How to upgrade the Trial version of Office XP to a non-trial version of Office XP

The Microsoft Office XP Trial version license is only valid for approximately 30 days from the date of activation. Therefore, you must remove the Trial version at some point in time. This article describes two methods that you can use to remove the Trial version of Office XP when you plan to install a non-Trial version of Office XP.

Method 1: Remove the Trial Version During a Non-Trial Version Upgrade

If you run Setup with a non-Trial version of Office XP, and the Office XP Trial version is still installed on the computer, you do not have to remove the Trial version before you install the non-Trial version. When you run Setup with the non-Trial version, you receive the following message: If you click OK in the dialog box that displays this message, all pre-release or Trial versions of Office XP are removed. When the pre-release or Trial version is removed, the non-Trial version of Office XP starts automatically.

Method 2: Manually Remove the Trial Version

You can manually remove the Office XP Trial version at any time. To do this, follow these steps:

1. In Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs.
2. Click the Office XP entry (for example, Microsoft Office XP Professional), and then click Add/Remove.
3. In the Maintenance Mode Options dialog box that appears, click Uninstall Office, and then click Next.
4. Click Yes to confirm the removal.
5. When the Trial version is removed, insert your non-Trial version Office XP compact disc (CD) into the computer's CD-ROM drive or DVD-ROM drive, and then run Setup to install that version.

Reduced-Functionality Mode

If your Office XP Trial version license expires, you can start the Office programs a total of five times before the programs begin running in reduced-functionality mode. In reduced-functionality mode, you cannot make modifications to documents or create a new document, and additional functionality may be reduced. However, you can print your documents.

With a Trial version, you cannot quit reduced-functionality mode if your license has expired. Use one of the methods discussed earlier in this article to remove the Trial version and reinstall your earlier Office version.

For additional information, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: