How to troubleshoot problems that you may experience when you try to activate a 2007 Office product

This article describes how to troubleshoot problems that you may experience when you try to activate a 2007 Microsoft Office product. These problems may occur for several reasons. Therefore, this article contains several methods that you can use to troubleshoot activation issues.

This article is intended for a beginning to intermediate computer user.You may find it easier to follow the steps if you print this article first.

When you try to activate a 2007 Office product, you may experience one of the following symptoms:

• You receive the following error message:
  Your software cannot be activated because the Product Key you installed with is not valid. Please uninstall the software and reinstall it using a valid Product Key.
• Activation fails. Additionally, you receive a message that states that you have reached the limit of computers on which you can activate the 2007 Office product.

When you start a 2007 Office product that worked correctly in the past, you receive an error message. The error message states that significant changes were made to the configuration of the computer. In addition to this error message, you may also experience any of the following symptoms:

• When you try to activate the 2007 Office product, the Activation Wizard disappears.
• When you try to use the Internet to activate the 2007 Office product, you receive a communication related error.
• When you try to activate a 2007 Office suite after you successfully install it, the Activation Wizard does not start. You do not receive any error messages.

You try to use the telephone to activate the 2007 Office product. However, after you enter the confirmation ID that the support staff supplied to you, you receive an error message. The error message states that the confirmation ID is invalid.

When you start a 2007 Office product that worked correctly in the past, the 2007 Office product now runs in reduced functionality mode.

When you start a 2007 Office Trial product for the first time after you complete License Activation, the 2007 Office Trial product runs in reduced functionality mode, and the Microsoft Office Activation Wizard is displayed. Additionally, the following text is displayed: Note Some activation problems indicate that the Opa12.dat file is corrupted for a 2007 Office product. One such symptom is that the product does not pass Office Genuine Advantage validation.

Note If you are trying to install an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) version of a 2007 Office product on a different computer, be aware that you can install the OEM version on only a single computer. You must purchase a retail version of 2007 Office for a different computer.

Method 1: Verify that the time and date settings are correct on the computer

Click Start, click Run, type timedate.cpl, and then click OK. If the time or date is incorrect, correct the time or date. If this does not resolve the issue, continue to Method 2.

Method 2: Determine whether you are running a trial version of a 2007 Office product

If the 2007 Office product runs in reduced functionality mode, you may be using an expired trial version of the 2007 Office product.

Note In reduced functionality mode, programs function similarly to a viewer. When a program is running in reduced functionality mode, many menu items are unavailable (dimmed). This blocks access to that menu functionality. Some limitations of reduced functionality mode include the following:

• You cannot create any new documents.
• You can view existing documents. However, you cannot edit them.
• You can print documents. However, you cannot save them.

Step 1: Check the version of 2007 Office

Check whether you are using a trial version of the 2007 Office product by following these steps:

1. Start Microsoft Office Word 2007.
2. Click the Microsoft Office Button.
3. Click program name Options.
4. In the Navigation Pane, click Resources.
5. Click About next to about Microsoft Office Word 2007.

Step 2: Check whether the trial version of 2007 Office has expired

1. Start Word 2007.
2. Click the Microsoft Office Button.
3. Click program name Options.
4. In the navigation pane, click Resources.
5. Click Activate next to activate Microsoft Office.

If the trial version of 2007 Office has expired, the 2007 Office program will display a message that states this fact.

If you are running an expired trial version of 2007 Office, you must install a retail version of 2007 Office. You cannot activate an expired trial version of 2007 Office.

If you are not running a trial version of 2007 Office, continue to Method 3.

Method 3: Delete the Opa12.dat file

Some activation problems indicate that the license file is corrupted. If the license file is corrupted, you cannot resolve the problem by removing and then reinstalling the Office product. The license file is not removed when you remove the Office product. Additionally, the license file is not overwritten when you reinstall the Office product. Another symptom of a corrupted license file is a failure to successfully pass Office Genuine Advantage validation. If the license file is corrupted, use one of the following methods to delete the license file.

Fix it for me

To delete the corrupted license file automatically, click the Fix it button or link. Click Run in the File Download dialog box, and then follow the steps in the Fix it wizard.

Fix this problem
Microsoft Fix it 50302

Note This wizard may be in English only; however, the automatic fix also works for other language versions of Windows.

Note If you are not on the computer that has the problem, you can save the automatic fix to a flash drive or to a CD, and then you can run it on the computer that has the problem.

Let me Fix it myself

Windows Vista

In Windows Vista, the Opa12.dat file is stored in a different location than in earlier versions of Windows. To delete this file, you must first configure hidden folders to be visible. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start
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   , and then click Computer.
2. On the Organize menu, click Folder and Search Options.
3. On the View tab, click Show hidden files and folders, and then click OK.

To delete the Opa12.dat file, follow these steps:

1. Click Start
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   . In the Search box, type %programdata%, and then press ENTER.
2. Double-click the Microsoft folder.
3. Double-click the Office folder.
4. Double-click the Data folder, right-click the Opa12.dat file in that folder, and then click Delete.
   
   Important Do not delete the Opa12.bak file.
5. Close the Windows Explorer window.
6. Start a 2007 Office program to start the 2007 Office Activation Wizard.

Windows XP

1. Click Start, click Run, type %AllUsersprofile%\Application Data\Microsoft\Office\Data, and then click OK.
2. Locate the Opa12.dat file in the Data folder.
3. Right-click the Opa12.dat file, and then click Delete.
   
   Important Do not delete the Opa12.bak file.
4. Close the folder.
5. Start a 2007 Office program to start the 2007 Office Activation Wizard.
   
   Note When you uninstall the 2007 Office product, the license file is not removed. Additionally, the license file is not overwritten when you reinstall the 2007 Office product. By deleting the Opa12.dat file, you force the license file to be recreated.

Method 4: Check the Internet connection

Check whether you can connect to the Internet. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Run, type iexplore.exe, and then click OK.
2. Verify that Internet Explorer starts and display your home page.

If Internet Explorer does not display your home page, see the "Similar solutions and problems" section.

For more information about communication errors that may occur when you activate an Office product, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

References that are not specific to an Office program

For an overview of Microsoft Product Activation, visit the following Microsoft Web site: For more information about the Office Activation Wizard, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For more information about Microsoft product activation, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For more information about what to do if the Activation Wizard does not start, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For more information about how to register a Microsoft product and about how to activate a Microsoft product over the telephone, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

References that are specific to Visio 2007

For more information about Reduced Functionality Mode in Visio 2007, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For more information about the Microsoft Visio Activation Wizard privacy policy, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: