MS Office issue

[neilm]

Hello, have a friend that has an issue with MS Office. The computer wouldn't open any of the office applications (either directly from the executable or the document). It said there was a problem with the internet connection, and he tried to re-enter his product key, but said it is eligible (it is a legit copy incase anyone growls).

Thought it was strange that the likes of Word wouldn't open because of connectivity issues... so I suggested to do a Repair of MS Office from the Control Panel. This doesn't seem to have repaired it, but instead removed it!

Now when trying to access Office it brings up an error message saying:
- "Click-2-Run configuration failure"

I know the version that was installed was called:
- Microsoft Office Home and Student 2010

Also, MS Office 2007 is installed on the system too. I'm assuming this is a pre-install when the laptop was bought.

Thanks for any advice on how to get 2010 back to normal again.

 

[mechBgon]

Have him try a System Restore to when it was working. Any good?

 

[jhansman]

If he has a legit copy, he can contact MS for support. How much support he gets is up to them, but they should be able to help. Also, make sure the 2010 version is not one of those limited "samplers" that OEMs put on to get you to spring for the real, full version. That's what came on my wife's HP laptop, and it was nothing but a PITA. Took it off and put my copy of 2007 on instead.

 

[neilm]

Have him try a System Restore to when it was working. Any good?

I'm going round to see if I can do anything, so can try that. Any other ideas incase the restore doesn't work?

If he has a legit copy, he can contact MS for support. How much support he gets is up to them, but they should be able to help. Also, make sure the 2010 version is not one of those limited "samplers" that OEMs put on to get you to spring for the real, full version. That's what came on my wife's HP laptop, and it was nothing but a PITA. Took it off and put my copy of 2007 on instead.

Thanks, but contacting MS support is the last option. Remember my frustration with them years ago, and ended up fixing the issue myself. I'm thinking it could be one of those trial things because it is complaining about click-to-run which I have never heard of until now. Is it an internet only version (ie. needing to be online when using it)?

 

[jhansman]

Is it an internet only version (ie. needing to be online when using it)?

No, the version on the wife's laptop ran unconnected, but it was fairly useless and constantly ran an ad to upgrade. Pretty cheesy, I thought. MS used to put a full trial version on that timed out after 30 days, which was much better. Know that if you are a student or have access to an .EDU email address, you may be able to qualify for the Academic version, which is cheaper than the full retail.

 

[neilm]

No, the version on the wife's laptop ran unconnected, but it was fairly useless and constantly ran an ad to upgrade. Pretty cheesy, I thought. MS used to put a full trial version on that timed out after 30 days, which was much better. Know that if you are a student or have access to an .EDU email address, you may be able to qualify for the Academic version, which is cheaper than the full retail.

Aye, he was a student when he got it though. And it couldn't have been the 30 day trial (or any trial) as he was using it for a year until it randomly said about the internet connection problems, therefore unable to use Word etc. Never heard of Word needing an internet connection before, so must have been some other version I haven't seen.

 

[cheez]

neilm,

- Uninstall Office 2007 package that came with his computer.
- Reboot.
- Install Office 2010.

Try have him open the word to see if it works. If not, logon as administrator, or another account with administrative rights.

If nothing else, try booting into safe mode. And then try opening the Office.

Usually two things: Bad install of the software. And / or corrupted user profile.