# Initiation of a new computer



## Leslie (Nov 24, 2011)

My computer probably has a corrupt version of MS Office. It seems to be saving, but the changes aren't saved. Or the changes are saved but the date isn't changed. Or files just totally disappear. Some files just won't open, so I end up typing them in again from hard copy. I'm not sure it's the program or the computer (an HP). I need to go to London in January and hope to buy a new laptop there. How does one go about taking it out of the box and getting it running? If the MS Office is preloaded, that would help, but is it necessary to register the software or the machine on the internet? I won't be using it for internet other than to get it going, so presumably security software won't be necessary. I don't trust electronic store employees, having had some bad experiences. Since I will be doing library work at the University College of London, perhaps they will have a WiFi set-up. If they don't, any suggestions where to find one and how to go about using it? Perhaps it is a bad idea to try this at all, technologically challenged as I am.


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## Ask Mr. Religion (Nov 24, 2011)

Leslie,

You could try

1. Select Add/Remove programs control panel
2. Select MS Office therein
3. Select the "Repair" option (which may or may not ask for the original installation CDs)

This could correct some corrupted DLL files or installation issues.

A new laptop with MS Office installed should run out of the box. If you are asked to validate the MS Office installation, I believe you can select "Later" or the equivalent if you have no internet connection. Or, you may simply be asked to insert one of the CDs that comes with a pre-installed setup.


AMR


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## Edward (Nov 24, 2011)

Things may differ 'over there' but current versions of the Microsoft operating system incorporate anti-virus and firewall technology that can be activated for free (although I think an internet connection is needed). So I'd activate them, and disable whatever commercial antivirus is installed for a '90 day free trial' and which then must be purchased. 

As to the Microsoft Office - again, here, that would usually be a 90 day free trial, and would then need to be purchased. In any even, I believe that an internet connection would be needed for activation. It would be cheaper than the retail boxed versions at full price, but probably more expensive than some of the discount deals that might be out there (teachers and students, for example). 

Of course, I'm still running Office 97/Word 2000 on my desktop, and for my new laptop, I just use OpenOffice. The various programs generally do a pretty good job of working with each other these days (if you remember to save your OO work in .doc rather than the native format, etc). No more loss of formatting than you see between various versions of Office products. 

I understand that there are now OO variants that are somewhat better, but I've not played with those.

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Ask Mr. Religion said:


> Or, you may simply be asked to insert one of the CDs that comes with a pre-installed setup.



The last few computers that I've bought haven't come with CDs. The first thing they want to do is call home.


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## Leslie (Nov 24, 2011)

Your suggestions are helpful. I'll try the repair option first; it may save me the expense and headache of buying at all. 

So I take this thing out of the box, plug it in, turn it on, then click on MS Office. It's going to ask me to validate. If there's no CD, what do I do to get on the internet? Here in Ethiopia I have a landline gizmo at home and a wireless gizmo that plugs into the side of the computer when in town. If I'm in a WiFi area is there something to click on to get connected? Sorry for the stupidity, but my husband takes care of these things here. I'll be alone in London.


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## Skyler (Nov 24, 2011)

I'm going out on a limb here, but I think Microsoft products usually have an option to call a toll-free number to validate the product if you don't have an Internet connection.


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## py3ak (Nov 24, 2011)

Mary, if you do wind up buying a computer, the people in the store should be able to help you with everything you need in the store. They may well have a standard offer to set things up for you, for an extra cost. It's not perfect, but it can certainly save some struggling.


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## jandrusk (Nov 24, 2011)

As was stated earlier I would to the OpenOffice route and you'll get better support from the online community.


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## Scottish Lass (Nov 24, 2011)

But you'd need an internet connection to download Open Office, too.


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## Edward (Nov 25, 2011)

Is it gong to be a laptop or a desktop? Most laptops now have built in wireless and a fairly simple proprietary interface. Just make sure the wireless is on. Desktops are less likely to have built in wireless, and may need a USB WiFi transmitter. If you are staying in a hotel in London, it will probably have wireless. (In the US, high end lodgings usually charge a hefty daily fee for internet, moderate and low cost lodging usually have free access. Don't know how it works in Europe.) You might also look for a McDonalds and see what their policy is. In Germany, they only provide internet connections to TMobile customers; in the US, all customers can access the internet. Starbucks may also be worth looking at - looks like they may have free WiFi in London (I've seen both free and low cost here in the US). Wireless Internet | Starbucks Coffee Company


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## Leslie (Nov 25, 2011)

jandrusk said:


> As was stated earlier I would to the OpenOffice route and you'll get better support from the online community.


This is a book manuscript, over 800 pages, with very extensive and fussy formatting. Changing a word processing program would cause havoc.

Can I trust the store employees not to load bad stuff on my computer?


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## Edward (Nov 25, 2011)

Leslie said:


> This is a book manuscript, over 800 pages, with very extensive and fussy formatting.



What version of Word is it currently in?


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## Ask Mr. Religion (Nov 26, 2011)

Leslie said:


> Can I trust the store employees not to load bad stuff on my computer?


Well, you can ask them to let you watch them. But most computer stores selling laptops don't do anything to them. They get them pre-configured with this or that generally. Dell computers are the worst offenders for installing all manner of junk on them. It usually takes me a day or so to purge them of their detritus. Sigh.

Key for you is to have backups of your manuscript on a USB device, so if anything goes wrong, you can always revert to your pristine copy. A 2GB USB device will cost you about $5-$7 and will hold an 800 page word document comfortably if you don't have it full of bitmapped pixs, figures, etc.

For that matter, if you are editing a manuscript, edit it in any old text processor and then copy the material into MS Word for beautification (formatting fonts, boldface, italics, etc.) later when you are back home. Professional book publishers are probably going to import the whole shebang into Adobe Framemaker (my favorite serious document editing environment) anyway. 

AMR


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## Leslie (Nov 26, 2011)

Edward said:


> Leslie said:
> 
> 
> > This is a book manuscript, over 800 pages, with very extensive and fussy formatting.
> ...



It's in 2010


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## py3ak (Nov 26, 2011)

The employees should ask you what you want on there. In the States, Best Buy offers to remove preloaded software, etc., and basically "streamline" your machine: hopefully in London they would offer an equally civilized service.


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## Edward (Nov 26, 2011)

Leslie said:


> It's in 2010



So staying with Word would probably cause fewer problems than Open Office would. If it was an old version of Word, Open Office would make more sense than 2010 would. But 2010 to 2010 would be the safest option.


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## Leslie (Nov 29, 2011)

Hooray! I did the MS Office repair routine in town where there is wireless reception. It seems to have worked. Yesterday I did some work moving pictures all around, and it did not crash as I expected. I may be able to avoid purchasing another computer, but at least now I'm prrepared if this should prove necessary.


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## Ask Mr. Religion (Nov 29, 2011)

Leslie said:


> Hooray! I did the MS Office repair routine in town where there is wireless reception. It seems to have worked. Yesterday I did some work moving pictures all around, and it did not crash as I expected. I may be able to avoid purchasing another computer, but at least now I'm prrepared if this should prove necessary.


Good to hear this, Leslie!

Hope things remain stable for you and your trip to London is fruitful.

AMR


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