After following the WOW exploration of the coming ORW, I am glad I use Linux! JLK 6. BEHIND THE OFFICE REGISTRATION WIZARD - PART 4 More examination of the Office Registration Wizard - coming to a copy of Office 2000 in North America soon. Your questions are welcome mailto:RegoWiz@woodyswatch.com WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU? The benefits of the Office Registration Wizard for Microsoft are pretty clear, for they get tighter control over software use and make it much more difficult for piracy to occur. This means greater sales and profits for the company. But what's in it for the customer? Very little that we can see ... * You don't have to fill out a paper registration card and post it back. * You might get notice of upgrades, new products etc depending on Microsoft's policy from time to time in your part of the world. RUMOR CONTROL ZONE "I can only install Office 2000 twice and then Microsoft will stop me using it any more." No - you can install Office 2000 for a third and subsequent time but you have to phone Microsoft and explain why. In most legitimate cases (i.e. getting a new computer) this should not be a problem. "I have Office installed on my three computers. One at home, one at the office and a third on my laptop. They are never used simultaneously. How can I do this with the ORW?" You are in breach of your software licence (EULA), which only permits use on one fixed and one notebook computer. The ORW gives Microsoft the ability to stop such uses of Office. "My normal computer is broken and I've sent it off for repairs. Can I temporarily install Office 2000 on a borrowed computer that I'm using until my other computer returns?" This is a gray area. In theory you should uninstall Office 2000 from the broken computer before it goes in for repairs, install Office on the temporary machine and uninstall it from that machine when the repaired machine returns, and you then reinstall Office 2000 on the fixed computer. This ensures that Office 2000 is only installed on a single computer at any one time. In practice, of course, you are unlikely to go to that much trouble (and may not be able to depending on the fault). If you have used your first two confirmation codes you should be able to get another from Microsoft if you telephone and explain your predicament. "If I change one part of my hardware then I have to get another approval from Microsoft?" Not in most cases. When you change a single computer component the ORW should detect that the majority of the computer components are the same and permit continued use. "Do I have to get a new confirmation code if I reformat my hard drive?" Probably not, just as if you changed a hardware component the ORW should detect just a minor change and let you continue using it. However if you reinstall Office on the newly formatted drive (as opposed to restoring a complete backup image) then you'll have to insert the original confirmation code (if you've taken our advice and made a record of it) or ask Microsoft for a new code. "What happens if you register via the office registration wizard and your hardware takes a crash? How can you reinstall Office without getting in hot water?" You can reinstall and register Office 2000 on the restored computer without reference back to Microsoft - you should be able to get a new confirmation via Internet in some cases. We feel it's better if you have made a separate note of the confirmation code you were originally given and try that first. If you did not have a record of the confirmation code (or it won't work anymore) you'll have to call Microsoft and explain what happened in order to get a fresh confirmation. "What happens if I sometimes boot from a removable drive like a JAZ or Zip drive?" If you boot from any separate drive or partition (fixed or removable) it will require a separate confirmation code for Office to run on that copy of Windows. "I have a copy of Office 2000 that's not part of the Office Registration Wizard trial. If I apply the Service Release patch will I get the ORW installed as well?" No, the ORW is only activated in certain boxed versions of Office 2000. Applying the Office 2000 Service Release should not have any effect on the workings of the ORW. "We have about 140 users in our company. Does the Office Registration Wizard mean we have to get 140 Product key's or CD?" No, for 5 or more users in a single organization you can get one of the various multiple licenses from your software dealer. For most people this means signing up to the Microsoft Open Licence Program (MOLP), sometimes just called the 'Open Program'. Under this program you get a better price than buying separate copies of Office and you get a single Product Key to cover all your Office installations. "If you use a tool like 'Ghost' to clone installation to multiple computers in a company do I have to individually register each copy of Office 2000 after cloning?" If you have a multiple use licence version of Office used for the master copy then individual registration should not be necessary. "I've purchased a cheap version of Office hoping to save some money. Will the Office Registration Wizard stop me from using it?" Yes, in all probability. The ORW means that each installation of Office 2000 has to be approved by Microsoft. Regardless of where you got your CD from you have to satisfy Microsoft that you are a legal user. "How will the Registration Wizard affect installs created and run from a Network Administrative Installation Point?" Such installations should use a multi-license authorization and not be subject to the ORW. "What happens if you need to remove and reinstall Office 2000? Will the wizard make you register again? Will this cause Microsoft to think one of their products, namely yours, has been pirated?" When you reinstall Office 2000 on the same computer you can enter the original confirmation code again and it'll work. When you re-register, Microsoft should realize that this is another application for the same computer and give it to you. Alternatively you can record the confirmation code separately when Microsoft gives it to you in the first place and re-enter it as if it was a telephone application. "I went to upgrade the OS on my laptop from Win 95 to Win 98. It failed and after 3 weeks working with MS support they finally told me to format the drive and start over. When I called today for the confirmation number the person at MS wouldn't give it to me until I gave her my full name, full address, and she wanted my phone number and email address too. I told her I had never had to give that information before and she said that couldn't be true since they were always supposed to ask for it. "Otherwise," she said, "how can we tell if the software is being pirated?" This appears to me to be a clear violation of privacy and totally contrary to what MS claims it is doing with the Reg Wizard." We agree, and this is one of many reports of the Microsoft registration staff responding to calls not matching the company's stated policy. Most likely this isn't the fault of the individual staff but of their management. "When I attempted to install Office 2000 on the laptop it just let me have the 'fifty tries and your done' installation. It wouldn't accept my code from the desktop installation. Can I obtain a second code from Microsoft without requiring a second license?" This is another example of Microsoft failing to properly explain the EULA or the new registration system to their customers. You should be able to get the second code for your laptop with no additional charge. The desktop confirmation code won't work on the laptop, but a separate code especially for the portable machine is quite legal. NEXT WEEK We'll look at our suggestion for a simple way to vastly improve public confidence in their new registration system. -- To unsubscribe send e-mail to suse-linux-e-unsubscribe@suse.com For additional commands send e-mail to suse-linux-e-help@suse.com Also check the FAQ at http://www.suse.com/Support/Doku/FAQ/