Installing old Office 2003 in W10

[Fareastdriver]

My old computer running on W7 had a mechanical hard drive. This got too slow taking some five minutes to fire up so I have bought another one with a SSHD that came with W10 loaded.

The OS system is fine but it insists that if I want Office I load 365 and I don't want to because as far as I can read it means that all your files are stored in Cloud and I do not want to do that. I have loaded Open Office but it is very untidy and slow and I have got used to instant response from the SSHD.. I have tried my old copy of Office 2003 but it keeps coming up with 'A required installation file YS561401.CAB could not be found' It tells me to reselect the D drive but then the same statement comes up so the disc cannot be compatible with W10.

The are lots of adverts for Office 2019 but the economical ones just mention a key. How does this work if you buy a key. More importantly, is it reliable and recognised by Microsoft for security updates.

[WB627]

My PC started life with Windows 7 and I installed amongst other things Office 2003. It has since had Windows 10 installed and Office 2003 runs fine with it. I know that Office was already on it when W10 was installed but I dont understand why you can't install Office 2003 just like any other software. Have you tried running the install "Application" .exe file direct from the installation disk?

[Fareastdriver]

Have you tried running the install "Application" .exe file direct from the installation disk?

That came up on the disc after I had inserted the code but it doesn't seem to work. Maybe it is because you still had the installation file in your computer from W7.

[stevef]

I loaded Office 2003 onto a SSD on my W10 computer a couple of months ago and had no problems.
You could try this on the same subject (from a Microsoft Office chat group):
Try running setup by double clicking PRO11.MSI or right click it and choose "install" menu. Not sure why this problem occurs, but I suspect it's due to another wizard/wrapper that launches with regular setup and asks to
click "finish" after installation is finished.

[Fareastdriver]

No, that didn't work. It came up with 'cyclic redundancy' whatever that means.

[Slatye]

Cyclic redundancy check failures normally mean a problem with the physical media (ie the CD/DVD) rather than software incompatibility. Do you know anyone who could lend you another Office 2003 CD/DVD, to use with your product key?

For what it's worth, even Office 97 works beautifully on Windows 10.

[Jetstream67]

You can use anyones DVD to install with your key as long as they have the same language /version

[OldLurker]

Originally Posted by Fareastdriver

The OS system is fine but it insists that if I want Office I load 365 and I don't want to because as far as I can read it means that all your files are stored in Cloud and I do not want to do that.

AFAIK Office 365 (now called "Microsoft 365") files are stored locally unless you choose to let it use OneDrive.

As others have mentioned, if you have complete installation media for Office 2003, it should install on Windows 10. But unless you don't want to fork out for it, I'd go for a later version.

[12in95]

I've moved away from most things MS. Have not tried Open Office for years, but if you've got a SSD OS (presumably i5 or i7) it should handle it at speed. Anyway, I've got an i5 OS and it operates my alternative to Office - Libre Office - quite fast enough for me. Give it a try and see if it suits you (it is free!).

[Fareastdriver]

A flash around the web reveals that I am not the only person having this trouble installing it on W10. I will throw in the towel and flash out for Office 2019.

Thanks to everybody for their trouble.

[Andy H]

I was in a similar W10 situation and found I had to uninstall Word 365 (in Settings) before I cld install my old Office 2003

[cattletruck]

Have you tried uninstalling it, even deliberately damaging it by removing the parent folder, or even deleting regedit trees if you know what you're doing, then re-install it. The installer seems to be able to handle a lot of user abuse and self repair. If you need a DVD of the media most PC shops will happily offer you one (maybe for a very small fee or thrown in if for free if you buy something else), but they won't supply the license key if they are legit.

For what it's worth, even Office 97 works beautifully on Windows 10.

Thank you, I have a paid Office 2009 running on 32 bit XP on an unconnected PC that still meets all my needs. There's hope!!!

We use Office365 (which we call Office364 because their cloud crashes once a year) at work and it's the pits. It's slow to load, it's missing important features of the local client and it has a stupid security model inside the cloud framework. Absolutely hate it.

[Fareastdriver]

Looking at the disc it has 'Licensed only for distribution with a new PC'. I have already used it to load one already so there may be a gizmo in the disc which stops it being used again.

[cattletruck]

Looking at the disc it has 'Licensed only for distribution with a new PC'. I have already used it to load one already so there may be a gizmo in the disc which stops it being used again.

Doubt it, unless it's a disk created by the PC vendor rather than by Microsoft, in that case the disk may have been fiddled with by the PC vendor, however the license activation key should be universal and work with any official Microsoft Office 2003 disk. Perhaps your disk is simply damaged, highly likely if its 18 years old.

[stevef]

Originally Posted by Fareastdriver

Looking at the disc it has 'Licensed only for distribution with a new PC'. I have already used it to load one already so there may be a gizmo in the disc which stops it being used again.

It's completely legal to buy Microsoft software from sellers of decommissioned office computers at a fraction of the full price. It's not piracy, eBay vendors clearly state that they're working within the terms of the licences. I've bought operating systems and office suites by complying with the conditions. For what it's worth, I prefer Office 2003 over Office 2007. I bought the full suite and couldn't get on with its ribbon and the various flaws that argued against my choices.

[Thirsty]

Originally Posted by Fareastdriver

No, that didn't work. It came up with 'cyclic redundancy' whatever that means.

Faulty install media. Optical discs like CDs and DVDs are not forever. They DO eventually degrade and can become unreadable.

Try making a mirror copy onto another disc and if that fails somewhere along the way, you know it is unreadable. If it worked, just use the new media you have created to restart your install again..

If it is faulty and copying doesn't work, the solution is to get another one from somewhere else.

The Office 2003 licence key is unique to you and should work regardless of where your installation media comes from. You shouldn't have to pay again for a new licence as they didn't have a $ubscription model that far back - you bought it outright and own it forever.

Microsoft used to offer specific download web pages for their software for exactly this scenario, but I'm not sure if they still do. Worth calling their support line and asking if they offer new media for a small fee if you can confirm ownership - they usually ask you to read certain laser etched numbers that are very hard to replicate off the original disc so have a magnifying glass handy.

Correspondingly, doing a deep Google search for terms like 'Office 2003 free download' may prove insightful, but may be risky as you cannot trust non-Microsoft sources to forgo bundling added malware. Avoid if possible

[PJD1]

Originally Posted by stevef

It's completely legal to buy Microsoft software from sellers of decommissioned office computers at a fraction of the full price. It's not piracy, eBay vendors clearly state that they're working within the terms of the licences. I've bought operating systems and office suites by complying with the conditions. For what it's worth, I prefer Office 2003 over Office 2007. I bought the full suite and couldn't get on with its ribbon and the various flaws that argued against my choices.

Not true I'm afraid. The eBay sellers selling MS products at low prices are typically selling volume licence keys that are designed for use by large companies who need to install many copies of the software on their computers, reselling these keys on eBay is definitely outside the terms of the licence. The keys will almost certainly work when you buy them but if Microsoft become aware that they are being sold in this way they will blacklist them and your software will stop working. The typical profile of these sellers would be someone who works in an IT department and has access to the keys through their workplace and has taken it upon themselves to use this to make some easy money for themselves. Of course the sellers say they are working within the terms of the licences, they would hardly say otherwise! Volume licence keys were never intended to be "split up" and sold in this way and it is not legitimate use of the licence to do so.

[Blues&twos]

If the CD/DVD is not being read at some point during installation, have you tried cleaning it? A bit of toothpaste, some gentle scrubbing and a good rinse and dry has worked for me on several occasions over the years, even on DVDs where there was no obvious physical damage/contamination. I have even successfully used T-Cut...

[Thirsty]

Originally Posted by PJD1

Not true I'm afraid. The eBay sellers selling MS products at low prices are typically selling volume licence keys that are designed for use by large companies who need to install many copies of the software on their computers, reselling these keys on eBay is definitely outside the terms of the licence. The keys will almost certainly work when you buy them but if Microsoft become aware that they are being sold in this way they will blacklist them and your software will stop working. The typical profile of these sellers would be someone who works in an IT department and has access to the keys through their workplace and has taken it upon themselves to use this to make some easy money for themselves. Of course the sellers say they are working within the terms of the licences, they would hardly say otherwise! Volume licence keys were never intended to be "split up" and sold in this way and it is not legitimate use of the licence to do so.

I concur. Buying licences off eBay and similar sites nearly always involves going outside original licence terms and conditions, which you should find on your disc or in the box, except if your disc is unreadable. You usually click past them without reading them as you start your installation. You know: the BIT WITH ALL CAPITAL LETTERS legalese.
Catch 22!
Don't support thieves and shady characters by giving them money. Pirated software, by the very definition, should always be free.

You paid for the software, the millions of hours and lines of code of intellectual property that went into the code. You paid for the installation media. You should, barring abuse, expect that media to last for a long time if carefully preserved in original box in a controlled climate. Don't be asinine about it,, otherwise your Micro$oft support call will change from a free one to paid. They are usually understanding, and their job is to assist customers, except those that are clearly frauds attempting to steal software.

[Thirsty]

Originally Posted by Blues&twos

If the CD/DVD is not being read at some point during installation, have you tried cleaning it? A bit of toothpaste, some gentle scrubbing and a good rinse and dry has worked for me on several occasions over the years, even on DVDs where there was no obvious physical damage/contamination. I have even successfully used T-Cut...

Sorry to be rude, and very rude. This might work for a once off but what about the future?

No, NO!!! What about your drive, now full of molecules of toothpaste, sandpaper, and moisture from when you superficially washed the disc surface, and then wiped it on your sleeve, adding microcracks to the critical inner plastic and metallic layers that contain the data as you bent it to get the right amount of pressure? How about the rest of the guts of your computer, as the spinning disc has flung the debris and been spread all over the other internal parts by the internal fan?

You advice is a bit like suggesting FDISK to empty the recycle bin, or putting your automatic car into Park at freeway speeds to slow down. It works, but has enormous implications a naive user may not realise until far, far too late, with unrecoverable losses.

DO NOT DO THIS!
Not today, not now.
Never!