Microsoft Office XP Product Activation FAQ:

Microsoft Office XP Product Activation
All Office XP retail products contain software-based product activation technology, which means you need to activate your Office XP products in order to use them. Customers who license Microsoft Office products through volume licensing agreement programs such as Open and Select will not be required to activate their products, as this will be done by the systems administrator during deployment.
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How to Obtain a Volume License Key for Enterprise Editions of Office
Microsoft Product Activation requires Volume License customers to input a Volume License product key when they install from Volume License or MSDN media for all Microsoft Office XP products. This product key is assigned to company or institution. third parties who are authorized to install and distribute licenses pursuant to the terms of your agreement.
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Q293192 - Ofice XP: How to Activate a Perpetual License
This article describes how to activate the perpetual license version of Microsoft Office XP. The same procedure can also be used for any standalone version of Microsoft Access 2002, Microsoft Excel 2002, Microsoft FrontPage 2002, Microsoft Outlook 2002, Microsoft PowerPoint 2002, Microsoft Publisher 2002, or Microsoft Word 2002. The perpetual license gives you a perpetual license to use Office or one of the standalone products; in other words, the license never expires. When you start any of the Office programs for the first time after installing Office, the Microsoft Office Activation Wizard automatically runs. You are presented with two activation options, or you can choose to active Office at a later time...

Q293194 - Office XP: How to Activate a Product Trial Program License
This article describes how to activate the Product Trial Program version of Microsoft Office XP. You can use the same procedure for any stand-alone version of Microsoft FrontPage 2002 or Microsoft Publisher 2002. The Product Trial Program version has a finite subscription period. The subscription period begins when you activate your product and continues for one month. When the license expires, you must uninstall the product and install a new copy of the product.

Q295167 - OFFXP: Installation Considerations for the Office XP Trial Version
When you install the Office XP Professional Trial version, you have the option of either keeping or removing any earlier version of Office. If you choose to remove an earlier version of Office but want the option of using that version at a later time, you must have the installation source for that earlier version available (for example, the installation CD-ROMs). Before you reinstall your earlier Office version, you must uninstall the trial version. This article outlines some of the considerations that need to be made before you install the Microsoft Office XP Trial version.

Q293151 - OFFXP: About Office Activation and Reduced Functionality
This article provides an overview of the Microsoft Office Activation Wizard. Microsoft Office XP includes an Activation Wizard. To fully use Microsoft Office XP, you must activate it. If you fail to activate the product after you install it, the Office programs can only be started in reduced-functionality mode. In reduced-functionality mode, Office XP programs function more like viewers. In other words, you cannot save modifications to documents or create a new document. Additional functionality may be reduced, as well. No existing Office files are harmed while the product is in reduced-functionality mode.

Q293191 - OFFXP: How to Activate an End-User Subscription License
This article describes how to activate an end-user subscription license that is only for the following editions of Microsoft Office XP:
Professional
Small Business
NOTE: As of August 2001, the Office XP Subscription License is not available in the United States.
When you start any of the Office programs for the first time after you install Office, the Microsoft Office Activation Wizard automatically runs. You are presented with three activation options, or you can choose to activate Office at a later time:
Activate by using the Internet
Activate by using the telephone
Activate by using a non-subscription product key

Q293806 - OFFXP: Error Message When You Start Office Program: Please Enter a Valid Product Key to Use This Product
When you start one of the Office programs for the first time, you may receive the following error message: Please enter a valid product key to use this product - setup has detected that the product key is missing or invalid. You will find this 25-character key on your Certificate of Authenticity or the yellow sticker on the back of the case. When you click OK to this error message, the Windows Installer starts and the User information dialog box is displayed, prompting you to type your product key. If you click Cancel in the User information dialog box, the Office program quits immediately.

Q296924 - OFFXP: Message: Microsoft Office XP <Edition> Has Detected a Significant Change in Your Machine Configuration
When you start one of the Office programs, you may receive the following message Microsoft Office XP edition has detected a significant change in your machine configuration. For Microsoft Office XP edition to continue functioning properly, and to avoid entry into reduced functionality mode, you must reactivate your product. With the product in reduced functionality mode, you will not be able to save or create new documents, and other product functionality will be reduced. For more information about reduced functionality mode, click the Help button. To start the reactivation process, please insert your Microsoft Office XP edition, and then click the Next button. where edition is the Office product that you installed, for example, Microsoft Office XP Professional with FrontPage. When you click Next, you may receive the following message The feature you are trying to use is on a network resource that is unavailable. Click OK to try again, or enter an alternate path to a folder containing the installation package 'edition package.msi' in the box below. where edition package is the name of the Windows Installer package file that is used to install Office (for example, Proplus.msi). If you click Exit in the dialog box that displays the first message, the Office program starts in reduced-functionality mode.


Q300273 - OFFXP: Cannot Activate OEM Edition More Than Once
When you attempt to activate your Office XP license, you may receive the following message According to our records, this copy of Microsoft Office XP edition has already been activated on another computer. If you believe you have received this message in error, please contact a Customer Support Representative by clicking OK and following the instructions. where edition is the specific edition of Office XP that is installed (for example, Small Business). When you click OK, you see the Office Activation Wizard dialog box, with the options to activate Office via the Internet or telephone.

Q304226 - OFFXP: Reactivation Message When You Start a Program from Enterprise Edition
When you start one of the Office XP programs that was installed from an Enterprise edition of Office by using a volume license key, you may receive the following message Microsoft Office XP edition has detected a significant change in your machine configuration. For Microsoft Office XP edition to continue functioning properly, and to avoid entry into reduced functionality mode, you must reactivate your product. With the product in reduced functionality mode, you will not be able to save or create new documents, and other product functionality will be reduced. For more information about reduced functionality mode, click the Help button. To start the reactivation process, please insert your Microsoft Office XP edition, and then click the Next button. where edition is the Office product that you installed, for example, Microsoft Office XP Professional with FrontPage. When you click Next, you may receive the following message The feature you are trying to use is on a network resource that is unavailable. Click OK to try again, or enter an alternate path to a folder containing the installation package 'edition package.msi' in the box below. where edition package is the name of the Windows Installer package file that is used to install Office (for example, Proplus.msi). When you click Exit in the dialog box that displays the first message, the Office program starts in reduced-functionality mode.

Q280649 - OFFXP: Activate Product Menu Item Remains After You Activate the Office XP License
After you install Microsoft Office XP and activate the license, the Activate Product menu item unexpectedly remains on the Microsoft Office Tools menu (click Start and point to Programs). When you click Activate Product, you receive the following message: This product has already been activated.

Q290134 - OFFXP: How to Determine Whether You Have a Retail or Enterprise Edition of Office XP
Two editions of Microsoft Office XP are available: Retail and Enterprise. These two editions are nearly identical, but there may be situations in which you need to determine which edition you own or have installed. This article explains the differences between the Enterprise and Retail editions of Office XP. ... If you were required to activate your Office license, you own a Retail edition of Office. Enterprise editions of Office are obtained through multiple-license agreements and do not require product activation.

Related links:

Microsoft Office XP Setup FAQ

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