drive as an install option. Applications on Macs install and uninstall much more easily than in Windows.

 

[mkrishnan]

For what it's worth, the service updates to MS Office seem to come once every 6 mos - 1 yr. They aren't terribly frequent, and they're almost never necessary. MS Office:Mac has an auto-updater that can get the updates for you, or you can set it to run manually (it's a separate program that Office installs next to the Office components). You'll see ... it's no big. This is nothing at all like Windows Critical Updates....

 

[mkrishnan]

Sorry, I read your later question about SP2 "stalling" Office. No, that's pretty unlikely. You drag the Office folder to your Apps directory, and then you run the Updater app that MS provided. It'll install the components and you'll be done. That's it. It shouldn't require a reboot. You should go ahead and install it.