Oh crap I've lost the product key for office 7!

[Schroeder]

I bought my netbook in April for the purpose of having my own computer for my OU course. I haven't as yet used it for much besides surfing.

Any way my 1st assignment is due soon, so I need to have word up and running. It keeps asking me for a product key; this is apparently a long number that would have been printed on the packaging of the netbook somewhere.

I have no idea whether I kept the paperwork or threw it away.

What can I do?

Please help me

Did it have the little card board cd holder? it's usually on the back of there :)

can yuo call wherever you bought it from?

Ring them. You usually go through to a call centre in India. Tell them you lost it and they will issue you with a new one. Or so my DH says...

Hooray I have found a product key on the bottom of the netbook.

Boo it does not bloody work-says it's invalid. Do you think these things go out of date?

Thanks for you kind advice btw

are yuo sure the key you've found is for the office installation and not for the operating system?

Ah shriek you may have a point, will have a peek.

Hmm it says microsoft so that could be either bugger.

I doubt that would be the office ky. I think it may even be the MAC key of the machine.

Bloody hell I must be thick I've no idea what that means.

In my defence this is my first ever 'puter and dh is a programmer; I may have let my computing knowledge slide a bit over the last 15 years

I'm now beginning to wonder if I might only have a free trial installed anyway

If you click to activate by telephone tell them it's already installed but you don't have the key, they should give you another :)

If you are an OU student, you can get a student licence

for £39.

But Microsoft Works word processor isn't too different to Microsoft Word, and would do for your assignments.

Ah lougle you are very kind thanks a lot for the link.

I'm aware I sound to stupid for the OU, but really it's just being out of education for so long honest.

"I doubt that would be the office ky. I think it may even be the MAC key of the machine."

It won't be the MAC key, or the MAC Address, as that's a hardware setting linked to the network card. It says Microsoft on it so more than likely it's the product key for Windows.

Why don't you try using Open Office?
www.openoffice.org/

It's free and just about as good as Word.

fair enough, or the serial number of the machine then. I don't think they'd put software keys on a label on the machine itself, would they? It'd be more likely to be on the disk.

Microsoft do usually put the product key for Windows on the machine on one of those fancy licensing stickers with shiny bits and holograms. The machine's serial number is nothing to do with them and would be visible somewhere else.