Information from here: http://social.microsoft.com/forums/en-US/genuineoffice/thread/39cee7a1-b5f8-4c91-8223-c661e9361496/ How to troubleshoot problems that you may experience when you try to activate a 2007 Office product @: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/919895, and http://support.microsoft.com/kb/903275/en-us for Office Suites 2003 and below. The links will provide resolutions supporting Office Suites. However if the issue persists I would recommend you contact Microsoft Office support at http://support.microsoft.com/gp/assistsupport and choosing your product to create a support incident. There are two methods for activating Office; telephone and the Internet which is the easier of the two methods. To activate the product by using the Internet, follow these steps: For Microsoft Office 2007, follow these steps: Start any office program. 2) In the Office Activation Wizard, click the "Activate by using Internet" option, and then click "Next". 3) Click "Submit" to send your information to the Microsoft licensing servers. NOTE: When your information is validated, the "Activation Complete" page appears. Then, you can use the Office programs. You will not have to activate Office in the future. 4) Click "Finish" Please follow the below guidance for telephone activation for your version of Office: 1) Start any Office program. 2) In the "Office Activation Wizard", click the "Activate by using the telephone" option, and then click Next 3) Read the "Microsoft Office Privacy Policy" page, and then click "Next". Note You are not required to read the Microsoft Office Privacy Policy to continue these steps in Microsoft Office 2007. A link to the Microsoft Office Privacy Policy is provided so that you can read it at any time. 4) In the "Select your location" list, select a country or region. Call the telephone number that is listed on line 2. The customer service agent will ask you for the installation ID and will give you a confirmation ID in return. Type the confirmation ID in the boxes provided. 5) Click "Next". 6) On the "Activation Complete" page, click "Finish".

open office does work fine, I just open the 2003 doc then copy the content, open a 2007 docx, then paste. I suggest this for anyone having this problem. It takes over an hour to install open office, I guess a lot of people need it right now.

Perhaps this is a good time to make the choice between 2000 and 2007. Another point beyond bob14's suggestion: While in Excel check to see the "save file as" default by using Tools:Options:Transition "Save files as:". If you have previously opened and changed a 2000 file while using 2007, the file may have been automatically saved as 2007. While using 2007 you probably have a choice as to file type.

no but bob is right on with the thunderbird suggestion, that is an excellent option for replacement of OE or Outlook, I use it on several of my computers and like it a lot. It is by mozilla the same that give us firefox. There are lots of good add-ons for thunderbird too and there is a good calendar add on for it called sunbird. You can find it at the mozilla.com site.