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Problems with Microsoft Office 2000

There is a longstanding problem (years) with Office 2000. Microsoft introduced Office 2000 with "insert the original CD" copy protection. This caused so many calls from their Office 2000 users, that they had to do "something" to get from under the tech support load.

That "something" was to transfer the support load to software developers like Investors FastTrack. Whenever you install sophisticated, new software, the Office 2000 "Insert CD" messages pop up when starting that new software.

Try the following search for "office 2000 insert disk"
 http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=office+2000+insert+disk&btnG=Google+Search

What you get from Google ( as of March 31, 2006 ) is,

Results 1 - 10 of about 5,400,000 for office 2000 insert disk.

Now, we wish that there were 5 million plus FastTrack users posting questions about this problem on the web, but fact is that this Office problem occurs for millions of folks using thousands of software products other than FastTrack.

Here  to overcome the problem with Office 2000

• Do what the messages ask you to do and insert your Office CD. The messages go away forever.
  You have satisfied Microsoft's copy protection checker.
• OR,
  Click cancel on the message boxes.
  They will eventually stop and you can use FastTrack normally. However, you'll be canceling every time you use FastTrack and likely other newly installed/upgraded software on your computer (BUT Office applications like Word and Excel don't give messages. Bill Gates was smart enough NOT to display "insert CD" when you run Office stuff  )
• OR,
  Uninstall Office 2000 and buy a later version of Office.
  Later versions have online copy-protection instead of CD-based copy protection.

The Problem has become Unbearable as of March 2006

Microsoft was introduced a "new" Windows update that no longer offers Office 2000 updates . . .
Formerly, users upgrading Office 2000 got the "Insert CD" message and called Microsoft about it.

Now, with  Microsoft removing the online update service, users only discover the Office 2000 "Insert CD" problem only after installing new nonOffice software . . . and they call us instead of Microsoft.

Actually you can still get Office 2000 updates online, but its tougher to find. The link currently is
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/officeupdate/default.aspx,

What does Microsoft say to Office 2000 Users?

Call them (800) 936-5700. Or check their web site links below

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA010548781033.aspx
Plain language to frequently asked questions

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/258849/en-us
You receive the "The feature you are trying to use is on a CD-ROM or other removable disk that is not available . . . "

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/255499/EN-US/
"If you are in an environment where the Office 2000 CDs are not readily available . . ."

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/278238/EN-US/
"If all programs of one Office 2000 family product are included in the other Office 2000 family product, uninstall the redundant Office 2000 family product." Note, "redundant" products include virtually all Microsoft products and FastTrack since FastTrack uses Microsoft shared libraries (as do virtually all MS DevStudio based programs.)

http://support.microsoft.com/oas/default.aspx?ln=en-us&c1=505&prid=25994&gprid=36000
Here's where you can pay to have them help you.

What does Microsoft say to Software Developers?

This is what we learned after paying a $299 consulting fee (several years ago) to Microsoft in a effort to learn how to solve the Microsoft's Office 2000 problem .

"Tell your users that they should have kept the original CD and that they are not authorized to use Office 2000 without it. If Office came preinstalled and they never got the CD, they should call their computer manufacturer. Users can make the problem go away by uninstalling their illegal copy of Office and buying the latest Office versions."

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301/
Download the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility.
This is what Microsoft's recommends to solve the problem. Note: It will quickly and easily remove every vestige of Office 2000 . . . strictly for those who do not need Excel, Word, etc.

FastTrack's Position

We will be courteous in assisting you with this Office problem. However, beyond pointing you to this web page, there is little we can do. We regret that this problem occurs after installing FastTrack for some Office 2000 users. We cannot correct or stop this Office 2000 behavior.

We don't know everything about Office 2000. If you get good help from Microsoft or figure it out yourself. please email support@fasttrack.net and give us some feedback we can pass on to others.

If you elect to uninstall FastTrack, we will assist you, however, you can expect that this problem will occur again at some point in the future since IT IS NOT a FastTrack problem.