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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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Did the site help?
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Thank you for the rec! It will prove useful again, I'm sure!