There is a possibility of getting a replacement Product Key from Microsoft.
A Knowledge Base article from Microsoft suggests they can help recover a lost Office Product Key.
If you’re trying to install Microsoft Office, perhaps on a replacement computer, you need installation disk and also the Product Key. That’s the unique 25 character code identifying your purchase of Office.
Office-Watch.com has talked about the importance of the Product Key for many years. Ideally there’s a record of it in a safe place but inevitably sometimes the Key is lost.
The new KB article suggests another method. You can call Microsoft Support for a replacement product key. We don’t know how this works but presumably you have to convince the support person that you are the legitimate purchaser. According to Microsoft you need to provide information from your computer or product disk.
You ‘may have to pay a fee’, watch that fee amount because it might be worthwhile to go out a buy a replacement copy of Office if the fee is too high.
There is also an Online Solution Wizard to help people with lost or damaged Office 2010 product keys.
Before you spend time and money calling Microsoft, try the alternatives that aren’t mentioned by the company.
Retail copies of Office have the Product Key hidden in the computer registry. There is no need to pay for ‘special’ software to get your Office key. We’ve talked about free methods of doing that in the past; Free Office Product Key reader or If you’ve lost your Office install disks.
If you bought your computer with Office pre-installed then the Product Key should be in the paperwork (Certificate of Authenticity etc) or a sticker that came with the computer. The key in the registry isn’t the one you use for reinstallation.
Hindsight is great but the best thing to do is keep a careful record of your Microsoft Office Product Keys. The disk is important but the Product Key is unique and vital.
We’d be delighted to hear from anyone who has called Microsoft for a replacement Office Product Key – What did they ask? Did you get a replacement key? What did they charge? As usual, all feedback is confidential.
