Robert Baer wrote:
Paul wrote:
Robert Baer wrote:
Please let me know how in the heck to install Excel 2003, as all M$
programs go thru the "activation" junk, and i need to re-install my
Excel 2003 and (somehow) "activate" it
Any suggestions extremely welcome.
Thanks.

This is what passes for help.

https://web.archive.org/web/20070203....com/kb/821593



It's a lot more complicated than that, if you've been mixing
trial versions and paid versions, and expecting everything
to go well.

The message there, is this:

1) Go to Add/Remove programs.
2) Notice that in addition to Remove, the Office item has a Repair
option.
3) Try the Repair option.

Note that Office in the past, was sensitive to the drive letter of the
inserted CD with the software on it. If you were installing Office
from E:\ , it's in your best interest during the repair, to have
that same optical drive still being at E:\. Some other software
isn't quite that sensitive to how it was installed. There are a
few little details like that for Office, but I was only looking
over someones shoulder when this was discussed.

While some softwares rely on "cached" copies of a .msi already
on the C: drive to implement a Repair run, I don't know if Office
works that way. The insistence on using the CD, comes from an era
where physical media was used as a "proof of purchase" (i.e. they
made products with multiple-CD sets, just to complicate life
for the pirates of the time who were running dialup modems).
Which seems like a silly idea today.

Paul
Paid version, one CD.
On different HD; thanks for the drive letter info.
Would use of SUBST be of use?


I've just heard of the "quirk".

There were probably more weird issues with copies
of Office at work, than anything at home here.

I don't know if SUBST is enough or not. You'd think it
would suffice, because the issues are absolute paths
stored somewhere (maybe in the registry?).

Paul