Microsoft Office 2003

[Ace]

In general only documents containing very specific functions only found
in Microsoft Office 2000 and upward will fail for anyone with an office
suite that does not support these functions, even among Microsoft's own
Office suite versions.
Example would be, documents created with MS Office 2007 will not open in
MS Office 2003; however 2003 has a 'feature pack' available for those not
willing to shell out on 2007, it adds support for the DocX formats as
used by 2007.

OpenOffice has no problems reading/writing Office 2000/XP compatible
documents.
Should you wish to have OpenOffice write such compatible formats, you can
simply use 'File', 'Save As..' and choose the Office 97/2000/XP document
type, the Microsoft Word 2003 XML type, or you can output to PDF with the
button from the toolbar.
Should you wish to avoid the extra clicks, you can go into OpenOffice's
options and set the above to the default for all document types.

By Default; OpenOffice does -not- associate itself with Microsoft
documents when you install it, unless you check the option for the
association during installation.

 

[Guest]

Good Morning db!

I'm running the registry cleaner you suggested right now. Thanks for the
link.

Also, I've received two good responses from Microsoft on my SP2 problem.
Need to read an online article now that has been recommended by them.

Feeling optimistic!@

Thanks.

Ron

 

[Guest]

sounds great.

let's review that
article together.

is there a link?

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[Guest]

db,

Thanks for your continuing interest and support!

I'm afraid I'm rather bogged down again. The register cleaning program I
downloaded has been grinding on and on and on in its install effort -- the
little green circle has been going round and round for over two hours by now.

I've copied and pasted the Help email I received in full below. It asked me
to install Lavasoft ad-ware to review my computer for problems. I downloaded
the free version and chose to run the "full scan." It has been running for 1
hour and 10 minutes and the progress bar has not reached the halfway mark yet.

Churchill siad "Those who sit and wait also serve." Hope he was right!

Thanks!

Here is the full email I received (1 of 2 emails actually):

Dear Ron,

Thank you for contacting Microsoft Online Support Service. My name is Susan,
and I am glad to work with you. For your reference, the case ID for this
service request is SRX1045802866. You can contact me directly by writing an
email to (e-mail address removed) with the case ID in the subject
line.

From your description, I understand that when trying to use Office software,
it indicated that Windows XP Service Pack 2 was not installed. When trying to
download and install Windows XP Service Pack 2, it kept reviewing the
software and failed to be installed. It was a HP computer and the suggestions
in Newsgroup have been tried but did not work. If there has been any
misunderstanding, please let me know.

I understand the inconvenience you have experienced. Please be assured that
I will do my best to help you.

To work together more effectively, before we try to install Windows XP SP2,
please refer to the following article for detailed information about SP2
download and installation.

What to Know Before You Download and Install Windows XP Service Pack 2

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/sp2/sp2_whattoknow.mspx

If your original system is an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) version
preinstalled with the computer, I recommend contacting the computer
manufacturer first before installing SP2. Please ask them if any of the
software applications and hardware drivers need to be updated for SP2.
Otherwise, installing SP2 may cause unexpected problems. Thank you for your
understanding on this issue.

Generally, installation of Windows XP SP2 issue can occur if certain third
party programs are running in the background during the upgrade (especially
third party firewall, antivirus programs etc) which will conflict with the
installation process. As a result, Windows XP SP2 cannot be downloaded
completely and the installation will fail. Therefore, I suggest we first
perform the following steps to directly download Windows XP SP2 on our
website in Normal Mode and then install it in Safe Mode. This mode will load
the system with the minimum amount of programs and devices. By performing
this step it will help avoid any conflicts during the installation process.
For your reference, I have included the steps below:

Download and then install Windows XP SP2

===================================

1. Download Windows XP SP2 from the link below:

Windows XP Service Pack 2 Network Installation Package for IT Professionals
and Developers

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...BE-3B8E-4F30-8245-9E368D3CDB5A&displaylang=en

Note: The above link is also appropriate for home users. Please save the
file on the Desktop.

2. Restart the computer and start pressing the F8 key on the keyboard. On a
computer that is configured to boot multiple Operating Systems, press the F8
key when you see the boot menu.

3. When the Windows Advanced Options menu appears, select Safe Mode, and
then press Enter.

4. Log onto Windows by using the Administrator account or any user account
with Administrator privileges.

5. Double click the downloaded file "WindowsXP-KB835935-SP2-ENU.exe" on the
Desktop to install Windows XP SP2 in Safe Mode.

Note: In Safe Mode, your system display and Desktop will look and perform
differently than in Normal Mode. This is only temporary. To return to Normal
Mode, we can simply restart the computer.

Did SP2 download and install successfully? If not, please follow the steps
below to capture a screenshot if there is any error message.

Screenshot of the error message

=========================

1. Press the Print Screen key (PrtScn) on your keyboard.

2. Click "Start", click "Run", type "mspaint", and click "OK".

3. In Paint, click Paste under the Edit Menu, click Save under the File
menu, type a file name for the screenshot, choose JPEG as "Save as type",
click “Desktop†on the left pane, and click Save.

4. Please find the screenshot on the Desktop and send it as an attachment
to: (e-mail address removed)

Then, please send me the SP2 installation related log files. All the
installation historical logs will be automatically saved in these files
during the installation process. Hence, they are very useful for us to
determine the root cause of the problem.

Windows XP SP2 installation log files

============================

1. Click "Start", "Run", enter "%windir%" (without the quotation marks), and
then click OK.

2. Locate the files Svcpack.log and Setupapi.log in the opened folder.

3. Please send them to me at (e-mail address removed) for further
research.

Note: When attaching files to emails, the process will vary depending on the
email application being used. While you are composing the email, most
applications will provide you with either an "Attach" button or Paper Clip
Icon to click in order to attach a file. After clicking this button/icon you
must browse to the file you wish to attach and select it by either double
clicking it or clicking it once and then clicking on the "Attach" button.

Thank you for providing me with above information in advance. If necessary,
I will provide further troubleshooting steps based on them in my next
message.

I also would like to explain that if you are using a low speed Internet
connection, alternatively, you may order a SP2 CD from the following address
as well:

Order Windows XP Service Pack 2 on CD

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/sp2/cdorder/en_us/default.mspx

It may take approximately 4-6 weeks for shipping.

Please try the above steps and let me know the results at your earliest
convenience. If there are any questions or concerns, feel free to let me know.

I look forward to your reply.

Best Regards,

Susan Yuan

(e-mail address removed)

Microsoft Windows Update Support Professional

Happy customers are my top priority. Please let either myself or my manager
know what you think of the level of service provided. You can send feedback
directly to my manager, Tony Tang at (e-mail address removed)

 

[Guest]

well, it does take a while
for it to scan and clean
the pc.

although the entry to install
one care was the registry
tune up page, the program
that installs is the one care
system.

however, if it is still at the
installation process, i would
go ahead and cancel it at this
time. it should have only taken a couple
of minutes to download and install.

let me take a look at the
information you sent. thanks.
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[Guest]

ok,

pursuant to the instruction
boot into safe mode
and begin the process to
install sp2.

and let me know
your status afterwards
before you contact them
back.

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[Guest]

db --

I will do what you direct. Then I'll get gack to you.

BTW, these failures to install are beginning to suggest that I can't install
anything in a timely way, not just SP2.

Thanks.

Ron

 

[Guest]

it is likely the problem
is resulting from other
software that is blocking
the installations or possibly
corrupted your windows.

for example, you may have
2 or 3 antivirus programs running
at the same time and for all we know
and you may not even be aware.

that is why going through safemode
might overcome the hurdle.

if you still can't install SP2 in
safemode, let me know.
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[Guest]

db,

After much difficulty in getting to Safe Mode and more than a little screen
watching as the process completed itself, SP2 is installed.

I'm now going to try to install Office (Home/Student) 2007.

Thanks for everything. I wish I could return the favor somehow.

Ron

 

[Guest]

you're welcome.

a couple of things to
keep in mind.

firstly, make a restore point.

secondly, you may want
to analyze what is loading
in your normal mode that may
be posing a problem for your
windows.

also, sp2 has features included
like a firewall that can be configured.
some people forget and inadverdently
install a secondary firewall:

http://search.microsoft.com/results.aspx?mkt=en-US&form=MSHOME&setlang=en-US&q=sp2+features


also, you may want to retry
that one care tune up program again.
it is likely your pc could use a
tune-up.

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[C A Upsdell]

I give up! My Windows XP simply cannot stomach Service Pack 2 -- which, in
turn, is required to download and install Microsoft Office (Student/Home)
2007.

So, question: Is there a place on the web where I can download Microsoft
Office (Student/Home) in its 2003 version? And does the latter version also
require SP2?

If SP2 will not work on your PC, it is because somethat has made Windows
unstable. The instability may not be obvious without SP2, but you can
be sure that unpredictable failures will occur until you stabilize your
O/S. What you should be doing is making Windows stable on your PC. In
the worst case this might mean a complete re-install.