Anyway to reformat w/o deleting MS Office?

[Q]

I need a reformat but deleting MS Office XP will make me reinstall, which will go against my re-install limit

 

[Shawn]

Call MS

 

[Navid]

If you have it already activated, copy data.dat from \Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Office\Data and save it somewhere.

After XP re-install, install Office. Copy data.dat back to the same folder, which is now recreated after re-installing Office.
It should not require activation now.

This only works if you do not make major hardware changes. Even minor changes, could require re-activation of Office.

 

[Navid]

I'm sorry I forgot a step!!!

1- Copy data.dat from \Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Office\Data and save it to a partition you will not be formating or a flash drive or floppy or CD.

2- Open a command prompt and type vol c:. Replace C with the appropriate drive letter if you have XP on a different drive.

3- Copy the 8 characters (two groups of 4 characters separated by a hyphen) you get from vol c: to the same place you saved data.dat.

4- Re-install XP.

5- Activate XP.

6- Download the volumeid utility. http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/FileAndDisk/VolumeId.mspx

7- Run volumeid and change the volume id of the XP partition to what it was before format (you saved this in step 3).

8- Reboot. Open a command prompt and type vol c: (replace c with the drive letter of XP) to confirm that the volume id is changed to what it was before format.

9- Install Office.

10- Copy data.dat to \Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Office\Data. Done!


The volume id is one of the parameters Office monitors to decide if too many components have changed and a re-activation is needed.
By setting it back to what it was, you reduce the number of changes, which otherwise could trigger a re-activation.

 

[bruceb]

Which version of Office does this apply to ? ?
I think Office XP Pro 2002 did not have acivation.
2003 and later, do have it, I think.

 

[Navid]

I have used this for Office 2003 and Office 2007.

For Vista, the location of the fie is \All users\Microsoft\OFFICE\DATA.
For Office 2007, the file name is opa12.dat and there is a file with a .bpc suffix that I think I copy as well. I am not sure if the second file is necessary!

 

[Navid]

http://www.msfn.org/board/lofiversion/index.php/t34982.html
http://www.flexbeta.net/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t3669.html
http://www.outlook-tips.net/archives/2003/20031027.htm

 

[Q]

Thanks Navid for all the info (I have Office 2003 I think) but will doing this be 'illegal' in MS standards?

 

[Navid]

Originally posted by: Quintox
Thanks Navid for all the info (I have Office 2003 I think) but will doing this be 'illegal' in MS standards?

I am not a Microsoft official and neither am I a lawyer! So, I cannot answer your question.

I have an official license for Office. I have activated it. I only run office on one machine.
I don't see why activating only once and not multiple times should be considered a breech of the license agreement.

 

[lxskllr]

I've installed Office 2003 several times over, on 4 different machine configurations(2 iterations of my desktop, and 2 laptops) and have never had trouble activating.

 

[bruceb]

Why would it be Ilegal ? You bought the program and as long as it only Installed on as many computers
as the License allows for at any one time, you are fine ... Reinstalling because of a Virus, or hardware
failure, is not a reason to not let you reactivate the product, provided that you meet the number of pc's
limitation in the license. Office usually allows for 1 Desktop and 1 Laptop for the normal license.

 

[Q]

Originally posted by: lxskllr
I've installed Office 2003 several times over, on 4 different machine configurations(2 iterations of my desktop, and 2 laptops) and have never had trouble activating.

How did you do that? It just doesn't ask you mean?

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: Quintox

Originally posted by: lxskllr
I've installed Office 2003 several times over, on 4 different machine configurations(2 iterations of my desktop, and 2 laptops) and have never had trouble activating.

How did you do that? It just doesn't ask you mean?

It's not as stringent as Windows activation. I technically violated the EULA because I had it on 2 laptops simultaneously. I was with the spirit of the EULA though. They were never used at the same time. I used to have 2 laptops that I used for different purposes, so I would only have 1 with me at any given time. Your allowed to install on 1 desktop, and 1 laptop.

Even with an oem copy, as long as it's on the same system it came bundled with, you can install it on that same system as many times as you like. It's a violation of the EULA to put it on another system, but with older versions at least it would still work, I don't know if 2003 is the same.