Answered by:
Transfer Office 2007 to Another Computer

Question
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I need to transfer my Office 2007 to my new computer so it stays genuine.
Saturday, May 19, 2007 2:08 PM
Answers
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I am unsure as what you are needing. Do you want to install Office to another computer and use it there?
Stephen Holm, MS
OGA and WGA Forum Manager
Monday, May 21, 2007 8:57 PM -
Yes, But i want the office to be genuine.Tuesday, May 22, 2007 8:29 PM
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Jhko,
Uninstall Office 2007 from your system. In turn reinstall Office on the system which you want. Please read the End User Licensing Agreement (EULA) should you have any questions. The EULA will answer all specific questions. Please repost should you have any questions. I will include the directions for telephone activation should you encounter any complications.
“Activate by using the telephone” option. To activate the product this way, follow these steps:
1) Start any Office program.
2) In the “Office Activation Wizard”, click the “Activate by using the telephone” option, and then click Next
3) Read the “Microsoft Office Privacy Policy” page, and then click “Next”.
Note You are not required to read the Microsoft Office Privacy Policy to continue these steps in Microsoft Office 2007. A link to the Microsoft Office Privacy Policy is provided so that you can read it at any time.4) In the “Select your location” list, select a country or region. Call the telephone number that is listed on line 2. The customer service agent will ask you for the installation ID and will give you a confirmation ID in return. Type the confirmation ID in the boxes provided.
5) Click “Next”.
6) On the “Activation Complete” page, click “Finish”.
Please reference the following KB Article should you have any problems http://support.microsoft.com/kb/903275/en-us. Here you will find links for various resolutions which you may encounter. Also reference the following site for various telephone activation centers: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/326851. Please re-post here should you need further assistance. Thank you and have a great day!
Thank you
Stephen Holm
OGA Forum ManagerWednesday, May 23, 2007 12:31 AM
All replies
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I am unsure as what you are needing. Do you want to install Office to another computer and use it there?
Stephen Holm, MS
OGA and WGA Forum Manager
Monday, May 21, 2007 8:57 PM -
Yes, But i want the office to be genuine.Tuesday, May 22, 2007 8:29 PM
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Jhko,
Uninstall Office 2007 from your system. In turn reinstall Office on the system which you want. Please read the End User Licensing Agreement (EULA) should you have any questions. The EULA will answer all specific questions. Please repost should you have any questions. I will include the directions for telephone activation should you encounter any complications.
“Activate by using the telephone” option. To activate the product this way, follow these steps:
1) Start any Office program.
2) In the “Office Activation Wizard”, click the “Activate by using the telephone” option, and then click Next
3) Read the “Microsoft Office Privacy Policy” page, and then click “Next”.
Note You are not required to read the Microsoft Office Privacy Policy to continue these steps in Microsoft Office 2007. A link to the Microsoft Office Privacy Policy is provided so that you can read it at any time.4) In the “Select your location” list, select a country or region. Call the telephone number that is listed on line 2. The customer service agent will ask you for the installation ID and will give you a confirmation ID in return. Type the confirmation ID in the boxes provided.
5) Click “Next”.
6) On the “Activation Complete” page, click “Finish”.
Please reference the following KB Article should you have any problems http://support.microsoft.com/kb/903275/en-us. Here you will find links for various resolutions which you may encounter. Also reference the following site for various telephone activation centers: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/326851. Please re-post here should you need further assistance. Thank you and have a great day!
Thank you
Stephen Holm
OGA Forum ManagerWednesday, May 23, 2007 12:31 AM -
Hi Stephen,
I think what Jhko is asking is about the license rights. Office 2007 (Home & Student Edition) can be installed on 3 PCs. Let's assume Jhko has already installed it on 3 PCs, and he wishes to replace one of those PCs with a new one. The problem is that he has already activated it on 3 PCs and he doesn't have any licenses left. Therefore, when he tried to install it on his new PC, the activation process will think he's trying to install it on a 4th PC and it will stop him.
The question is, how would the activation process know that he's TRANSFERRING his 3rd PC's license to a new computer, and not installing on a 4th? Wouldn't the activation process stop him from installing on his new PC?
ThanksThursday, October 8, 2009 5:26 AM -
I agree with questioner:This is a problem for a lot of people! Uninstalling one copy of Office 2007 doesn't guarantee that the same product key will work for another computer... Does the uninstalling computer have to be connected to the internet to somehow register the uninstall? What's the deal?Thanks.Thursday, December 24, 2009 3:49 AM
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Hello The Hungry Sokoke,
The logic programmed into Product Activation for retail licenses for Office holds that the most recent installation would supercede or replace a previous installation.
So, there is no need or action to perform that "unlicenses" an old installation.
For great advice on all topics XP, visit http://www.annoyances.org/exec/forum/winxpSaturday, December 26, 2009 4:05 PM -
Hello Dan at IT Associates.
Your reply to questioner and Hungry Kokoke says that the logic programmed into Product Activation will assume that the most recent installation replaces a previous one. How would it know which one, if my license is for 3 computers? I happen to be replacing the second install, which is a machine that I'm replacing. Will "uninstalling" Office 2007 in that machine, send a signal via the internet that I'm uninstalling it? Or should I take note of any particular machine ID of the one I'm replacing it so I can "tell" the system which one to de-activate?
I'd appreciate some guidance here in order to make sure I can activate Office in the new computer, while not rendering the software in the other 2 "active" computers unusable.
Thanks a lot!
Claudia.Saturday, December 26, 2009 11:09 PM -
Hello Claudia,
I understand that you have purchased a license for Office 2007 and have installed it on three computers. You wil be replacing the second computer and are concerned about how to go about this replacement so as to not run into an issue with too many installations of Office.
First, let me clarify that there is only one edition of Office 2007 available to average consumers that allows three installations on one license, and that is Office Home and Student 2007. All other consumer licenses for Office are limited to installation on either one or two computers depending upon if it is an OEM, retail upgrade, or retail full license.
Assuming your situation is regarding Office Home and Student 2007, when it comes time to replace the second computer, here's what to do:
1. Uninstall Office 2007 from the computer using the Add or Remove Programs Applet (Windows XP) or the Uninstall a Program Applet (Windows Vista and 7) in Control Panel.
2. Restart the computer.
3. If you are going to continue to keep possession of the computer, stop here.
4. If you are planning to sell, give away, or donate the computer, keep in mind that your normal use of the computer over its life means that there is a lot of personal and possibly sensitive information left on the computer in the form of temporary files, cookies, registry entries, and deleted-but-not-destroyed data, etc. In such case, it would be wise to, at the very minimum, run the manufacturer's Recovery/Reinstallation/Restore procedure that erases the user portion of the hard disk drive and puts it back to "out-of-the-box" new condition.
5. Finally, install Office 2007 on your new computer and activate online normally. Don't forget to run Windows Update to get the patches and Service Packs for your Office.
There is plenty of "wiggle room" built into the Product Activation system for Microsoft consumer licenses for its programs, and much of it is on the "honor system" so it is very unlikely that you would encounter a problem with activation or validation in the scenario that you described.
For great advice on all topics XP, visit http://www.annoyances.org/exec/forum/winxpTuesday, December 29, 2009 3:37 PM -
Hi Claudia and The Hungry Sokoke,
This issue is better explained in the thread: http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/genuineoffice/thread/9d4e36ee-82c5-40b5-90d7-905748875c00
Basically, it says that there's a lot of slack in the activation logic, so you're unlikely to have a problem, but in case you do, you can do a phone activation, which Microsoft says is painless and will only take 5 minutes.- Proposed as answer by questioner_xcvf Friday, January 1, 2010 12:14 AM
Friday, January 1, 2010 12:14 AM -
Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 can be installed on 3 computer at a single point of time. Other office suite 2007 can be installed on 2 computer. Information can be found in the jewel case.
There is no process of de-activating an office product. Uninstalling does not de-activate the product. Install the product on the computer and activate.
These conditions apply to the EULA. If the computer crashed, one can transfer the office 2007 license any time. If you need to transfer from a working computer you need to wait for 90 days and it applies only to Retail copies of the Product. It does not apply for OEM. OEM license does not permit for transfer as EULA. Find below the section of EULA.
15. REASSIGN TO ANOTHER DEVICE. You may reassign the license to a different device any number of times, but not more than one time every 90 days. If you reassign, that other device becomes the “licensed device.” If you retire the licensed device due to hardware failure, you may reassign the license sooner.Saturday, January 2, 2010 8:46 AM -
Hi every one,
I have just upgraded my vista 32bit to 7 64bit. When I did this I created a back up of my old system on the hard drive, I can still see the word etc icons but when I try to run them it says 'there is not enough memory to run' I am guessing this is because office was installed on vista. Is there an easy way to correct this?
Thanks
PaulTuesday, January 19, 2010 8:56 PM -
I just ran into this very issue. I had the student version installed on 3 computers. One of them died and I went to reinstall but wouldn't activate. Called the number listed and when asked how many computers it was installed on, I responded with 3. Was told that I was maxed out and no luck. I called back and responded with 2 when asked how many computers. At this point, activation code was given. All worked fine.
You do NOT need to uninstall or unactivate. In fact, I could not as my computer is DEAD! (RIP)Monday, February 1, 2010 1:26 PM -
Hello PaulF1234,
Please repost your Office installation question here: http://www.microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/default.mspx?dg=microsoft.public.office.misc&lang=en&cr=US
For great advice on all topics XP, visit http://www.annoyances.org/exec/forum/winxpMonday, February 1, 2010 4:42 PM -
I have a follow-on question to this thread: I am running Office 2007 - Standard edition on a computer that I will be replacing shortly, and I would like to transfer Office to the new computer (and decommission the old computer).
The issue is this: My copy of Office is an Upgrade version, which was proper on the original computer because that computer came preloaded with MS Works. If I seek to install it on the new computer it will presumably look for a valid MS program (Works etc) but it won't find one there so it will not accept an upgrade.
Suggestions?
Wednesday, April 21, 2010 5:27 PM -
Hello Hugh-ACG,
You are correct, upgrade license discs for Office 2007 are programmed to look for a previous qualifying product, either installed on the computer or in the form of the previous qualifying product's installation disc being inserted into the optical drive when asked by Office 2007 setup.
Please note these two support articles that may be applicable to your situation:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/943290
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928113
To stick with the "letter of the law" regarding upgrades, if the previous computer did not come with Works discs, you will need to purchase a copy of Works to have handy for the Office 2007 upgrade compliance check.
Buy Office 2007 Now, Get Office 2010 Free http://office2010.microsoft.com/en-us/tech-guarantee/microsoft-office-2010-technology-guarantee-FX101825695.aspx?CTT=97Thursday, April 22, 2010 1:59 AM -
How does the activation process know if the computer crashed? I have a similar situation where I just installed a new motherboard and CPU in my Desktop PC and had to clean install Windows. Now I need to re-install Office 2007 H&S but 90 days has not passed so does this mean that I need activate by telephone? I really can't see how the internet activation process could tell the difference between a computer crash and just a different computer, obviously it can keep track of the total number of currently activated hardware devices.
Friday, May 21, 2010 9:48 AM -
Hello damole,
The product activation process will most likely detect that you are installing on a different computer (for licensing purposes) because the hardware IDs of the motherboard itself and the onboard network connection (most current mobos have the NIC on the motherboard), both of which carry significant weight in the product activation polling process, will have changed from the previous activation.
The good news is that the logic programmed into the activation process is significantly weighted in the favor of giving the customer the benefit of any doubt. Assuming your Office H&S 2007 is a retail license, you should be able to activate automatically online in a snap with no problems under those circumstances.
If interested, this is a very good article on Windows (and Office) product activation: http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/wpa.php
Buy Office 2007 Now, Get Office 2010 Free http://office2010.microsoft.com/en-us/tech-guarantee/microsoft-office-2010-technology-guarantee-FX101825695.aspx?CTT=97Friday, May 21, 2010 12:17 PM -
Activation done for Microsoft Office does not know if the computer crash. Microsoft Office 2007 allows three activation over the internet. Any further activation is done via phone. Re-installation of office on the same computer does not need activation as the activation file is not deleted during the process of uninstallation of Office untill manually removed. Activation detects the computer Security Identifier to check if the activation is on the same computer. Any major hardware change, changes the Security Identifier.Friday, May 21, 2010 5:19 PM
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Hi Guys
Thanks for the replies, this makes things clearer.
I have another related question. I bought my copy of Office 2007 in India where I live for part of the year along with Thailand and the UK. I will be going to the UK this summer and plan clean-install my laptop which has one of my licensed copies of Office 2007. I do it there because internet is much more reliable and therefore all the security updates which need to be downloaded since SP3 take much less time to install. If I then re-install Office 2007 will I be able to re-activate my copy or will I need to wait until I return to India.
cheers
damole
Wednesday, June 2, 2010 9:06 AM -
Hello damole,
Regional restrictions regarding product activation are usually noted on the product's packaging, the Certificate of Authenticity, and in the product's Software Licensing Terms.
Here is an excerpt from the Genuine Advantage glossary:
"Geographically restricted products
Microsoft<sup>®</sup> offers additional versions of Windows<sup>®</sup> and Office<sup>®</sup> products to meet regional requirements in some areas of the world. These versions are restricted for sale and use only in those geographical locations for which they were intended, and the packaging for these products clearly indicates that they are restricted and where they can be purchased and activated."
And here is a further explanation at the How To Tell website: http://www.microsoft.com/howtotell/geo/
Buy Office 2007 Now, Get Office 2010 Free http://office2010.microsoft.com/en-us/tech-guarantee/microsoft-office-2010-technology-guarantee-FX101825695.aspx?CTT=97Wednesday, June 2, 2010 11:38 AM -
This thread was created over 3 years ago.
Please do not resurrect old threads, create your own for your own issue/question.
Darin MSThursday, June 3, 2010 7:51 PM