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Trial version of MS Office 2003 error

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7 replies

by btaylor39

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Our new Sony laptop came with a trial version of MSOffice 2003. However, I already owned MSO Professional so I removed the trial version and loaded our purchased copy on the new laptop. It tells me our copy is a trial version good only for 60 days.
How can I remove the trial criteria. Our Pro version was purchased several years back.

7 replies

by thumbsup2

Did you go to the control panel and uninstall the trial version with add/remove programs AND reboot afterwards? Or, did you simply delete the icons in the start menu?

Also, you'll need to tell us which OS and version you've got on the new laptop before we can begin to help.

by btaylor39

The new laptop has Windows XP Pro, Version 5.1. I removed the trial program of MS Office via Control Panel/Add/Remove Programs. I don't think I rebooted prior to loading our Professional version of MS Office 2003.

by regcor

Did you, after uninstalling the trial version, remove the folders left behind by Microsoft's Uninstaller and check the Registry? Because this is possibly the cause as there were no doubt files left behind in the non-removed folder(s). This has happened to me a few times. Try it. regcor@westnet.com.au

by btaylor39

I am not competent in editing the registry and identifying which files to delete. Since I have MS Office still loaded there are several possibilities. I could remove MS Office again and perhaps improve my chances (backing up the registry first, of course). I have asked Sony to weigh in on this and they suggest removing and reloading in safe mode. Any thoughts?

by dee46

I had s very similar problem with my Packard Bell laptop when trying to remove the trial version of Norton to install my more up to date version - after 90 days I had the same problem as yourselves and Norton's helpline were unable to help. I found the answer on the Packard Bell website, which was to use their SmartRestore programme to remove it (and any other trial programmes), not Add/Remove Programmes. It might be worth while checking the Support pages for your computer on the Sony website to see if they have a similar system. Hope this helps!

by btaylor39

I called the Microsoft help customer support line and got a live person to remove the registry files that apparently are retained when removing the trial version. We removed the version that I had loaded and reloaded after the registry was cleaned. They do this by taking control of your computer. Also, they did not charge me for the service though it is normally a fee for service contact.
Thanks to all who replied.

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