Getting an error for Microsoft Office after installing a different version of Office

This article will provide the steps in troubleshooting errors after installing a different version of Office on the computer.

Problem: Your newly installed version of Office and an existing version of Office are reporting errors, asking for the Product Key Code, will not open, or windows reports there is a problem with Office and needs to be shut down.

Resolution: All of these errors are a result of installing a newer version of Office in the same folder that contains an older version of Office. Several files have been replaced with newer files and the existing, older program cannot access the newer files. While the newer program is trying to read the existing older files in the folder.

To have multiple versions of Office installed on a computer, all versions need to be removed first.

1. Click on Start, All Programs, or Programs, and select Control Panel.
2. Click on Add/Remove Programs, or Programs and Features. Allow the list of all installed software to populate.
3. Click on the first entry for Office on the list then, click on Add/Remove or Uninstall/Change.
4. Follow the prompts on the screen to uninstall the program. Continue to do this until there is no listing of Office displayed in the list of software
5. Restart the computer.

Once the computer is back to the desktop, install the first version of Office onto your computer.

• During the install, you will be prompted on where to install the program. Change the location from the default location to a different location, such as C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Version 2003 or C:\Microsoft Office\2003.
• Continue with the install, until Office has been successfully installed, then restart the computer again.

Once the computer is back to the desktop, install the next version of Office onto the computer.

• During the install, you will be prompted on where to install the program. Change the location from the default location to a different location, such as C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Version 2011 or C:\Office\2011.
• Continue with the install, until Office has been successfully installed, then restart the computer again.

This will allow different versions of Office to be installed on a computer with no conflict or replacement of files.


For more help you can contact Technical Support here.