Outlook 2003 upgrade

[miscellaneousmedia]

I have Outlook 2002; I want to upgrade to Outlook 2003; all I need is
Outlook -- not Office. What is the cheapest way to do this? Buy a copy
of Outlook 2003 on Amazon or eBay? Or is a whole new install going to
be more problematic than an upgrade? And is an upgrade available just
for Outlook 2003?

 

[Guest]

Outlook does not come in an upgrade version. You can buy the complete version
from any office supply or retail store for about $110. Stay away from Ebay
and private sellers so you get an authentic copy. You will not be able to use
Word as your email editor (or any other Office xp program like Excel) since
versions must match. Be sure to install Outlook to a diff default folder or
you'll mess up your Office xp installation. You really would be better off
keeping what you have or upgrading the whole suite.

 

[Brian Tillman]

Be sure to
install Outlook to a diff default folder or you'll mess up your
Office xp installation.

Completely untrue.

 

[miscellaneousmedia]

So which is it?

 

[Brian Tillman]

I have Outlook 2002; I want to upgrade to Outlook 2003; all I need is
Outlook -- not Office.

Outlook is a separately licensable product. You can get it separately from
Office. I use Office XP but Outlook 2003 on one of my PCs.

What is the cheapest way to do this? Buy a copy
of Outlook 2003 on Amazon or eBay?

Usually the cheapest, but beware of OEM versions. It is illegal to install
an OEM version on a PC other than the one for which it was originally
licensed. Make sure it is a full retail version.

 

[miscellaneousmedia]

Will it harm my computer if it is OEM? and regardless if retail or OEM,
can I autoamticall import my old Outlook 2002 data into the new Outlook
2003? Is it hard to do? Dangers?

 

[Brian Tillman]

Will it harm my computer if it is OEM?

Well, I consider breaking the law harmful to my psyche, but it won't hurt
the computer. In some cases, though, OEM software may not install correctly
on a computer other than the one for which it was licensed.

and regardless if retail or
OEM, can I autoamticall import my old Outlook 2002 data into the new
Outlook 2003?

If you have a version of Outlook on a machine and install a newer version,
in general, the installation will detect the prior version and configure the
new version to operate with the existing data.

Is it hard to do? Dangers?

Usually a normal part of the install, but on occasion, upgrading in place
can appear to lose the old data, so it's always a good idea to make a copy
of any PSTs prior to the upgrade.