Article ID: 842548 - Last Review: April 7, 2006 - Revision: 1.3

Office XP prompts you to type the Product Key every time that the program starts

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Important This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
256986  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/256986/ ) Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry
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SYMPTOMS

When you start Microsoft Office XP, you are prompted to type the Product Key. After you type the Product Key, the program quits. When you start Office XP again, it prompts you to type the Product Key again.
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RESOLUTION

To resolve the issue, follow these steps:
  1. Delete the .dpc file. To do this, follow these steps:
    1. Click Start, click Search, and then click All Files and Folders.
    2. In the Search Results window, type *.dpc in the Search for files and folders named box, and then click Search Now.
    3. Right-click the file, and then click Delete.
    4. In the Confirm File Delete dialog box, click Yes.
  2. Delete the .dhs file. To do this, follow these steps:
    1. Click Start, click Search, and then click All Files and Folders.
    2. In the Search Results window, type *.dhs in the Search for files and folders named box, and then click Search Now.
    3. Right-click the file, and then click Delete.
    4. In the Confirm File Delete dialog box, click Yes.
  3. Delete the following registry key:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Registration
    To do this, follow these steps:

    Warning If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.
    1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
    2. Locate and then click the following registry key:
      HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Registration
    3. On the Edit menu, click Delete.
    4. Click Yes when you are prompted to confirm the deletion.
  4. Run the Microsoft Windows Installer program. To do this, click Start, click Run, and then type the following text in the Open box:
    msiexec /i drive:\MSI File REINSTALL=ALL REINSTALLMODE=vomu PIDKEY=xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx /qb
    in the Open box, and then click OK.

    In this example, drive is the CD drive, the MSI File is the .msi Windows Installer package for your version of Office XP (for example: Proplus.msi), and xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx is the Product Key.
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REFERENCES

For additional information about command-line switches for the Microsoft Windows Installer tool, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
227091  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/227091/ ) Command-line switches for the Microsoft Windows Installer tool
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APPLIES TO
  • Microsoft Office XP Professional
  • Microsoft Office XP Small Business Edition
  • Microsoft Office XP Standard Edition
  • Microsoft Office XP Standard Edition for Students and Teachers
  • Microsoft Office XP Developer Edition
  • Microsoft Access 2002 Standard Edition
  • Microsoft Excel 2002 Standard Edition
  • Microsoft FrontPage 2002 Standard Edition
  • Microsoft Outlook 2002 Standard Edition
  • Microsoft PowerPoint 2002 Standard Edition
  • Microsoft Word 2002 Standard Edition
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Keywords: 
kbsetup kbprb KB842548
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