Caught in Microsoft's Catch 22

[Jim]

I need help finding someone at Microsoft Support with
whom I can communicate my problem. The system won't let
me in.
I bought a stand-alone copy of PowerPoint for my laptop
one year ago. It is not an upgrade, but a $100 stand
alone. My laptop crashed. I bought a desktop this week
with Offic Basic (no PowerPoint since I already have a
copy) and attempted to load PP today. Setup stops
because it cannot locate "Qualifying software" on my PC.
When I attempt to contact Microsoft Support I must have
the PIN for PP...which can only be obtained by selecting
Help, About when the program is up and running. Catch 22.
Can somebody please help?

 

[Sonia]

They'll probably tell you what I'm going to tell you - - you have an upgrade
disk, not a full product. The upgrade disk is the only one that looks for a
qualifying product and it costs about $109. The full version costs about
$230 and doesn't look for a qualifying product. Look closely at the box and
the label on the CD. You'll probably find the word Upgrade there.

 

[Mark Durrenberger]

Another solution,
Install an older version of pp, then install your upgrade version (BTW what
version is it an upgrade from?) Where you get the older version is your
business - but fyi it's not uncommon to see free "abandonware" in dusty
corners of offices etc...

I was at our transfer station (where we throw our trash) today and they have
"Swap shack" (one man's junk is another man's treasure) - within was a full
Macintosh - probably OS8 with what would have been (when new) 100s of
dollars of software including an earlier version of Office...

Mark