registering my product wont work - it keepssaying i have an invalid product ID

[shadeofgrey]

OK - so Im trying not to freak out but it took me forever to save up for 2008 Home & Student Edition. I ewnt to best buy, plunked down $165 after taxes, went home, opened it up, and found that there were three different product ID's pasted as labels on the back of the sleeve containing the install CD... Not knowing what to do i simply picked the one at the top and proceeded with installation, everything went along swimmingly - all my old crap was deleted and all my important settings migrated without a hitch however - when i went to register my software it keeps telling me that my product ID number is invalid and Im absolutely certain I entered it right. Wht am I supposed to do - completely uninstall it and use one of the other keys on the back of the CD? What happens if I dont register my product? Will I not be able to install updates? How do I go about completely removing 2008 home and student and completely reinstalling it? I have no idea what to do, and thus far Im not impressed - I saw a lot of people pirate copies of this software and dont belierve in that sort of thing so i saved up for it $25 at a time and when I finally bought and installed it the legit and honest way it refuses to register properly. So tell me - what am I supposed to do?

-CK
Florida, USA

 

[JE McGimpsey]

So tell me - what am I supposed to do

FIrst, DON'T PANIC!!!

Your software doesn't need to be registered - it's not like Windows
software that requires Activation.

The registration web site is broken. Has nothing to do with Office.

My suggestion is to ignore it. All registering does is allow you to sign
up for a monthly e-newsletter.

But if you *really* want the newsletter, try this URI:

http://www.microsoft.com/mac/newsletter.mspx

 

[Bob Greenblatt]

OK - so Im trying not to freak out but it took me forever to save up for 2008
Home & Student Edition. I ewnt to best buy, plunked down $165 after taxes,
went home, opened it up, and found that there were three different product
ID's pasted as labels on the back of the sleeve containing the install CD...
Not knowing what to do i simply picked the one at the top and proceeded with
installation, everything went along swimmingly - all my old crap was deleted
and all my important settings migrated without a hitch however - when i went
to register my software it keeps telling me that my product ID number is
invalid and Im absolutely certain I entered it right. Wht am I supposed to do
- completely uninstall it and use one of the other keys on the back of the CD?
What happens if I dont register my product? Will I not be able to install
updates? How do I go about completely removing 2008 home and student and
completely reinstalling it? I have no idea what to do, and thus far Im not
impressed - I saw a lot of people pirate copies of this software and dont
belierve in that sort of thing so i saved up for it $25 at a time and when I
finally bought and installed it the legit and honest way it refuses to
register properly. So tell me - what am I supposed to do?

-CK
Florida, USA

As JE said don¹t worry about it. You should be proud that you have purchased
a legitimate copy. Microsoft is currently having a problem with their web
site that results in the license codes being unaccepted. However, unlike
Windows, Macintosh Office does not have to be activated. The registration
process that is not working simply signs you up for Microsoft¹s news letter.
The software is properly installed and will work properly, AND be eligible
for updates. Just use and enjoy it, and don¹t worry that you are unable to
register it. If it really bothers you, try again in a week or so (or again
in a week or so after that) to see if they have fixed the problem.

 

[Courtney_Nash]

The registration problem has been fixed, however if anyone is still having any issues registering we'd appreciate hearing about it.

-Courtney Nash
Mactopia Site Manager

 

[waldhaus1]

It turns out the information on the cd envelope and box are product keys and not product id's. To get the product ID you need to go to the word menu and pick about word and copy (by hand as it won't select) the product ID there.
When I did that it finally registered. Why couldn't there have been an explanation of that on the site rather than the vague comment that it looks like xxxxx-xxx-xxxxxxxx-xxxxx. Perhaps the Student edition translates into a single product ID or something.