Word 2002 (sorry)

[Jeff]

I know I am going to be ridiculed for this but although I do own modern
versions of MS Office, I still am not partial to their ribbon and much
prefer to work in my old trusty Word 2002 interface. I must just be
getting old!

Anyway, I purchased a new laptop with Windows 8.1 installed. I can live
with it staying mainly in the Windows 7 side I've grown to like. Here's
the problem: my trusty Word 2002 (from Office XP), which installed and
worked fine in Windows 7 does not seem to want to install in Windows 8.
The DVD opens and the install shield starts. It asks for the product
number and accepts it. I select that I just want Word installed. It says
OK and proceeds to a screen that says "installing Office XP". But it
then just stays on that screen with nothing being installed.

I believe some people have successfully installed Word 2002 in Windows
8. Anyone know of any tricks that might allow me to install it? Change
the compatibility settings on some files?

Failing that, is there some add-on I can use that might give me a
similar interface within Office 2007 instead of the ribbon?

I know, I know. Any help appreciated.

 

[Dave Symes]

I know I am going to be ridiculed for this but although I do own modern
versions of MS Office, I still am not partial to their ribbon and much
prefer to work in my old trusty Word 2002 interface. I must just be
getting old!

Anyway, I purchased a new laptop with Windows 8.1 installed. I can live
with it staying mainly in the Windows 7 side I've grown to like. Here's
the problem: my trusty Word 2002 (from Office XP), which installed and
worked fine in Windows 7 does not seem to want to install in Windows 8.
The DVD opens and the install shield starts. It asks for the product
number and accepts it. I select that I just want Word installed. It says
OK and proceeds to a screen that says "installing Office XP". But it
then just stays on that screen with nothing being installed.

I believe some people have successfully installed Word 2002 in Windows
8. Anyone know of any tricks that might allow me to install it? Change
the compatibility settings on some files?

Failing that, is there some add-on I can use that might give me a
similar interface within Office 2007 instead of the ribbon?

I know, I know. Any help appreciated.

Have you tried Right mouse click over the Installer to get the context
menu, down to Properties - Compatibility tab and select one of the options
from there.

I've not done this for an MS office install, but I have done it for other
very old apps installed on W7 Pro 64 bit when they were uppity about
installing.
(I managed to get most old stuff to work under XP compatibility).

Dave

 

[Jeff]

Have you tried Right mouse click over the Installer to get the context
menu, down to Properties - Compatibility tab and select one of the options
from there.

I've not done this for an MS office install, but I have done it for other
very old apps installed on W7 Pro 64 bit when they were uppity about
installing.
(I managed to get most old stuff to work under XP compatibility).

Dave

Unfortunately, I already tried that. Clicked on the "Setup" file and
chose XP and W 7 compatibility and neither worked. Its the darn Windows 8.

 

[Stefan Blom]

It's certainly possible to run Office 2003 on Windows 8, so I assume that
Office XP should work too...

If you copy the contents of the installation DVD to your hard drive, does
that improve the situation?

 

[Jeff]

It's certainly possible to run Office 2003 on Windows 8, so I assume
that Office XP should work too...

If you copy the contents of the installation DVD to your hard drive,
does that improve the situation?

will Try.

Thanks

 

[Jeff]

It's certainly possible to run Office 2003 on Windows 8, so I assume
that Office XP should work too...

If you copy the contents of the installation DVD to your hard drive,
does that improve the situation?

Hi Stefan

Your suggestion helped me solve the problem - unfortunately.

When I tried to copy the CD files I discovered the problem: after
copying about 10% it told me it could not copy the CAB file. That
explains why when installing it, Office accepted my registration number
but stalled when it tried to proceed further to actually install the
programs. My install CD is corrupted somehow and I unfortunately do not
have a backup. I tried to read the CD in different CD drives but had the
same results. I went to the Microsoft website and they no longer sell or
support Office XP. So, even though I have office XP installed on my
other Windows 7 PC I have no way to transfer that installation to the
new Windows 8 laptop.

Looks like I am screwed! I should have made a backup. I own more modern
versions of office and I am now stuck with using them. Stupid of me not
to have made a backup of that CD.

Thanks everyone for trying to help. (crying......)

 

[Jeff]

I know I am going to be ridiculed for this but although I do own modern
versions of MS Office, I still am not partial to their ribbon and much
prefer to work in my old trusty Word 2002 interface. I must just be
getting old!

Anyway, I purchased a new laptop with Windows 8.1 installed. I can live
with it staying mainly in the Windows 7 side I've grown to like. Here's
the problem: my trusty Word 2002 (from Office XP), which installed and
worked fine in Windows 7 does not seem to want to install in Windows 8.
The DVD opens and the install shield starts. It asks for the product
number and accepts it. I select that I just want Word installed. It says
OK and proceeds to a screen that says "installing Office XP". But it
then just stays on that screen with nothing being installed.

I believe some people have successfully installed Word 2002 in Windows
8. Anyone know of any tricks that might allow me to install it? Change
the compatibility settings on some files?

Failing that, is there some add-on I can use that might give me a
similar interface within Office 2007 instead of the ribbon?

I know, I know. Any help appreciated.

Found one on sale on Ebay. Put a bid in.

 

[Stefan Blom]

Thanks for the follow-up. I hope you find the version that you want on
e-bay... Just make sure you get one with a valid product key.

If you ever want to use the ribbon versions, note that you can always
download backups of Office 2007, 2010, and 2013; see
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/p...re-microsoft-office-products-FX103427465.aspx.

 

[Jeff]

Thanks for the follow-up. I hope you find the version that you want on
e-bay... Just make sure you get one with a valid product key.

If you ever want to use the ribbon versions, note that you can always
download backups of Office 2007, 2010, and 2013; see
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/p...re-microsoft-office-products-FX103427465.aspx.

Thanks.

 

[Jeff]

Thanks for the follow-up. I hope you find the version that you want on
e-bay... Just make sure you get one with a valid product key.

If you ever want to use the ribbon versions, note that you can always
download backups of Office 2007, 2010, and 2013; see
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/p...re-microsoft-office-products-FX103427465.aspx.

I have to admit I am no expert on Ebay. I bid yesterday on what looked
like a good choice only to see "someone" (probably the seller) bid .50
more. Then with all the versions out there I admit I am confused as to
which one to buy without spending more than it is worth.

Would you, Stefan, consider looking on ebay and sending me the url of
the one you think I should get? I basically just need Word 2002, (and if
it is included PowerPoint 2002). Don't need Access, Excel, etc.

Wish I could find a friend nearby with a CD they are not using.

Jeff

 

[Stefan Blom]

Sorry, I don't use auction sites myself, so I can't give you any advice on
using e-bay. My guess is that the information given by the seller is
crucial. Is there a package included, with a product key (as opposed to just
the CD)?

Since you want Word 2002, you can purchase stand-alone Word 2002 or the
Office XP suite. Note that Office 2003 is more stable, though (neither of
them are supported by Microsoft anymore).

 

[Jeff]

Sorry, I don't use auction sites myself, so I can't give you any advice
on using e-bay. My guess is that the information given by the seller is
crucial. Is there a package included, with a product key (as opposed to
just the CD)?

Since you want Word 2002, you can purchase stand-alone Word 2002 or the
Office XP suite. Note that Office 2003 is more stable, though (neither
of them are supported by Microsoft anymore).

Thanks. I ordered one and it shows the product key, etc. included.
Will see when it arrives, but hopefully all will be OK.

 

[Stefan Blom]

Good luck! Keeping fingers crossed, here.

 

[Jeff]

Good luck! Keeping fingers crossed, here.

Thanks for the support (over the years) Stefan.
This is an update and a question.

First, all is well. But it took 3 tries....

As I said, I'm a novice at Ebay. So I started by bidding on an office XP
for sale. My bid was immediately outbid by 35 cents. I could see the
game played and decided to instead "buy outright" from another seller
with a 99.7% reputation. That sale went through but the product did not
appear on the shipping date and instead I got an email from the seller
saying he searched everywhere but could not find it in his store and was
refunding my payment. The refund came through.

Trying for the third time I bought a copy of MS Office XP Professional
from still another seller (under $10 including shipping). That one
arrived promptly: a 2 CD set in brand new state, Microsoft logo, and
even printed manual. Product key was on the back of the CD case.

It installed with no hiccups and activated fine. Finally! Interesting
learning experience.

Next job was to transfer my settings. I found your excellent
instructions on the web and transferred the Word STARTUP and Templates
folders from the old PC to the new one in the proper places using file
locations. All seems to be working fine.

Now the question:
I guess I just have to learn to get comfortable with the darn ribbon. (I
already know how to use it but just don't like it). So, on my new
Windows 8.1 laptop I installed both the Word 2002 I just purchased and
also Office 2007 - of course in separate installation folders.

Both work fine. I used the "Save my Settings Wizard" to transfer my
Office 2007 settings from my old laptop to the new one. That also seemed
to work fine, except, now, when I start Word 2007 it begins by first
opening a "Configuration Progress" window which ends with an error
message saying

"Word cannot open this document template.
(C:\Users\......\~$itMenu04_UK.dotx)

I searched and that file and it does exist at
C:\Users\Jeff\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Word\STARTUP

but Word 2007 cannot find it. Is there a way to avoid this configuration
Process every time I start Word 2007

- and stop it looking for that template file?

I searched on the internet and it said to do something about the STARTUP
folder. But which STARTUP folder? The startup folder for Word 2007 at
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office12\STARTUP

is empty. I cannot find the file locations tool for Word 2007.

Again thank you for all your help.

 

[Jeff]

Thanks for the support (over the years) Stefan.
This is an update and a question.

First, all is well. But it took 3 tries....

As I said, I'm a novice at Ebay. So I started by bidding on an office XP
for sale. My bid was immediately outbid by 35 cents. I could see the
game played and decided to instead "buy outright" from another seller
with a 99.7% reputation. That sale went through but the product did not
appear on the shipping date and instead I got an email from the seller
saying he searched everywhere but could not find it in his store and was
refunding my payment. The refund came through.

Trying for the third time I bought a copy of MS Office XP Professional
from still another seller (under $10 including shipping). That one
arrived promptly: a 2 CD set in brand new state, Microsoft logo, and
even printed manual. Product key was on the back of the CD case.

It installed with no hiccups and activated fine. Finally! Interesting
learning experience.

Next job was to transfer my settings. I found your excellent
instructions on the web and transferred the Word STARTUP and Templates
folders from the old PC to the new one in the proper places using file
locations. All seems to be working fine.

Now the question:
I guess I just have to learn to get comfortable with the darn ribbon. (I
already know how to use it but just don't like it). So, on my new
Windows 8.1 laptop I installed both the Word 2002 I just purchased and
also Office 2007 - of course in separate installation folders.

Both work fine. I used the "Save my Settings Wizard" to transfer my
Office 2007 settings from my old laptop to the new one. That also seemed
to work fine, except, now, when I start Word 2007 it begins by first
opening a "Configuration Progress" window which ends with an error
message saying

"Word cannot open this document template.
(C:\Users\......\~$itMenu04_UK.dotx)

I searched and that file and it does exist at
C:\Users\Jeff\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Word\STARTUP

but Word 2007 cannot find it. Is there a way to avoid this configuration
Process every time I start Word 2007

- and stop it looking for that template file?

I searched on the internet and it said to do something about the STARTUP
folder. But which STARTUP folder? The startup folder for Word 2007 at
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office12\STARTUP

is empty. I cannot find the file locations tool for Word 2007.

Again thank you for all your help.

I finally found word 2007 file locations. It was well hidden!

Now the remaining problem is that it still goes through the
configuration process every time Word 2007 starts. Wish I could skip that.

 

[Jeff]

I finally found word 2007 file locations. It was well hidden!

Now the remaining problem is that it still goes through the
configuration process every time Word 2007 starts. Wish I could skip that.

Turns out that happens when the registry for Word is corrupted.

In case someone else runs into the same problem, I solved it by running

reg add HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Word\Options /v NoReReg /t
REG_DWORD /d 1

as recommended on
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...ss-every/06b590cd-dc02-4404-80be-c7081e71e9b3

rebooted and that solved the problem.

 

[Stefan Blom]

I'm glad you got it sorted.

For what it's worth, the workaround you mention is also documented in MVP
Graham Mayor's article at http://www.gmayor.com/toolbars_in_word_2007.htm
(read the "Hacking the Registry" section).