MS Office Pro 2007 - MS won't re activate

[maryeleek]

I purchased MS Office Pro 2007 at Office Depot in my hometown many years ago. I also purchased a 3 license package of 2007 Home and Student so we could install Word on our laptops. Both software packages are identical in appearance, with exact case styles and security strips, hologram disks, etc. My old desktop is dying and I'm in the process of moving my files and reinstalling my software. MS won't allow me to reactivate my Office Pro. They tell me it is counterfeit! They tell me the Home & Student is OK.

The tiny security strand is under the barcodes on both packages, the disks all have the hologram, there is an MS book and various inserts for MS products included in the software cases. The activation key label is glued in the inside bottom of the container and to my eye, it looks legit. Has anyone ever heard of counterfeit MS software being sold through a nationally known retail store?

I am furious about this. I was directed on MS Live chat to call a phone number. This second person told me my software was counterfeit and that I should go to howtotell.com, where they could provide me with a new registration key. Instead, I was lead through a series of questions and instructed to send my software to Microsoft PID Center in Erie, PA. Even though I noted on the questionnaire I no longer had a sale receipt, once I printed the form to send with my office software, I'm asked to include these missing items (a sales receipt from 2007) plus a 5 x 5 product key (the key is on a glued in MS label inside each of the software containers). All I can provide is the entire product package as it was when I purchased it. If I can't include a 2007 sales receipt, I wonder if this means they will not honor my software purchase?

When I enter the barcode found on the product label, up pops a photo of my MS Office Pro 2007 on the computer screen. IF this is counterfeit, someone did a mighty good job of it. 882224263610

MS no longer supports this older software so there's no one who will even discuss it with me. I don't want nor need support but I did expect I'd be able to utilize my purchased license to use the software on one computer. I can't find any mention of the license only being good for a limited number of years.

Has anyone ever experienced this denial of activation? The person who sent me to howtotell.com website said the facility would provide me with a valid registration key once they'd had a chance to look over the software but it says right on the printed form that they will not return any documentation. So I wonder how I can reinstall my office software with a new registration key without the software?

What a mess and it doesn't appear it can be easily corrected.

Mary

 

[Ranger4]

This must be most frustrating for you.

Counterfeit Windows software is definitely a problem & there is plenty of counterfeit Windows software around, unfortunately. Some of the counterfeiters supply some surprising good looking bogus copies.

If both MS people you spoke to have suggested your Office Pro is counterfeit it probably is. They would have used the Activation Code to check this. Short of providing all the information & returning the required items to MS for confirmation I can't suggest anything else, other than to purchase the current version of Office & update.

 

[maryeleek]

Ranger4, thank you for your comments. I've calmed myself down a bit and now trying to decide if I should send the entire retail package or just the disks. There is an instructional booklet inside the software container that is about a half inch thick plus the weight of the heavy plastic container, which makes for a pretty hefty package. But I'm thinking the entire package might provide some clues for them if this is, indeed, counterfeit. Of course, having purchased it some 11 years ago, I'd think it would be impossible to help much in the way of tracking the source. I know the store considered it valuable software as I can see where the store electronic security tag had been attached and removed at purchase. I can even see, embossed on the bottom of the plastic container, Microsoft, patent pending, a patent number, the recycle emblem, etc. I understand a company must protect themselves against this type of activity and for that reason, even though it will be costly for me, I think I should probably send the whole software package to them.

What I don't understand is why it wasn't caught sooner. I completed the original installation just after purchase and again when I upgraded to Windows 7Pro. So that's two installations, spaced widely apart, where MS accepted the key code. I still have one license left on my Home and Student 3 license package but it doesn't have Outlook, which is what I use the most. What a pickle.

I am 73 and a home user so it's difficult to justify having to repurchase this product again when there was no intent on my part to do anything wrong. Being able to vent has at least helped me to calm down!

Mary

 

[Ranger4]

Yes, being able able to vent does relieve the frustration a bit. I am also in the older age bracket at 77, so I know how you feel. It's probably best to send the whole package back to MS, but make sure you get the correct address & get the name of someone there so you can follow up if necessary.

Did you keep installing Office 2007 Pro Updates over the years you have had it?. Normally when the Update system is used it checks for activation & you get notified if it doesn't pass.

 

[maryeleek]

I wish I 'could' confirm something with someone but speaking to a live person isn't an option. I was simply told by the only person I did get to speak with early on where to go to report my 'illegal' software. Once there, I was simply presented with a form to fill out. Once I'd done that, I was asked to print the form and to send it and the software to a pre printed address. Even though the questions were more specific on screen, when the form is printed, it reads as if I'd claimed to have received illegal software in the mail or included with a purchased computer from a vendor. No mention of a purchased retail product. The address:

Microsoft PID Center
5148 Peach Street #332
Erie PA 16509

My counterfeit report number is: 8ZTY-KCBF

I looked up the address on google maps and it isn't what I expected. The photo that came up for the location appears to be one of those small quick ship drop off businesses. The software is now useless to me so I might as well send it in and let them have at it.

Yes, I have always accepted and installed all of the application and security updates. I've had this office suite installed on a computer running XP and then I upgraded to a new Windows 7 Pro computer and reinstalled it on the win7Pro computer. Over all, I've used this office suite for many years.

Mary

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Mayhap the problem is because Office 2007 reached EOL around 6 months ago.

 

[Ranger4]

maryeleek. It might be a good idea to enclose a covering letter when sending the Office package to MS explaining the history of your problem.

As Lady F has suggested, MS is very reluctant to assist with MS products that have reached their End Of Life, but you may be lucky.

If you are like me you probably need your Office program everyday, so any lengthy delays will be frustrating & possibly cause work bank ups.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Until you can sort this out (or not), you might look into using LibreOffice. It is similar to MS Office and work can be saved in fairly compatible MS file formats or as PDF files. Even though my Office 2010 will not reach EOL for a bit over two years, I've already abandoned it for LibreOffice (primarily since it is also compatible with Linux, which I plan on being using by 2020).

 

[maryeleek]

Ranger4, excellent suggestion. A cover letter will be included with the software.

Lady Fitzgerald, I do have an open source office package installed. I also have a license left on my 3 license MS Office 2007 Home & Student so I have access to a working Word, Excel and PowerPoint. It is Outlook I really need the most and it isn't included in the Home and Student package. I've never ask for nor required support for this software other than my expectation that MS honor my use license. Based on end of life for this software suite, I do understand I used it at my peril and accept the risk (or did ). My feeling is, why should I have to pay for a new license for replacement software when what I have already paid for still meets my needs.

I did consider purchasing Office 2016 Home and Business before this situation even cropped up. If I understood correctly, the file format for Outlook has changed. Attempting to bring all of my Outlook files current just seemed a chore I didn't want to address at that time.

If truth be told, I don't for a moment believe the software I purchased is bogus. I think a glitch has occurred somewhere in the vast MS support system that has mistakenly marked this product key illegal. And now, since this office suite is no longer being supported, I'm left with scant recourse.

I thank you both for your interest in my odd situation and for your helpful suggestions. If I receive a response from Microsoft PID Center, I will certainly come back and update this thread.

Mary

 

[mrjimphelps]

You might try using Thunderbird for your email, if you can't get Outlook activated.

I'm not convinced that you have a counterfeit license. If your license has worked (i.e. has been valid) for all these years, then it is not counterfeit. Sometimes a reinstall onto another computer can make Microsoft think you are installing the same license onto two computers, thereby violating the license terms. Did you uninstall the software from the old computer before trying to install it onto the new computer? This will let Microsoft know that you have removed it from the old computer, which should free up the license for the new computer. Be sure to do a backup of your old computer before uninstalling Office; that way, you can at least have one way of accessing Office, if you can't get Office activated on the new computer.

Here is some helpful information about transferring MS Office from one computer to another:
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...ation-to/956244a0-385d-4e21-a21e-87b4179111d1

 

[Ranger4]

Sometimes a reinstall onto another computer can make Microsoft think you are installing the same license onto two computers, thereby violating the license terms. Did you uninstall the software from the old computer before trying to install it onto the new computer? This will let Microsoft know that you have removed it from the old computer, which should free up the license for the new computer. Be sure to do a backup of your old computer before uninstalling Office; that way, you can at least have one way of accessing Office, if you can't get Office activated on the new computer.

That is a very good possible explanation as to what may have happened.

Mary. I will be very interested in hearing back from you if & when you get this problem sorted out.