Windows Office - says I've 27 days to activate it - huh?

[DiamondEcho]

I'm running Windows 10 with MS Office Standard 2010. I've just returned from holiday and when I open my regular Excel spreadsheets I get a pop-up which reads as follows:
------------
Microsoft Office Activation Wizard
Microsoft Office Standard 2010
Activation Wizard
This copy of Microsoft Office is not activated
You have 27 days left to activate. Ensure you are connected to your corporate network to enable automatic activation. Your system administrator can help.
Learn more about how to activate this Office product.
[In a button >] 'Change product key'
Error code: 0xC004F074
Privacy statement
[In a button >] 'Help'
[In a button >] 'Close'
--------------

I'm not technically inclined and this has me at a loss. When I click Help it suggests:
'Activate Office 2010 online
1.Click File > Help > Activate Product Key.
If you don't see an Activate Product Key button, your software is already activated, and you don't need to do anything.
2.Follow the steps in the Activation Wizard.
If you're activating over the Internet and have a slow connection, you might want to activate by phone.'

In Excel if I click File>Help, I do not see an 'Activate Product Key button'. But what I do see, this is transcribed as again I can't copy/paste it, is the following:
'Microsoft Office
Product Activation Required
This product contains Microsoft Excel, [and OneNote, Outlook, Powerpoint, Publisher, Word].
Change product key
This product is unlicensed. Connect to your corporate network or contact your system administrator for further assistance.
About Microsoft Excel
Version: 14.0.7182.5000 (64-bit)
Part of Microsoft Office Standard 2010
Product ID number: [appears to be 20 characters long]
[links to license terms and MS-customer support]
-------------------

The following is 'to the best of my memory/knowledge' -> I'm not sure what has happened to cause this. I've had the PC quite a while, perhaps 6 years. It came with Windows 7 installed and I upgraded that for free last year to Win10 Home 64-bit. I've had MS Office for years, in various versions, but don't know where the product key for the current version is. I might have upgraded online from an earlier version. Or it might have come pre-installed on this computer... hmm.

I haven't a SysAdmin since I work alone from home. Per above I see 'Product Activation Required'. But that isn't a link or button, so I don't know how to proceed. If I click the Change product key link it brings up a pop-up 'Need to find your product key?' And goes on to suggest it's a 25 character code 'usually found on the product packaging'. I'm not sure what packaging that is. I've a physical disc for MS Office Home and Students 2007 with the product key on it, but it won't accept that - IIRC it returned something like 'That key relates to another product' or similar.

I've done some digging around on this error code and situation, and found various suggestions. But they don't exactly fill me with confidence as they appear to involve downloading from torrent sites, or the website names include words like hack, crack, and so on.

I checked on Youtube on the error code and various help vids come up. Many refer to later versions than MS Office Standard 2010 but this one seems to apply to my version. Here is one example: 'How To Activate Microsoft Office 2010/2013/2016 Without Any Product Key For FREE (EASY WAY)' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJYNXgD7D_g

But, despite mostly positive feedback I don't know how credible the above is. And before I start trying to fix this problem with 3rd party sources I'd like to ask what others think. To me it's unexpected, it honestly feels like ransomware, though apparently genuine MS ransomware [/unintentional irony]. Does anyone have suggestions for a 'next steps' to follow? Thx!

[Itsallaguess]

Does anyone have suggestions for a 'next steps' to follow?

Firstly, I'd download and run ProduKey and see if that can find the Office 2010 product key in your existing set-up -

http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/produkey.html

If the key is still there, then there's a chance that you'll simply be able to re-enter it and you'll be good to go...

Further to the above -

1. Has there been any recent Windows 10 or Office updates installed on your machine. If so, are you able to un-install them as a check for this issue?

2. Do you have a system-restore-point to go back to, at a point you knew Office worked correctly, to check if you can get back to a working position via that route?

If you could get back to a working position by either uninstalling any recent Windows 10 or Office updates, or by using a restore-point, then using the Produkey software above, you might hopefully then be able to retrieve the key you're after, and progress from there...

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[Breelander]

'Error code: 0xC004F074' basically means little more than 'not activated'. Googling this for Office 2010 finds two subtly different Activation Wizard messages associated with this error code, the one you are getting and another that says 'No Key Management Service (KMS) could be contacted'. Ignore all 'solutions' for the KMS issue - these only apply to Office that was installed using a corporate volume licence (and the 3rd-party hacks are ways to get round this and run pirated copies of Office without needing a corporate KMS server to activate them).

I second the suggestion to go back to a restore point prior to your holiday break.

One other suggestion I found on the web may be relevant in light of your holiday break: check the date on your PC, if it is incorrect this can apparently confuse the activation.

[DiamondEcho]

Firstly, I'd download and run ProduKey and see if that can find the Office 2010 product key in your existing set-up -
http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/produkey.html
If the key is still there, then there's a chance that you'll simply be able to re-enter it and you'll be good to go...
Further to the above -
1. Has there been any recent Windows 10 or Office updates installed on your machine. If so, are you able to un-install them as a check for this issue?
2. Do you have a system-restore-point to go back to, at a point you knew Office worked correctly, to check if you can get back to a working position via that route?
If you could get back to a working position by either uninstalling any recent Windows 10 or Office updates, or by using a restore-point, then using the Produkey software above, you might hopefully then be able to retrieve the key you're after, and progress from there... Cheers, Itsallaguess

I downloaded that and it seems simple enough to use. It identifies Product Keys for:
Internet Explorer
MS Office Pro 2010
MS Office Pro+ 2007
Windows 10 Home

To trigger the prompt I had earlier I opened an Excel file and was faced with the 'you have 27 days left to activate...' pop-up.
I clicked on Change Product Key
I entered the 25 digit key from the 'MS Office Pro 2010' entry above
In red text it says 'Please wait while your product key is validated' [with timer]. That process seems to complete with no problem.
I clicked the 'Continue' button and it presented me with two more options, 'Install Now' and 'Customize'.
'Install Now' yields 'Configuring' and a progress bar. That process completes.

At this point all seems fine. But when I close Excel and re-start it I get the 'you have 27 days left' all over again. Hmmm. One thing I noticed is that the 'Modified Time' given for the top 3 of 4 Key entries, IE, Office2010, Office 2007 date from the last week of December. That coincides with then I had a major hard-disk issue and had a technician in to help fix it. Now, he barely speaks a word of English, but could it be he installed something like a trial version of an updated Office that's now expired after precisely 6 months?
If I try and enter the Office Pro+ 2007 Key it tells me 'Sorry, this isn't a Microsoft Office 2010 product key. You may be entering a key from a different version of Office.'

Re: your other points:
2) If I go to Settings>Recovery>Go back to an earlier build. It says 'This option is no longer available because your PC was upgraded more than 10 days ago'. I wasn't aware of agreeing to upgrade anything. In fact I've gone to some trouble this last year or so to stop MS taking it upon itself to upgrade software, unless I'm 101% happy I'm in control of what it is doing.
However I do periodically make extensive back-ups of both core data files and system images to an external HDD. So hopefully that it available to investigate further if needs be.
1) I checked Updates to see if there is anything I can roll-back, to find it's 88% through install a Win-10 v1703 Features Update. Huh!? Well, I think that established that I don't have control over the update process...

Out of interest I checked what it would cost to buy a new license. Not because I feel I don't already have one but because this could just go on and on and eventually lock me out, and time is money etc as unfair that accepting that would be. IIRC the only options to get a new/current copy of Office, is to directly subscribe monthly for a copy.

Thx!

[DiamondEcho]

'Error code: 0xC004F074' basically means little more than 'not activated'. Googling this for Office 2010 finds two subtly different Activation Wizard messages associated with this error code, the one you are getting and another that says 'No Key Management Service (KMS) could be contacted'. Ignore all 'solutions' for the KMS issue - these only apply to Office that was installed using a corporate volume licence (and the 3rd-party hacks are ways to get round this and run pirated copies of Office without needing a corporate KMS server to activate them).
I second the suggestion to go back to a restore point prior to your holiday break.
One other suggestion I found on the web may be relevant in light of your holiday break: check the date on your PC, if it is incorrect this can apparently confuse the activation.

I'd counter with 'But what is there to activate?'. I've previously activated MS software when I have installed entirely new programmes, or suites, like MS Office. But in this case I'm unaware of having installed anything major/new. Unless MS has uninstalled something without my knowledge, and is now demanding I buy a license (or similar), and perhaps seems to be obstructing or at least obfuscating attempts to go back to an earlier version. I don't know, but rightly or wrongly MS has something of a reputation for clever money-spinning tricks.
As mentioned re: Restore Points, if i go to 'Recovery/Go back to an earlier build' it says 'The option is no longer available as the PC was updated more than 10 days ago'. Not exactly helpful.
The date on my PC is correct. But that's an interesting suggestion/something I'd never have thought of.

[Itsallaguess]

One thing I noticed is that the 'Modified Time' given for the top 3 of 4 Key entries, IE, Office2010, Office 2007 date from the last week of December.

That coincides with then I had a major hard-disk issue and had a technician in to help fix it.

Now, he barely speaks a word of English, but could it be he installed something like a trial version of an updated Office that's now expired after precisely 6 months?

Ah, well, with this new information then I think it's probably going to be worth getting in touch with your 'technician' and explaining what's gone on.

I've no doubt that he's aware that you'd have got this activation warning at this point, so if it were me, I'd be asking him what he's expecting to do about it.

The nuclear-option, in the absence of you finding the original Office 2010 activation key and carrying out a re-install yourself, is to buy a new licence, but I'd be having a quiet word with your man and, erm, giving him an 'opportunity' to get you going again....

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[Breelander]

re: Restore Points, if i go to 'Recovery/Go back to an earlier build' it says 'The option is no longer available as the PC was updated more than 10 days ago'. Not exactly helpful...

...and not the right place to look, that's for undoing an upgrade to the latest version of Windows. Restore points are different, they're a snapshot of your registry and system files at a particular point in time and can be restored at any time. Go to Control Panel > System > System protection. Then click the 'System Restore' button.

[ReformedCharacter]

Hmmm. One thing I noticed is that the 'Modified Time' given for the top 3 of 4 Key entries, IE, Office2010, Office 2007 date from the last week of December. That coincides with then I had a major hard-disk issue and had a technician in to help fix it. Now, he barely speaks a word of English, but could it be he installed something like a trial version of an updated Office that's now expired after precisely 6 months?
Thx!

It might help to find out the date the version of Office was installed to help you narrow that one down:

http://www.intowindows.com/how-to-check ... indows-10/

And check exactly which versions of Office Windows thinks you have installed.

RC

[DiamondEcho]

...and not the right place to look, that's for undoing an upgrade to the latest version of Windows. Restore points are different, they're a snapshot of your registry and system files at a particular point in time and can be restored at any time. Go to Control Panel > System > System protection. Then click the 'System Restore' button.

Thanks Bree. My version/lay-out is slightly different so if I go to Control Panel>System I then had to use the search box/field to go and find System Protection and System Restore. Once in there the only option it gave was to go back to an earlier version dates 7th July. I did that but that wasn't early enough to pre-date the Windows update it seems.

Meanwhile I have sent an e-mail to the IT guy who restored this PC back at the end of December, asking him what he suggests. So we'll see.

[DiamondEcho]

It might help to find out the date the version of Office was installed to help you narrow that one down:
http://www.intowindows.com/how-to-check ... indows-10/
And check exactly which versions of Office Windows thinks you have installed. RC

Thanks,
This^ shows Microsoft Office standard 2010 v14.0.7015.1000 dated 6/7/2017. It also gives me a Modify and Uninstall button.
Just to have a look-see I clicked Modify. It brings up a pop-up titled 'Do you want to allow this app to make changes to this device? Microsoft Setup Bootstrapper'. Not knowing what that is I didn't proceed any further.

[didds]

A few thoughts...

* this is not dissimilar to a few "errors" or alerts I've seen where people have had office installed by " a friend of a mate" or "a bloke I met down the pub"... where the product key they've used is one they have possibly used on multiple occasions and eventually something in the MS offices has notice its being used many times and have somehow blackballed it.

* ditto a version bought off ebay for a fraction of the price

* a local PC fixt guy round these parts has used an enterprise license for Office on a few PCs that people have brought to me with "issues" (not always licensing ones) that they have purchased from him. I'm no expert [1] but I'm pretty sure enterprise licenses are not issued to be used on disparate people's home PCs.

In short, my past exp[erience indicates that somehow MS believes your version you have installed is of dubious progeny. This is not a slur aimed at you DE!

As others have suggested have a word with your chap that did your PC.


And if all else fails consider using Open Office
https://www.openoffice.org

didds

[1] over to Bree

[Breelander]

...the only option it gave was to go back to an earlier version dates 7th July. I did that but that wasn't early enough to pre-date the Windows update it seems.

By default system restore only offers the latest restore point. Try it again. This time make sure you tick the box at the bottom to 'show more restore points'. There are often a lot more available.

[Breelander]

* a local PC fixt guy round these parts has used an enterprise license for Office on a few PCs that people have brought to me with "issues" (not always licensing ones) that they have purchased from him. I'm no expert [1] but I'm pretty sure enterprise licenses are not issued to be used on disparate people's home PCs.

[1] over to Bree

An Enterprise licence allows Office to be installed on as many PCs as the enterprise has bought licences for. The activation of each individual PC is managed centrally by a Key Management Server (KMS) to ensure the enterprise doesn't use it on more PCs than they have bought licences for. To remain activated Office has to regularly check in with the KMS. A common technique for pirating Office is to use an Enterprise key and install a fake KMS on the PC to keep Office activated. When this kludge fails the message includes the words 'No Key Management Service (KMS) could be contacted'. That's does not appear to be the case here as there's no mention of KMS reported.

And if all else fails consider using Open Office
https://www.openoffice.org

Open Office and Libre Office have a common ancestry and are almost identical to use. Since Libre Office forked from Open Office there has been more active support and development for Libre Office, with Open Office appearing to be in slow decline. Of the two I'd recommend Libre Office.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

[DiamondEcho]

By default system restore only offers the latest restore point. Try it again. This time make sure you tick the box at the bottom to 'show more restore points'. There are often a lot more available.

It's complicated by - I think - the version of Office I have differing from yours. So when I go Control Panel > System, I don't see System Restore there.
But if I enter 'System Restore' in the 'Find a setting' search box, at the top/left of the ConPanel/System page it offers me:
- Reset this PC
- Create a Restore point
- Recovery

If I click the latter I am offered:
- Create a recovery drive
- Open system restore
- Configure system restore

Clicking the middle one brings up a small window 'Restore system files and settings'. It has two options, undo the Restore (I did yesterday), or 'Choose a different restore point'. Clicking the latter it offers me two options with dates, the restore from yesterday, and the 'Critical update' from 7th July. So it looks like I've ended up at the same point as previously, ie I'm not being offered earlier restore points.

Meanwhile the IT guy has said he will come over and have a look at it early next week, so that's a positive sign. AND thank you helpful Lemons^ for mentioning OpenOffice and LibreOffice. I hadn't considered those at all, and as alluded to earlier was considering this as a virtual single option hostage situation. Nice to know it's not So I'll have a look at those two offerings and decide on which one to download as a contingency ahead of the techie visiting.

[Breelander]

...thank you helpful Lemons^ for mentioning OpenOffice and LibreOffice. I hadn't considered those at all ... I'll have a look at those two offerings and decide on which one to download as a contingency ahead of the techie visiting.

Both are available as Portable Apps. The advantage of a portable app is that it doesn't requires any installing. You just download it, unpack it to a folder then run it. The folder can be anywhere - even on a USB to make it truly portable between machines. Portable App versions are ideal if you want to 'try out' new software, if you don't want to keep it you just delete it - there's nothing that needs uninstalling. If you do decide to keep it you can continue using the portable app version for as long as you like. The Libre Office I use is the portable app one, run from a folder on my C: drive.

Libre Office: https://portableapps.com/apps/office/li ... e_portable
Open Office: https://portableapps.com/apps/office/op ... e_portable

[Alaric]

Both are available as Portable Apps. The advantage of a portable app is that it doesn't requires any installing. You just download it, unpack it to a folder then run it. The folder can be anywhere - even on a USB to make it truly portable between machines. Portable App versions are ideal if you want to 'try out' new software, if you don't want to keep it you just delete it - there's nothing that needs uninstalling.

That takes you back to an equivalent of the simplicity of twenty five or thirty years ago before Windows. Put a disk in a drive, change to the drive letter and type a command to start the program.

[DiamondEcho]

I'm currently looking into the pros and cons of various alternative Office type suites, particularly OpenOffice vs LibreOffice. I haven't read all of the following yet, but thought I'd post the links from some various recent comparisons in case others find themselves considering going down this path.

The Best Office Suites of 2017
http://www.pcmag.com/roundup/352971/the ... ice-suites

Don’t pay $10 a month for Microsoft Office! Here are the best free alternatives
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing ... ernatives/

The best free office software 2017
http://www.techradar.com/news/the-best- ... e-software

This one came up as a top hit in Google and is a Wiki entry re: comparative functionality:
Feature Comparison: LibreOffice - Microsoft Office
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Fea ... oft_Office

[superFoolish]

Why not give Microsoft a call or, even better, get them to call you...

https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/con ... ice/setup/

Just explain the problem to them, and they'll let you know if you have a valid installation.

There is even a possibility, given the Office 2007 installation code, they'll be able to advise if you upgraded it. I have always found MS to be remarkably helpful and sympathetic; they'll want to help you install a valid version of Office.

[didds]

I have always found MS to be remarkably helpful and sympathetic; they'll want to help you install a valid version of Office.

I haven;t. To the extent that an XP box I owned motherboard died. So I slapped the drive in another PC and fired it up - now my XM wasn't validated and wouldn;t.

I phoned MS and the not at all helpful "advisor" refused to help saying "XP is not longer supported [this was by about 2 months] and everybody has to move to a newer version". I argued that I had a pukka version of XP that was only now u/s because of a hardware failure but she wouldn't budge - I "had" to upgrade.
[Note she made no mention of any esoteric terms and conditions etc - just that "everybody needs to upgrade"]

So I found a XP validation crack online. Bugger 'em. And Ive generally found them extremely unhelpful in other areas also.



didds

[superFoolish]

I phoned MS and the not at all helpful "advisor" refused to help saying "XP is not longer supported [this was by about 2 months] and everybody has to move to a newer version".

The product was, after 12 years, no longer supported, so the advisor advised you correctly. Whether it was one day or two months is academic; they have to end support at some point, and the lifecycles are planned (and advertised) many years in advance.

Office 2010 is being supported until Oct 2020, so worth a try, especially as they call you.

My anecdotal experience is that MS have always been helpful and extremely polite, even when pirated software is being used.