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*Sigh* Sometimes My Computer Naivete is Astounding...
This is a Why I Hate Microsoft story. Enter at your own risk.
So I signed up for Microsoft's auto downloads back when I was ill, because I was rather busy getting well and didn't need computer problems on top of this. You would think that this service would A) give you all service packs and fixes you are entitled to as an owner of the software and b) would tell you, "By the Way, you haven't updated your X program. Go to the Microsoft site for further information."
This is a roundabout way of saying, guess what? My Office 2000 Premium has never had a single patch downloaded to it.
I discovered this because I was trying to use Word 2000's Adobe Acrobat feature to turn a .doc into a .pdf for a friend at a nonprofit. He really needs these three documents converted today.
When it got as far as "printing" and kept hanging, I went to the MS site to see if I had missed a printer driver or an installer I needed. No, MS says -- my machine is fine. So I look for WORD upgrades, and find that I need Office upgrades. And as best I can determine, my then-boyfriend never caught that I wasn't getting these.
First lesson -- Depend on No One Else for maximum efficiency with your computer.
So I went to download O2KSR1aDL.exe Full English.
Guess what? Microsoft doesn't want you to reinstall this if something goes wrong, or, if like me, you never got it in the first place. (Even if you're doing this on an ancient machine that could not handle a newer version of their software.) So they have pulled it off the server. Everything else you need is there -- but not the first, crucial service pack.
All the sites I've tried to track this down at no longer have the link, or are FTPs where access is denied. The other I've found is a sharer, and that's too nebulous for me.
Second Lesson -- All this does, of course, is make me more convinced that I A.) Want to run my new, soon to be purchased laptop on Red Hat or something like that, and B.) should use Open Office instead of MS Office, and/or C.) should say #$%# It and spend the money for a refurbished Apple machine.
So. Screwed on this point. Now, to contact a friend using Open Office to see if she has a moment to convert three tiny documents for my friend to put on his web site. Thus saving me building html files for two hours.
Well done, Microsoft. I think I'll avoid Chrome, too. Just to be on the safe side.
So I signed up for Microsoft's auto downloads back when I was ill, because I was rather busy getting well and didn't need computer problems on top of this. You would think that this service would A) give you all service packs and fixes you are entitled to as an owner of the software and b) would tell you, "By the Way, you haven't updated your X program. Go to the Microsoft site for further information."
This is a roundabout way of saying, guess what? My Office 2000 Premium has never had a single patch downloaded to it.
I discovered this because I was trying to use Word 2000's Adobe Acrobat feature to turn a .doc into a .pdf for a friend at a nonprofit. He really needs these three documents converted today.
When it got as far as "printing" and kept hanging, I went to the MS site to see if I had missed a printer driver or an installer I needed. No, MS says -- my machine is fine. So I look for WORD upgrades, and find that I need Office upgrades. And as best I can determine, my then-boyfriend never caught that I wasn't getting these.
First lesson -- Depend on No One Else for maximum efficiency with your computer.
So I went to download O2KSR1aDL.exe Full English.
Guess what? Microsoft doesn't want you to reinstall this if something goes wrong, or, if like me, you never got it in the first place. (Even if you're doing this on an ancient machine that could not handle a newer version of their software.) So they have pulled it off the server. Everything else you need is there -- but not the first, crucial service pack.
All the sites I've tried to track this down at no longer have the link, or are FTPs where access is denied. The other I've found is a sharer, and that's too nebulous for me.
Second Lesson -- All this does, of course, is make me more convinced that I A.) Want to run my new, soon to be purchased laptop on Red Hat or something like that, and B.) should use Open Office instead of MS Office, and/or C.) should say #$%# It and spend the money for a refurbished Apple machine.
So. Screwed on this point. Now, to contact a friend using Open Office to see if she has a moment to convert three tiny documents for my friend to put on his web site. Thus saving me building html files for two hours.
Well done, Microsoft. I think I'll avoid Chrome, too. Just to be on the safe side.
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If you had the Mac, of course, you could just print to pdf . . .
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(I was an EARLY Apple user -- like an Apple IIe.) Then my X went to work for Tandy, back when they were in bed with Gates. He felt we had to use at home what he used at work -- even though he never got on the computer at home, was a TV watcher or a reader when not programming. I was a PC prisoner. Sob!
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Did the site help?
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Thank you for the rec! It will prove useful again, I'm sure!
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There are perfectly well-made machines running Mac OSX and Windows 7 now. Linux is getting pretty usable too, and Ubuntu seems to be its most popular flavor now. Any recent computer can do just about anything you want. The difference is mainly one of personal preference.
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People using software this old are not candidates for the new programs on that machine. They are using the older program usually because they either need some other archaic program on an older machine that they cannot replace (company went under, stopped updating the program and nothing better exists, etc.) or they are in a bind and cannot afford to upgrade their system at that moment.
I think Microsoft forfeits a lot of good will by not keeping the file up there, that's all I'm saying. What this does is give a level playing field. I no longer have any loyalty to Microsoft, and I was once a happy Apple client. So things are more even for the replacement to be bought in the next month.
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If your hardware is that old, you might really want to consider something newer. Eventually you'll start finding that publishers send you things in newer formats Word 2000 won't open, or want their submissions in newer formats. If you want to consider upgrading, I can recommend a reputable vendor with cheap off-lease computers (under $200). Send me a private message if you're interested. I just bought myself an extra to use as a fileserver at home when my laptop is traveling with me - spent the vast sum of $125 including shipping.
In the meantime, have tried either of these links?
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=EN&id=12135
McAfee siteadvisor.com and google safe browsing both say this site has no reported issues: http://www.softwarepatch.com/office/office2000_sr1.html
Feel free to message me with technical questions - the less time you have to waste on IT stuff, the more you can devote to writing new stories for me to read. :-)