Student Needs Help Installing Software for Class

I am taking an Intro to Computers class. A new trial disc of Microsoft Office Professional Academic 2010 was provided along with my text books. When I try to install it, I get an error message saying my key is no good and that it may be due to a previous trial disc having been installed on my system. I had installed a trial disc for a previous class but removed it using Remove/Install Programs. It isn’t showing in the list of installed programs. Also, I'm not sure if this makes a difference or not but I have Office 2007 installed on my computer.

My instructor doesn't know how to fix the problem. I checked the Microsoft help site and ran FIXIT for Office 2010. Rebooted, tried again, same thing. I read something on the internet about this being due to a key entry in the registry. All I know about registries is that people who don’t know what they are doing shouldn’t mess with them.

If one of you guys could please help me out, using detailed steps and simple terms, I would REALLY appreciate it. -Angela

 

Instead of trying to edit the registry, which as you say, can lead to trouble, download Ccleaner. As the trial version has been uninstalled, Ccleaner should find any stray registry keys that are no longer used and will remove them.
Follow the video tutorial on the link if you don't already use Ccleaner.

Also look in My Computer -> double click C:/ drive -> Program Files for the Microsoft Trial version file for the program, if there, right click it and select Delete.

 

If Ccleaner does not resolve the problem then try this from Microsoft

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301

Re-reading your post I doubt you will be able to install while Office 2007 is present.

 

You could try installing Office 2010 along with your existing Office 2007 by taking the approach explained at http://www.nerdgrind.com/how-to-install-office-2010-and-office-2007-together/. If that doesn't work, do you really need to keep Office 2007?

 

Update:

• Removed Office 2007
• Ran FixIt for both, 2007 and 2010 (restart)
• Run: control appwiz.cpl (there was nothing related to Office to remove)
• Looked for remaining Windows Installer for Office but there were none
• Removed Installation folders (Run: %CommonProgramFiles%\MicrosoftShared and deleted Office 12 and Office 14 folders
• Run: services.msc (there was no Office Source Engine)
• Was tempted and came dangerously close to deleting things in the registry but I have no idea what I am looking at so I left it alone
• Ran C_Cleaner (the video helped a lot- thanks)

After this, I tried to install again. Still getting the message "Error 25004. The product key you entered cannot be used on this machine. This is most likely due to previous Office 2010 trials being installed."
I also came across a board where they said that a software trial from Microsoft can only be used one time period, no exceptions. Really, I get this and I guess that is just the way it is. I just wish I would have known I was gonna have to drop $100 to get the software for this class.
Thank you everyone who read and commented on my post. I really appreciate the effort. You guys are great! -Angela

 

Hello,
As you have removed your Office installs, see if using this utility will help. It is supposed to remove all Office license information. You will need .NET 3.5 in order to run it.

http://majorgeeks.com/Office_Key_Remover_d6450.html

 

Sorry, I really want to try this but I don't know what .NET 3.5 is. Is that another program? Where do I get it?
I will try just about anything at this point. My only other option is purchasing a full version that I really can't afford right now.

 

.NET is part of Windows updates for XP. If you keep up with updates you should have it.

You can try the Office Key program and see if it runs. If not you can go to Windows Update and select Custom and see if it is listed as an optional Software update. I'm also fairly sure if you go here and download the setup file it will analyse your system and download what you need to get you to v3.5 from where you are. Or the full redistributable package link at the bottom of the page will have all previous versions and update as necessary but it is 197mb and the dotnet3.5setup file should work fine.

 

• Well, do you know what MS Office Pro normally retails for? It's about $500. So, $100 is really a huge discount that students can get by buying where they can get it at "academic pricing", such as your college bookstore.