Anyone have any ideas for this.

Friday, July 21, 2006 by BigDogBigFeet | Discussion: Community

I will try to give a brief background. I have an HP Pavillion Media Center PC. Overall its been pretty good. It came with a 60 day trial of MS Office 2003. And what an ordeal its been. First of all its a home PC and my use of any Office 2003 products here at home just isn't there. So, for along time I would decline starting the 60 day trial. It would periodically insist on trying to start anyway. In other words in doesn't ask it insists. If I try to set the default document processor I can't, it just gets reset to MS Word. MS Outlook doesn't work properly on my machine, so I refuse to use it. MS Outlook Express does and I try to use it. However, MS Outlook keeps changing whatever I choose for my default E-mail program back to itself. Again this hateful MS software doesn't ask, it just insists that I use it. And, since it doesn't work (all attempts to use MS Outlook bombout can't send email can't retrieve mail, etc., the experience is rapidly becoming one of I want to irradicate Office 2003 from my machine. There is no way I know of to contact Microsoft about this problem since all support must be paid for. Even complaints about what I consider to be clearly monopolistic practices on their part, they are not intersted in. And knowing the Bush Justice Department, they don't care either. So anyway is there a good replacement for Office 2003 especially, free or reasonably priced, and supported? And who should I complain to regarding the many blatant resets of my default settings in Windows XP pro back to Microsoft products?
20 Reply 10 Referrals
yrag
Reply #1 Friday, July 21, 2006 9:43 PM
http://www.openoffice.org/

Jafo
Reply #2 Friday, July 21, 2006 9:44 PM

Outlook is part of MS Office.  If you consent to starting the Office 'trial' Outlook will likely work just fine...and defaults/associations will, too.

If you uninstall Office the same will apply....associations, etc will work.

If you want a 'free' Office product.... http://www.openoffice.org/ 

Have fun....


Jafo
Reply #3 Friday, July 21, 2006 9:45 PM
yrag beat me by 47 seconds....

yrag
Reply #4 Friday, July 21, 2006 9:55 PM
...too much time playin' with that propeller... He uses Outlook Express. http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA010984891033.aspx

BigDogBigFeet
Reply #5 Friday, July 21, 2006 9:59 PM
Hey Jafo my post is trying to relay the following. After this 60 day tial software kept insisting on starting, after everytime I tried to open a text document and Microsoft Word (which wasn't officially installed yet would try to run) I finally gave up and started the 60 day trial from hell. Basically the problem I have been having is MS Outlook doesn't work on my machine. Ms Outlook for some strange reason keeps being put back as my default e-mail program. Believe me I can't tell you how many times I've gone into set "Program Access and Defaults" to change my settings to the e-mail program I want, only to have Outlook re-established as my "default" e-mail program. It is a daily routine for me everytime I send an e-mail. The same is true for MS Word. I have to routinely change my "default settings" back to the ones I want because there is some malicious software that keeps insisting I use the Microsoft products. Honest. I will try the product you mention and if it works, Office 2003 will be completely removed from my machine, since Microsoft Office or whatever software is doing this won't allow me to keep my choice, it goes off my machine.

Island Dog
Reply #6 Friday, July 21, 2006 10:00 PM
This is a great e-mail client that is also free. http://www.mozilla.com/thunderbird/

Island Dog
Reply #7 Friday, July 21, 2006 10:02 PM
Your post is a little confusing. The best way to get your permissions back is to just uninstall Office 2003.

BX
Reply #8 Saturday, July 22, 2006 12:36 AM
The issue you are having is most likely due to the trial or expired trial thinking it is the default, and since it is no longer functional it isn't able to release associations...


Jafo: How you did this ??

Jafo
Reply #9 Saturday, July 22, 2006 12:52 AM
BigDogBigFeet ...yes, I understood the problem....and again, if you do not want any Office component to be attempting to hijack your 'defaults' etc...just uninstall it.
If a non-trial of Office...[in other words a full product] was installed and functioning normally it would allow you to choose what you wanted as  a default email client, etc.
The issue you are having is most likely due to the trial or expired trial thinking it is the default, and since it is no longer functional it isn't able to release associations...

Jafo
Reply #10 Saturday, July 22, 2006 12:53 AM

Hah...a dose of smarts fixed it...

...along with the odd deletion or 5....

....had some really screwed up thread comments there...durn new-fangled computers....


BigDogBigFeet
Reply #11 Saturday, July 22, 2006 1:14 AM
The trial hasn't expired, yet. I called it the trial from hell. The problems with defaults being hijacked have been on-going since I purchased this PC new in 11/2005. I started the 60 day trail at the beginning of June 2006. My belief is there is some kind of software installed on here so the novice user will invariably auto trigger Microsoft Word and/or Outlook to try and install and work. This has also happened occasionally with Excel as well. In any case, I should probably contact HP and ask them what's up, since I have 1 year of free support from them,and I will make a point of doing so if this problem continues after I replace the Microsoft products. It could be that MS Outlook Express sees that MS Outlook is installed and and active/available, etc and is switching my defaults.

BigDogBigFeet
Reply #12 Saturday, July 22, 2006 1:34 AM
And, by the way thanks all. Did you notice my new Avatar? Sleeping Dragon   made it. And just for clarification this MS Office 2003 trial software came installed with my PC.

Jafo
Reply #13 Saturday, July 22, 2006 1:53 AM

If the trial was installed in Nov 2005 its time is up so it won't be functioning...at least that's how I read it.

Uninstall.

All will be fine and dandy with Open Office instead...


Fuzzy Logic
Reply #14 Saturday, July 22, 2006 2:58 AM
My pc came with Office 2003 trial. I own a copy of Office XP so I uninstalled 2003, installed XP and I've not had any problems at all.

BigDogBigFeet
Reply #15 Saturday, July 22, 2006 10:21 AM
The trial started in June of 2006. That is when I allowed it to connect with Microsoft.Com and start my trial. The 60 day trial ends on July 31, 2006 just for clarification there hm. In any case I have downloaded Open Office and it has successfully installed. My next step is to do something about the biggest headache and that's a replacement for Outlook and possibly Outlook Express. As I stated Outlook doesn't work at all on my machine. Outlook express does. I am wondering if there is a good replacement for Outlook Express and if I will be able to transfer downloaded E-mails, etc. So far Island Dog has mentioned mozilla's thunderbird. I'm still using IE 6 and based on other posts around here,   I'm not switching to FireFox (well maybe). I'll amend this IF Island Dog and if there are others say this works well around here. Although I might try IE 7. Any suggestions there?

starkers
Reply #16 Saturday, July 22, 2006 1:02 PM
Firefox and Thunderbird both work well and are safer than IE & OE with regards to exploits, vulnerabilities, etc.....been using them a couple of years now and I'm quite happy with both.

BigDogBigFeet
Reply #17 Saturday, July 22, 2006 1:07 PM
oakie doakie  I'll giveem a whirl.

BigDogBigFeet
Reply #18 Saturday, July 22, 2006 9:43 PM
I thought I should post a progress update on this, in case anyone is interested. I at first couldn't get Firefox to work properly. It wouldn't log into my earthlink web mail. Earthlink kept saying it was not a supported domain. I then tried IE 7 Beta 3 and it worked. I also noticed that the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal tool was applied during the install and what do you know a number of system hickups and problems have cleared up. Firefox now works, although I am liking IE 7. I am using Mozilla Thunderbird and it works well. Thunderbird is a whole lot better than Outlook Express. What causes my defaults to revert back to Outlook when rebooting and/or first startup is beyond me, but I'm working on it. Could be something to do with the way Desktop Themes are being loaded. Anyway thanks for the advice. I'll de-install Office 2003 at the end of the 60-day trial on July 31. If anyone knows whats going on with my user defaults being reset and font size settings not reloading properly, please let me know.  

rabidrobot
Reply #19 Sunday, July 23, 2006 12:50 AM
I've never used Outlook or Outlook Express, but when a program keeps putting itself in the startup or making itself default the first place I look is in the programs Options or Preferences. Often there is a setting there that'll be "Make Firefox Your Default Browser and Perform This Check on Every Startup" type thing.

You might dig through whatever preferences OE has, and see if it isn't actually set to be behaving this way.

BigDogBigFeet
Reply #20 Sunday, July 23, 2006 2:37 AM
I'll check that out. Rabid I now have Firefox and Smiley extra's. And... an Avatar from Sleeping Dragon. So I'm getting fixed up pretty good.

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