Question

Finding lost serial numbers for Office XP

Asked by: tenover

So I have about 20-30 desktops here that all have legit copies of XP Prof. and Office XP 2003.  They are all on Dells and came with the disks.  However, after installation, all the Office disks were thrown into a big pile, with no recording of which serial number/CD goes with which machine.  I know for reinstallation of the OS, the serial number is located on the MS sticker on the actual PC, but is there a way to find out which serial number was used for Office on any given PC in the event of a hardware failure (or even beforehand) so I can document it all?  

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Asked On
2005-08-04 at 09:26:38ID21515831
Tags

serial

,

office

,

number

,

xp

Topic

Microsoft Office Suite

Participating Experts
2
Points
125
Comments
4

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Answers

 

by: byundtPosted on 2005-08-04 at 09:31:57ID: 14599909

Hi tenover,
Your product key for Office XP and 2003 is stored in the registry, so if you still can access the computer you can use a tool like Belarc Advisor or Magical Jelly Bean to retrieve that key
Magical Jelly Bean KeyFinder: http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder.shtml    The Beta version may be required for Office 2003
Belarc Advisor: http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html
Note: Neither of these two products will work on Office 2000.

Cheers!

Brad

 

by: tenoverPosted on 2005-08-04 at 09:44:22ID: 14600030

Thanks Brad.

 

by: brianglasscockPosted on 2005-08-06 at 21:01:06ID: 14616315

I know this is closed, but I wanted to say their is an easier way. If you launch an office app and then click Help then About Microsoft Word in the area where it says who its licenced to it also says the product code.

 

by: byundtPosted on 2005-08-07 at 08:50:56ID: 14618260

brianglasscock,
The CD-Key is a 25-character alphanumeric string found on a sticker on the back of the jewel case for Office. You will need this to install Office, or to reinstall Office on a reformatted hard drive on the same computer. Owing to the product activation registry that Microsoft maintains, if tenover tries reinstalling Office on a mismatched computer, there may be enough differences in the two computers that Office will not be permitted to be activated.

The Product ID is a 20 digit number that you can find in the Help...About Microsoft Word menu item. You'll need this if you call Microsoft for technical support on Office--or if you have lost your CD-Key. Note that if you have an OEM copy of Office (such as sold by Dell), you are not permitted to call Microsoft for technical support.

It can be important to keep track of which CD goes with which machine even with OEM software--because many upgrades require that you insert the Office CD, and will not permit the upgrade if you insert the CD purchased at a different time (different service pack or edition). For Office XP and 2003, however, you can download "full-file" versions of the updates, much larger files that do not require insertion of the CD.
Brad

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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