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microsoft HELL
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Inquisitor1138
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Joined: 28 Nov 2021
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 11, 2023 3:15 pm    Post subject: microsoft HELL Reply with quote

i need help.

what an insanely kriffed up mess i'm in!
i was an ITT Tech student, when in 2016 the school was shut down & declared bankruptcy. When i had to get a replacement computer in 2017 i was able to validate my MS Office with my existing student account for MS Outlook, created at ITT for ITT courses...
For the last few years however, i have been unable to revalidate my student license, which demands i sign in to MS Outlook in order to use MS Word...
Presently i can view my documents, but i am not allowed to edit, save in another format, nor even to copy & paste info from Word to another application...
I try logging in to my student account, it makes me initiate a pw reset, only to be told i need to contact the school's admin, which there is none bc the school is dead & gone...
after several loops & dead-ends on the ms website, i thought i might be getting to a person via web chat, but no! I have to pay $1 now & $55 a month for assistance!
i waste more time trying to find & finally get a toll free number to call customer service. But i still can't get a person! I get a bot dumber than most of the ones trying to join the Pit!
No matter which verbal route i use to try to get an actual sentient being, the bot will 50/50 try getting me to use the useless website, before wishing me a nice day & hanging up...

Years ago i had tried before to use the website to restore my existing account, only to be tricked/forced into creating a new account which is less than useless, as my MS Office/Word won't accept the new account...

i want to burn microsoft to the ground, FIGHT CLUB style! realistically i'd have better odds if i could sick the US Government on them...
i hate microsoft more than Sidious hates Jedi!
i hate microsoft more than Anakin Hates Sand!

....

i'm gonna take a break now & a nap soon...
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garhkal
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 11, 2023 6:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That's why i don't use microshaft products, if at all possible. I USED to be able to get a 'free copy' via being military, but iirc around 2014-15, they stopped Supporting that for vets.
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fogger1138
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Joined: 25 Feb 2021
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 11, 2023 7:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

What are you looking to do? You're likely hosed on getting office for free at this point unless you get it for free through somewhere else. Student licenses usually aren't meant to be for forever, in my experience (speaking as a current student).

If you just want access to your files, you have a number of free options to get at them that aren't MS Office. Try opening them in google documents/sheets/etc, and using that.
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KageRyu
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 11, 2023 9:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Try Apache Open Office, I believe there are plugins that allow it to open MS documents and export them (I know there are for PDF, which used to be much more software restrictive).

As to your student license, even if you got through to a person at Microsoft, you will not be able to renew it as the school does not exist anymore. Educational and student license are only renewable while you are still a valid student. You may be able to migrate to a regular license for a reduced fee if you paid for the educational license. If the student license was free, you will need to purchase a normal license.
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Whill
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Joined: 14 Apr 2008
Posts: 10434
Location: Columbus, Ohio, USA, Earth, The Solar System, The Milky Way Galaxy

PostPosted: Sun Feb 12, 2023 12:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Inquisitor1138, that sucks that you can't transfer your old documents.

Microsoft sent me on a wild goose chase when I tried to get the Rancor Pit's email address removed from perma-spam status for all of their email addresses. It was long, frustrating endless circle. I ended up finding a few other webmasters that had the same experience, so it definitely wasn't just me. No one can register here with a Microsoft email address because they will never receive the activation email, and there is nothing they can do on their end to allow it to come through.

That being said, I've long been addicted to Microsoft products like Word and Excel (which my employer of 23 years uses). I stopped having trouble with document versions when Microsoft office products updated when I subscribed to Microsoft 365 a couple years ago. It automatically updates old documents. It allows my whole family to have the applications on up to 6 devices each, and it provides online storage of documents. It allows for virtual access to online versions from anywhere you log into it. So they got me for the annual subscription fee, but everything has worked like a dream.

My work email uses the outlook application. I have no choice in the matter for that. But no way in hell I will ever use Outlook or any other Microsoft email for my personal emails.
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garhkal
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Joined: 17 Jul 2005
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 12, 2023 2:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

KageRyu wrote:
Try Apache Open Office, I believe there are plugins that allow it to open MS documents and export them (I know there are for PDF, which used to be much more software restrictive).

As to your student license, even if you got through to a person at Microsoft, you will not be able to renew it as the school does not exist anymore. Educational and student license are only renewable while you are still a valid student. You may be able to migrate to a regular license for a reduced fee if you paid for the educational license. If the student license was free, you will need to purchase a normal license.


I second apachie.. That's what i use.
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Inquisitor1138
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 12, 2023 6:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you, everyone! I Look forward to checking out Apache Open Office, as soon as i can!

I highly doubt i'll ever give microsuffering 1¢; after all they've inflicted upon me w/win10, they should be paying me for harassments & damages.

Rest assured, my next PC will be purged of ms crap, & have a NON-ms OS.
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Forceally
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Joined: 20 Feb 2007
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 12, 2023 10:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I only use Microsoft Word and Excel. Only problem I ever had was when the free trial of 365 ended and I had to revert to a previous version.

Question about the Apache Open Office - I once had Microsoft 2003. When I upgraded to 2007 or some other later version, I converted the files accordingly. When I did, I found that the memory sizes of many of those files were reduced - with the larger files being reduced significantly more than the smaller files. So it had the benefit of saving memory space and allowed to back up more of those files on my 3.5 floppy disks. Shocked I know. I still have stone-age tech.

Anyway, if I were to convert Microsoft Word document to Apache Open Office, will it affect the memory size of the files? Reduce, no change, or increase?
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Whill
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Joined: 14 Apr 2008
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Location: Columbus, Ohio, USA, Earth, The Solar System, The Milky Way Galaxy

PostPosted: Mon Feb 13, 2023 12:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Inquisitor1138 wrote:
I highly doubt i'll ever give microsuffering 1¢; after all they've inflicted upon me w/win10, they should be paying me for harassments & damages.

Rest assured, my next PC will be purged of ms crap, & have a NON-ms OS.

I sympathize. I broke free from Windows suffering years ago. Once you go Mac, you never go back.

Now I only use whatever comes with 365 (except Outlook) but mostly Word and Excel, and 365 works equally well with Mac. I can bring up Word and Excel documents on my android phone that I created on my Mac.

Well my son's Xbox is Microsoft too, but that is its own operating system and doesn't have to interact with much else (certainly not Word and Excel).

Forceally wrote:
I only use Microsoft Word and Excel. Only problem I ever had was when the free trial of 365 ended and I had to revert to a previous version.

Thanks for the warning. I guess once you go 365, you never go back without issues.
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KageRyu
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 13, 2023 1:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Forceally wrote:
I only use Microsoft Word and Excel. Only problem I ever had was when the free trial of 365 ended and I had to revert to a previous version.

Question about the Apache Open Office - I once had Microsoft 2003. When I upgraded to 2007 or some other later version, I converted the files accordingly. When I did, I found that the memory sizes of many of those files were reduced - with the larger files being reduced significantly more than the smaller files. So it had the benefit of saving memory space and allowed to back up more of those files on my 3.5 floppy disks. Shocked I know. I still have stone-age tech.

Anyway, if I were to convert Microsoft Word document to Apache Open Office, will it affect the memory size of the files? Reduce, no change, or increase?

I do not know. I tend to mot convert up older documents as I want to maintain compatibility with the older programs. Up until my recent move, I still did a lot of my document work on an old Win 98 machine.
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Forceally
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 13, 2023 10:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Whill wrote:
Thanks for the warning. I guess once you go 365, you never go back without issues.


IIRC, I had a free trial version. Once the trial was over, I needed to pay a fee, monthly or annual, or Microsoft 365 wouldn't work. And I wasn't interested in paying the fee. That's why I had to revert to Microsoft 2010, 2013, or 2016. Don't recall which version.

KageRyu wrote:
I do not know. I tend to mot convert up older documents as I want to maintain compatibility with the older programs. Up until my recent move, I still did a lot of my document work on an old Win 98 machine.


Windows 98? Damn, you had tech almost as old as my 3.5" floppies.
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KageRyu
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 13, 2023 12:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Forceally wrote:


Windows 98? Damn, you had tech almost as old as my 3.5" floppies.


I Still have working Commodore Amigas and a C=64, though they admittedly have not been connected in some time. Also, I still have the Win '98 machine and it still likely works, I just have no where to set it up so it's stored away.
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garhkal
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 13, 2023 3:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If i still had my cd key, i'd love to load win 98 up, so some of my older games could run..
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