"This is an invalid CD Key value" error message when you try to install Microsoft Office (842566)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Office XP, All Editions
  • Microsoft Office Standard Edition 2003
  • Microsoft Office Small Business Edition 2003
  • Microsoft Office Access 2003
  • Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003
  • Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003
  • Microsoft Office Word 2003
  • Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003
  • Microsoft Office Student and Teachers Edition 2003
  • Microsoft Office Basic Edition 2003
  • Microsoft Office Excel 2003
  • Microsoft Office Outlook 2003
  • Microsoft Office Publisher 2003
  • Microsoft Office 2000 Premium
  • Microsoft Office 2000 Professoinal
  • Microsoft Office 2000 Standard
  • Microsoft Office 2000 Small Business
  • Microsoft Office 2000 Developer
  • Microsoft Access 2000
  • Microsoft Excel 2000
  • Microsoft FrontPage 2000
  • Microsoft Outlook 2000
  • Microsoft PowerPoint 2000
  • Microsoft Word 2000

SYMPTOMS

When you try to install Microsoft Office, you may receive the following error message:
This is an invalid CD Key value. Please check the number located on your CD Key sticker.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, click Run, type the following command line in the Run dialog box, and then click OK:

    drive:\setup.exe /L*V C:\install.txt PIDKEY=xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx /qb

    In this example, drive is the letter of the CD drive that contains the Office installation disc, and xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx is your Office CD key.
  2. Follow the instructions that appear on the screen to complete the installation.
Note Make sure that you are using the correct installation CD and CD key.

MORE INFORMATION

The other command-line options that appear in the "Workaround" section are for a typical installation. If you have to perform a custom installation, use the Custom Maintenance Wizard (CMW), or manually configure the features that you want to install by using Office Maintenance mode.

REFERENCES

For additional information about problems with CD keys, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

150945 BUG: Unable to enter the CD key in the Setup dialog box

145732 FIX: Cannot enter all ten digits of CD key at setup time

138079 Error message: This is an invalid CD Key value

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 Command-line switches for the Microsoft Windows Installer tool

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:8/29/2006
Keywords:kbsetup kberrmsg kbprb KB842566 kbAudEndUser
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