How to change the product key for Office 2003 and for Office XP (895456)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Office XP, All Editions
  • Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003
  • Microsoft Office Standard Edition 2003
  • Microsoft Office Student and Teachers Edition 2003
  • Microsoft Office Small Business Edition 2003
  • Microsoft Office Basic Edition 2003
  • Microsoft Office Access 2003
  • Microsoft Office Excel 2003
  • Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003
  • Microsoft Office Outlook 2003
  • Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003
  • Microsoft Office Publisher 2003
  • Microsoft Office Word 2003
Important This article contains information about how to modify the registry. Make sure to back up the registry before you modify it. Make sure that you know how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up, restore, and modify the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows registry

SYMPTOMS

You cannot change the product key for Microsoft Office XP or for Microsoft Office 2003 without first removing and then reinstalling Microsoft Office.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, follow the steps in this section.

Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.Note If you try to open any Office programs after you complete the steps, you receive a message that prompts you for a valid product key. Have a valid product key on hand before you start the steps.
  1. Close all Office programs.
  2. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
  3. Locate and then click the following subkey:

    For Office 2003:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Registration

    For Office XP:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Registration

  4. Export the Registration subkey.

    You can make a backup of the values under the Registration subkey if the new product key does not work. To do this, follow these steps:
    1. Right-click the Registration subkey, and then click Export.
    2. In the Save in list, select a location to save the registration entries.
    3. In the File name box, type a name for the .reg file that you want to export, and then click Save.

    Note In steps 4a through 4c, you created a backup of the Registration subkey. You can restore the Registry settings of the Registration subkey by double-clicking the .reg file that you saved in step 4c. The contents of the .reg file are automatically exported to the Registry.
  5. Under the Registration subkey, there may be several Globally Unique Identifiers (GUID) that contain a combination of alphanumeric characters. Each GUID is specific to a program that is installed on your computer.

    Click a GUID. Then, view the version of Office that is listed in the right pane for the Productname registry entry. After you find the GUID that contains the version of your Office program, follow these steps:
    1. Right-click the DigitalProductID registry entry, click Delete, and then click Yes.
    2. Right-click the ProductID registry entry, click Delete, and then click Yes.

      For more information about how to identify the correct GUID for the version of the Office that you have installed on your computer, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

      832672 Description of numbering scheme for product code GUIDs in Office 2003

      302663 Description of the numbering scheme for product code GUIDs for Office XP programs

  6. Close Registry Editor.
  7. Open an Office program, such as Microsoft Word. When you receive a message that prompts you for the product key, type the correct product key, and then click OK.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:4/11/2006
Keywords:kbhowto kbtshoot kbRegistry KB895456 kbAudEndUser
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