Office 2K3 Professional Home Use Program Product Key Invalid

Hello,
I had to format and reinstall Windows XP (Pro w/ SP3) over the weekend and
decided to use it as an opportunity to finally install the copy of Office
Professional 2003 that I purchased through my company's Home Use Program a
year or two ago. I entered the product key exactly as it appears on the
orange sticker on the back of the dvd case and the setup reported the key was
invalid. I checked and rechecked and typed it again in all caps but it did
not work. Do keys issued under the Home Use Program expire after a set
period of time?

As best I can recall, I've never used this install DVD or key before but its
possible I used it on my laptop once before. I have another copy of Office
Pro 2K3 Home Use that I purchased from my previous company floating around
the house and its possible I grabbed the old case, but even so, wouldn't it
fail activation and not installation if I used the key too many times and
aren't the HUP keys good for three installs?

Matt

Could be many reasons for this.Best to contact the IT person at the Company from
where you purchased it through the Home Use Program

Some of the possible reasons:

Company has closed down
Company stopped issuing that version of Office for the Home Use Program
Company is not using that Office version anymore
You already activated once before

And many more possibilities



--
Peter

Please Reply to Newsgroup for the benefit of others
Requests for assistance by email can not and will not be acknowledged.

"Matt" wrote in message
...
Hello,
I had to format and reinstall Windows XP (Pro w/ SP3) over the weekend and
decided to use it as an opportunity to finally install the copy of Office
Professional 2003 that I purchased through my company's Home Use Program a
year or two ago. I entered the product key exactly as it appears on the
orange sticker on the back of the dvd case and the setup reported the key was
invalid. I checked and rechecked and typed it again in all caps but it did
not work. Do keys issued under the Home Use Program expire after a set
period of time?

As best I can recall, I've never used this install DVD or key before but its
possible I used it on my laptop once before. I have another copy of Office
Pro 2K3 Home Use that I purchased from my previous company floating around
the house and its possible I grabbed the old case, but even so, wouldn't it
fail activation and not installation if I used the key too many times and
aren't the HUP keys good for three installs?

Peter,

Thanks for the reply. The company is still in business and I'm still
employed by them. I just checked their HUP site and they are now only
offering Office Enterprise 2007 as a download so that could explain it. The
majority (thousands of people) of the company still uses Office 2003 with the
exception of a few users testing 2007.

I can understand one of the reasons you mentioned causing Office to fail
activation but why would it fail installation, I thought these were two
seperate processes like it is with the installation of Windows itself. Is it
possible that Microsoft sent an invalid key or they key for a different
product? I will also check with our IT dept.

Thanks,

Matt

"Peter Foldes" wrote:

Matt

Could be many reasons for this.Best to contact the IT person at the Company from
where you purchased it through the Home Use Program

Some of the possible reasons:

Company has closed down
Company stopped issuing that version of Office for the Home Use Program
Company is not using that Office version anymore
You already activated once before

And many more possibilities



--
Peter

Please Reply to Newsgroup for the benefit of others
Requests for assistance by email can not and will not be acknowledged.

"Matt" wrote in message
...
Hello,
I had to format and reinstall Windows XP (Pro w/ SP3) over the weekend and
decided to use it as an opportunity to finally install the copy of Office
Professional 2003 that I purchased through my company's Home Use Program a
year or two ago. I entered the product key exactly as it appears on the
orange sticker on the back of the dvd case and the setup reported the key was
invalid. I checked and rechecked and typed it again in all caps but it did
not work. Do keys issued under the Home Use Program expire after a set
period of time?

As best I can recall, I've never used this install DVD or key before but its
possible I used it on my laptop once before. I have another copy of Office
Pro 2K3 Home Use that I purchased from my previous company floating around
the house and its possible I grabbed the old case, but even so, wouldn't it
fail activation and not installation if I used the key too many times and
aren't the HUP keys good for three installs?

"Peter Foldes" wrote in message
...
Matt

Could be many reasons for this.Best to contact the IT person at the
Company from where you purchased it through the Home Use Program

Some of the possible reasons:

Company has closed down
Company stopped issuing that version of Office for the Home Use Program
Company is not using that Office version anymore
You already activated once before

And many more possibilities




All of those are possible, but the CD and the Product Key won't know any of
them, so they are not reasons for the Key to not work. And, the key does not
go over the internet -- the product can be installed even if there is no
internet connection -- so it would not be rejected due to being cancelled.

I don't know why the key would not work, other than it is not the key for
the CD.

Matt

That explains it. They gave up that version of the VL of Office 2003 Pro and
switched to the Enterprise.
Your key will now not work anymore and you either have to get the Enterprise version
from them with a new key or purchase a retail version of Office Pro with a license

--
Peter

Please Reply to Newsgroup for the benefit of others
Requests for assistance by email can not and will not be acknowledged.

"Matt" wrote in message
...
Peter,

Thanks for the reply. The company is still in business and I'm still
employed by them. I just checked their HUP site and they are now only
offering Office Enterprise 2007 as a download so that could explain it. The
majority (thousands of people) of the company still uses Office 2003 with the
exception of a few users testing 2007.

I can understand one of the reasons you mentioned causing Office to fail
activation but why would it fail installation, I thought these were two
seperate processes like it is with the installation of Windows itself. Is it
possible that Microsoft sent an invalid key or they key for a different
product? I will also check with our IT dept.

Thanks,

Matt

"Peter Foldes" wrote:

Matt

Could be many reasons for this.Best to contact the IT person at the Company from
where you purchased it through the Home Use Program

Some of the possible reasons:

Company has closed down
Company stopped issuing that version of Office for the Home Use Program
Company is not using that Office version anymore
You already activated once before

And many more possibilities



--
Peter

Please Reply to Newsgroup for the benefit of others
Requests for assistance by email can not and will not be acknowledged.

"Matt" wrote in message
...
Hello,
I had to format and reinstall Windows XP (Pro w/ SP3) over the weekend and
decided to use it as an opportunity to finally install the copy of Office
Professional 2003 that I purchased through my company's Home Use Program a
year or two ago. I entered the product key exactly as it appears on the
orange sticker on the back of the dvd case and the setup reported the key was
invalid. I checked and rechecked and typed it again in all caps but it did
not work. Do keys issued under the Home Use Program expire after a set
period of time?

As best I can recall, I've never used this install DVD or key before but its
possible I used it on my laptop once before. I have another copy of Office
Pro 2K3 Home Use that I purchased from my previous company floating around
the house and its possible I grabbed the old case, but even so, wouldn't it
fail activation and not installation if I used the key too many times and
aren't the HUP keys good for three installs?

I'll look around to make sure I didn't mix up cds somehow. It looks like I
might have to finally give up my menus and succumb to the Office 2007 ribbon
as I can't justify spending $300+ on the retail version of 2003 when I can
get the home use version of 2007 for $9.95. Maybe its the engineer in me but
give me 10 menus and 100 buttons any day.

Matt

"Jeff Strickland" wrote:


"Peter Foldes" wrote in message
...
Matt

Could be many reasons for this.Best to contact the IT person at the
Company from where you purchased it through the Home Use Program

Some of the possible reasons:

Company has closed down
Company stopped issuing that version of Office for the Home Use Program
Company is not using that Office version anymore
You already activated once before

And many more possibilities




All of those are possible, but the CD and the Product Key won't know any of
them, so they are not reasons for the Key to not work. And, the key does not
go over the internet -- the product can be installed even if there is no
internet connection -- so it would not be rejected due to being cancelled.

I don't know why the key would not work, other than it is not the key for
the CD.

Jeff

I do not think you know how a VL works. What you posted is fine for a Retail or OEM
version but not for a VL



--
Peter

Please Reply to Newsgroup for the benefit of others
Requests for assistance by email can not and will not be acknowledged.

"Jeff Strickland" wrote in message
...

"Peter Foldes" wrote in message
...
Matt

Could be many reasons for this.Best to contact the IT person at the Company from
where you purchased it through the Home Use Program

Some of the possible reasons:

Company has closed down
Company stopped issuing that version of Office for the Home Use Program
Company is not using that Office version anymore
You already activated once before

And many more possibilities




All of those are possible, but the CD and the Product Key won't know any of them,
so they are not reasons for the Key to not work. And, the key does not go over the
internet -- the product can be installed even if there is no internet
connection -- so it would not be rejected due to being cancelled.

I don't know why the key would not work, other than it is not the key for the CD.

All of the conditions listed -- closed company, not using the product
anymore, and so on -- all require the Product Key that is entered to be
checked against a database, which requires the PC that the installation is
taking place on be connected to the Internet at the time the product key is
input.

If the product can be installed offline, then the product key must be able
to accepted during installation. Perhaps, and I do not disagree, the product
has to be activated later on, and this requires an online experience. During
activation, the product can then be checked against a database, and
activation denied for the various reasons listed.

But the OP said that the product key does not work, and the CD and the
product key would not know any of the conditions listed, and therefore would
work if it was the right one for the CD in hand.

Maybe, as you say, the issue is the VL, and you're right, I don't know how
it works. But despite that, the key and the installation wizard are not
going to know what changes in the original condition of the VL will have
taken place since the valid key was produced.





"Peter Foldes" wrote in message
...
Jeff

I do not think you know how a VL works. What you posted is fine for a
Retail or OEM version but not for a VL



--
Peter

Please Reply to Newsgroup for the benefit of others
Requests for assistance by email can not and will not be acknowledged.

"Jeff Strickland" wrote in message
...

"Peter Foldes" wrote in message
...
Matt

Could be many reasons for this.Best to contact the IT person at the
Company from where you purchased it through the Home Use Program

Some of the possible reasons:

Company has closed down
Company stopped issuing that version of Office for the Home Use Program
Company is not using that Office version anymore
You already activated once before

And many more possibilities




All of those are possible, but the CD and the Product Key won't know any
of them, so they are not reasons for the Key to not work. And, the key
does not go over the internet -- the product can be installed even if
there is no internet connection -- so it would not be rejected due to
being cancelled.

I don't know why the key would not work, other than it is not the key for
the CD.

Please explain how that works.

The CD has a file in it that the Installation Wizard can read. The user has
a 25-digit code that he inputs. The Wizard compares the file contents with
the user input, recognizes a match or not and proceeds or closes.

How does a change in the original conditions of the key change the value of
the data that the Wizard reads? And, why would loading something in a
replacement machine be affected by a change in status of the original
license? If I had a valid copy of an application, and a valid key to unlock
the application, then I will always have a valid copy and a valid key. If my
machine breaks, and I want to put the valid copy onto a new machine, the key
should still work.

If I somehow had more than one CD, and the key was different for each and I
mixed up the CDs, then I would be using an invalid key for the particular CD
I was using at the time. This would be picked up by the Installation Wizard,
and the installation would be halted until I found the key that works on the
CD I was using, or restarted the Installation with a CD that belongs to the
key I was using. This is the condition that the OP is fighting.







"Peter Foldes" wrote in message
...
Matt

That explains it. They gave up that version of the VL of Office 2003 Pro
and switched to the Enterprise.
Your key will now not work anymore and you either have to get the
Enterprise version from them with a new key or purchase a retail version
of Office Pro with a license

--
Peter

Please Reply to Newsgroup for the benefit of others
Requests for assistance by email can not and will not be acknowledged.

"Matt" wrote in message
...
Peter,

Thanks for the reply. The company is still in business and I'm still
employed by them. I just checked their HUP site and they are now only
offering Office Enterprise 2007 as a download so that could explain it.
The
majority (thousands of people) of the company still uses Office 2003 with
the
exception of a few users testing 2007.

I can understand one of the reasons you mentioned causing Office to fail
activation but why would it fail installation, I thought these were two
seperate processes like it is with the installation of Windows itself.
Is it
possible that Microsoft sent an invalid key or they key for a different
product? I will also check with our IT dept.

Thanks,

Matt

"Peter Foldes" wrote:

Matt

Could be many reasons for this.Best to contact the IT person at the
Company from
where you purchased it through the Home Use Program

Some of the possible reasons:

Company has closed down
Company stopped issuing that version of Office for the Home Use Program
Company is not using that Office version anymore
You already activated once before

And many more possibilities



--
Peter

Please Reply to Newsgroup for the benefit of others
Requests for assistance by email can not and will not be acknowledged.

"Matt" wrote in message
...
Hello,
I had to format and reinstall Windows XP (Pro w/ SP3) over the weekend
and
decided to use it as an opportunity to finally install the copy of
Office
Professional 2003 that I purchased through my company's Home Use
Program a
year or two ago. I entered the product key exactly as it appears on
the
orange sticker on the back of the dvd case and the setup reported the
key was
invalid. I checked and rechecked and typed it again in all caps but
it did
not work. Do keys issued under the Home Use Program expire after a
set
period of time?

As best I can recall, I've never used this install DVD or key before
but its
possible I used it on my laptop once before. I have another copy of
Office
Pro 2K3 Home Use that I purchased from my previous company floating
around
the house and its possible I grabbed the old case, but even so,
wouldn't it
fail activation and not installation if I used the key too many times
and
aren't the HUP keys good for three installs?

The Key is usually cancelled when a VL is dropped and canc3lled in favor of a new
version like Office Enterprise

--
Peter

Please Reply to Newsgroup for the benefit of others
Requests for assistance by email can not and will not be acknowledged.

"Jeff Strickland" wrote in message
...
Please explain how that works.

The CD has a file in it that the Installation Wizard can read. The user has a
25-digit code that he inputs. The Wizard compares the file contents with the user
input, recognizes a match or not and proceeds or closes.

How does a change in the original conditions of the key change the value of the
data that the Wizard reads? And, why would loading something in a replacement
machine be affected by a change in status of the original license? If I had a
valid copy of an application, and a valid key to unlock the application, then I
will always have a valid copy and a valid key. If my machine breaks, and I want to
put the valid copy onto a new machine, the key should still work.

If I somehow had more than one CD, and the key was different for each and I mixed
up the CDs, then I would be using an invalid key for the particular CD I was using
at the time. This would be picked up by the Installation Wizard, and the
installation would be halted until I found the key that works on the CD I was
using, or restarted the Installation with a CD that belongs to the key I was
using. This is the condition that the OP is fighting.







"Peter Foldes" wrote in message
...
Matt

That explains it. They gave up that version of the VL of Office 2003 Pro and
switched to the Enterprise.
Your key will now not work anymore and you either have to get the Enterprise
version from them with a new key or purchase a retail version of Office Pro with
a license

--
Peter

Please Reply to Newsgroup for the benefit of others
Requests for assistance by email can not and will not be acknowledged.

"Matt" wrote in message
...
Peter,

Thanks for the reply. The company is still in business and I'm still
employed by them. I just checked their HUP site and they are now only
offering Office Enterprise 2007 as a download so that could explain it. The
majority (thousands of people) of the company still uses Office 2003 with the
exception of a few users testing 2007.

I can understand one of the reasons you mentioned causing Office to fail
activation but why would it fail installation, I thought these were two
seperate processes like it is with the installation of Windows itself. Is it
possible that Microsoft sent an invalid key or they key for a different
product? I will also check with our IT dept.

Thanks,

Matt

"Peter Foldes" wrote:

Matt

Could be many reasons for this.Best to contact the IT person at the Company
from
where you purchased it through the Home Use Program

Some of the possible reasons:

Company has closed down
Company stopped issuing that version of Office for the Home Use Program
Company is not using that Office version anymore
You already activated once before

And many more possibilities



--
Peter

Please Reply to Newsgroup for the benefit of others
Requests for assistance by email can not and will not be acknowledged.

"Matt" wrote in message
...
Hello,
I had to format and reinstall Windows XP (Pro w/ SP3) over the weekend and
decided to use it as an opportunity to finally install the copy of Office
Professional 2003 that I purchased through my company's Home Use Program a
year or two ago. I entered the product key exactly as it appears on the
orange sticker on the back of the dvd case and the setup reported the key was
invalid. I checked and rechecked and typed it again in all caps but it did
not work. Do keys issued under the Home Use Program expire after a set
period of time?

As best I can recall, I've never used this install DVD or key before but its
possible I used it on my laptop once before. I have another copy of Office
Pro 2K3 Home Use that I purchased from my previous company floating around
the house and its possible I grabbed the old case, but even so, wouldn't it
fail activation and not installation if I used the key too many times and
aren't the HUP keys good for three installs?