Word from Microsoft Works - Windows 8.1

[Deleted User]

I'm not getting on too well with Open Office. I have an old disk for Microsoft Works with Microsoft Word on it. I tried to install it but it asked for a 25 digit product key. On my disk the Product ID is just 20 digits long.


Is there any prospect of me being able to install Microsoft Word (2000) from my disk or is that not likely to be possible, please?


Crimson

RumRat

Apparently there are ways of getting it onto W8 but it's not straightforward and I doubt it would be worth it.
Try the free Kingsoft office suite (Click Here) You may find that better to get on with than Open Office.

emptybox

I have the Works 6 suite (including Word 2000) from my XP computer, and I had very limited success in getting it to install to Windows 8, as I recall.
I don't even think it got as far as asking for the Licence key.

I think you can get the Works stuff to work after a fashion, but I don't think I could get Word to work at all.
Mind you this is the 64 bit version of Windows 8 I was trying it on.

There doesn't seem to be any trace of it on the PC now, so I must have abandoned it in favour of Libreoffice.
I'll have a look on my other Win 8.1 machine tomorrow.

It works OK in Windows 7 32 bit on another machine. Just throws up a few error messages that are easily cancelled.

[Deleted User]

My Windows 8.1 is 64 bit although I don' t really know what it means!

I have Microsoft Word on my old laptop and I keep going back to it for documents as (familiarity and comfort - easy to use) I have Open Office on my new laptop.

I only have a disk for Microsoft Works but nothing I can find for the Microsoft Office currently installed in my old Windows 7 laptop.

Thank you for your helpful suggestions and replies.

Crimson

I_have_spoken

Any way you can get Office cheaply via an employer's scheme or on an academic discount?

TBH anything from Office 2007 onwards has the 'ribbon' toolbar which isn't that easy to get used to either!

Word 2003 is OK with Windows 7 so should do fine on Windows 8. Maybe best trying to find a copy of Office 2003 off t'Bay etc.

You won't be able to move a loaded Office 2000 from one machine to another, you'll need the install CD/DVD

[Deleted User]

Thanks, I have spoken. It looks as if I'll not be able to have Microsoft Word on my new laptop. I'm well past employment and student years (OAP etc.) but I was brave enough to 'go for' a new Windows 8.1 laptop.

I appreciate your reply but, unfortunately, I have no disk (I don't) know what happened to it.) The Microsoft Word on my old laptop is, to me, really easy.

Thanks for replying.

Crimson

aerostar

If you do not want anything too fancy then you already have a word processing program supplied with windows - it is called "Wordpad", many people do not seem to know that they have it !, it has been with windows since the early days and is included in 8.1

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/using-wordpad#1TC=windows-7

bod1467

If you put in your CD, find it in Windows Explorer, find the setup.exe or whatever is the application for installing Word, right-click on that application and select Properties, do you see a Compatibility tab?

If yes, select it, choose the option to Install for XP SP2, and tick the Install as Administrator box, click OK. Then double-click the application to run the installer - hopefully all should work OK. (Whilst I have Windows 7, I used the same process at the weekend to install a really old copy of Midtown Madness 2 that came when I bought an XP desktop PC in 2000).

PS - you may need to run the Works installer, but just select the Word option.

macman

Try Libre Office instead of Open Office? If all you want is a word processor with the basic features then I cannot see why either OO or LO cannot do the job?

grumpycrab

If you have some spare time may be worth giving Microsoft Office starter (2010) a go. It contains basic versions of Word and Excel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qN1116j96W4

fenlander_uk

RumRat wrote: »

Apparently there are ways of getting it onto W8 but it's not straightforward and I doubt it would be worth it.
Try the free Kingsoft office suite (Click Here) You may find that better to get on with than Open Office.

Seconded. I have MS Office 2007 but regularly try out alternatives. Like you, I'm not a fan of Open/Libre Office but IMO Kingsoft Office 2013 is excellent. You can choose to use a ribbon interface or the older style menus and its compatibility with Word and Excel seems much better than OO/LO. Since installing Kingsoft, I have actually made it my default handler in preference to Microsoft Office.