Hardware upgrade causes MS Office to not function asking to reinstall software

Question

Hardware upgrade causes MS Office to not function asking to reinstall software

Everett Graham 0

I have a windows 7 computer. I purchases Office program and installed the software. It has been running for years without any problems. The motherboard failed and I got the dell 9020 optiplex repaired. Now, office 2013 that I purchased will not run and asks for me to reinstall. I found where I purchased the disks, but I can't find any other information. The purchased used to show up under my account, but all that shows up is the newest office program that I purchased two or three years ago.

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Answer 1

Hi Everett Graham,

A motherboard replacement can sometimes cause Office to request reactivation because it may detect the computer as significantly changed hardware. Since Office 2013 was installed from purchased media, you'll likely need to verify the original license and activation details before it can be used again.

Here are a few things to check:

Try reinstalling Office 2013 using the installation disc you located.
Look for the 25-character product key on the DVD case, Product Key Card, purchase receipt, or any confirmation email from when Office was purchased.
Check other Microsoft accounts you may have used in the past, as the license may be associated with a different account than the one currently showing your newer Office purchase.
If the original key cannot be located, contact Microsoft Support and provide any available proof of purchase to see what recovery options may exist.

Please note that this is a user-to-user support forum. Moderators, contributors including external Microsoft employees cannot directly intervene in Microsoft product features or access back-end systems. Our role is limited to providing technical guidance on reported issues, requests, or ideas.

Also note that Windows 7 is no longer supported, so some activation and account-related services for older software may be more difficult to manage than they were previously.

I hope this helps point you in the right direction. If you can share whether your Office 2013 license was a retail purchase, OEM bundle, or volume license, the community may be able to suggest more specific recovery options.