Office - Office 2003 - already activated (not by me)but validated successfu

Asked By jaffa7

19-Apr-08 01:04 AM

I bought Office 2003 from an online auction site. It appeared to install OK
however at no stage did I have to accept the EULA. When I started it for the
first time the activation wizard didn't start so I went to the Help menu and
chose activate. This returned a message that the product was already
activated. I then assumed that the software was fake. However I am baffled as
I got the 'already activated' message when I tried the same thing on my
laptop which had not been connected to the internet since I installed Office
2003, so how could the software already be activated?

Also, the other strange thing is that I ran the Office validation test on
the 'howtotell' site, and my copy passed this fine.

I have tried all the things I have found on this site to get the activation
wizard to run, but it doesn't make any differnce as I always get the 'already
activated' message.

The seller swears the software is legitimate and has offered to replace it.
Should I take him up on his offer? My only reason for hesitating is that I'm
wondering if there is something on my PC that stops the activation process
running.

I've compared my Office CD with the pictures on the 'howtotell' site.
'Microsoft' changes to 'Genuine' when the disk is tilted but I don't get the
vivid colours. The COA on the packaging doesn't seem to have all the features
it should have (or maybe I should have got out a magnifying glass to check
for lettering on the strip across the porthole, which is not a smooth circle).

I wouldn't want to return this software if it really is legitimate.

What do you think?

19-Apr-08 10:08 AM

How to troubleshoot problems that you may experience when
you try to activate an Office product:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/903275/en-us

See:

Method 2: "If the Opa11.dat file or the Data.dat file is corrupted"

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows Desktop Experience -
Windows System & Performance

---------------------------------------------------------------


I bought Office 2003 from an online auction site. It appeared to install OK
however at no stage did I have to accept the EULA. When I started it for the
first time the activation wizard didn't start so I went to the Help menu and
chose activate. This returned a message that the product was already
activated. I then assumed that the software was fake. However I am baffled as
I got the 'already activated' message when I tried the same thing on my
laptop which had not been connected to the internet since I installed Office
2003, so how could the software already be activated?

Also, the other strange thing is that I ran the Office validation test on
the 'howtotell' site, and my copy passed this fine.

I have tried all the things I have found on this site to get the activation
wizard to run, but it doesn't make any differnce as I always get the 'already
activated' message.

The seller swears the software is legitimate and has offered to replace it.
Should I take him up on his offer? My only reason for hesitating is that I'm
wondering if there is something on my PC that stops the activation process
running.

I've compared my Office CD with the pictures on the 'howtotell' site.
'Microsoft' changes to 'Genuine' when the disk is tilted but I don't get the
vivid colours. The COA on the packaging doesn't seem to have all the features
it should have (or maybe I should have got out a magnifying glass to check
for lettering on the strip across the porthole, which is not a smooth circle).

I wouldn't want to return this software if it really is legitimate.

What do you think?

19-Apr-08 12:40 PM

Are you saying you did not have to enter the product key at all during
installation/startup?

20-Apr-08 04:07 AM

Hi Carey - I'd already tried deleting the opa11.dat file and it made no
difference - the activation wizard has never run and I still get the message
that the product is already activated.

Karen

20-Apr-08 04:19 AM

When I installed the product I had to enter the product key but at no stage
was I presented with the EULA to click in the 'I accept' box. I didn't have
to restart my PC after the installation completed. I just went and opened
Word. I expected at this stage that the activation wizard would start, but it
didn't.

Out of curiousity, I tediously opened Excel more than 50 times as my
understanding is that you can open it 50 times without activating it, then
you get reduced functionality.  From what I could see, the functionality
didn't change after the 50th time. I performed all 50-plus starts of Excel
without logging out, so maybe that might have made a difference.

I remain mystified that I have a product that passes MS's validation test
yet I've not had to activate it. I imagine that anyone else would just this
product without giving this a 2nd thought. It bugs me on 2 counts - one is my
personal choice to only having legitimate software while the 2nd is whether
it will stop working at some point in the future because .

Thanks for taking the time to respond to my post.

Karen

20-Apr-08 06:25 AM

Hi Karen,

You may want to call the MS folks through http://microsoft.com/piracy to see if they agree with your assessment from your prior
posting that  the 'how to tell' tests do not pass, and it sounds as if the product key you were given is a bypass key, also
something not normally provided.

You may also want to report the transaction to your credit card company.
===========
When I installed the product I had to enter the product key but at no stage
was I presented with the EULA to click in the 'I accept' box. I didn't have
to restart my PC after the installation completed. I just went and opened
Word. I expected at this stage that the activation wizard would start, but it
didn't.

Out of curiousity, I tediously opened Excel more than 50 times as my
understanding is that you can open it 50 times without activating it, then
you get reduced functionality.  From what I could see, the functionality
didn't change after the 50th time. I performed all 50-plus starts of Excel
without logging out, so maybe that might have made a difference.

I remain mystified that I have a product that passes MS's validation test
yet I've not had to activate it. I imagine that anyone else would just this
product without giving this a 2nd thought. It bugs me on 2 counts - one is my
personal choice to only having legitimate software while the 2nd is whether
it will stop working at some point in the future because .

Thanks for taking the time to respond to my post.

Karen >>
--

Bob  Buckland  ?:-)
MS Office System Products MVP

*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*

20-Apr-08 03:58 PM

Hi Bob

Can you tell me if the disk should be smooth all the way across? I can feel
a distinct ridge a few mm in from the edge just about where the coppery
colour starts and do not know if this is as it should be.

Thanks