I currently run Lion with Office 2011 and need to re-install Lion after wiping out my HD. I however no longer have the DVD with which I installed Office. How shall I go about re-installing it again having no access to the DVD anymore?
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Do you have a working backup?– Daniel ♦Feb 18, 2012 at 23:21
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Yes, on Time Machine– simpaticoFeb 18, 2012 at 23:54
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3 Answers
You can download the Office 2011 Trial and enter your product key in the Setup Assistant. If you also lost your product key, you'll probably need to contact Microsoft Support. You can find info about replacing your DVD at this Microsoft Support page.
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1I might be wrong, but ISTR that product keys for DVD versions don't work with the download version. I think this is still the first thing to try, but don't be surprised if it doesn't work. (This is why I immediately make a disk image of all my software DVDs, in case I lose the physical disk.) You also might try backing up your /Library/Preferences/com.microsoft.office.licensing.plist file and then restore it after you reinstall (not sure that will work either, but it's an idea).– TJ LuomaFeb 18, 2012 at 23:01
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I have definitely used @joelseph's solution with Microsoft Office 2008. I had it installed initially, ran into problems, etc., that required uninstalling it. I did not have the original disc, though, so I downloaded the trial .dmg from Microsoft, installed, entered my product key, and it worked perfectly. This behavior might have changed with 2011 but I have not had to re-install 2011 so I can't say for sure. It's worth a go, though, as the worst-case scenario is that you simply uninstall the trial software if it's a no-go.– soxmanFeb 18, 2012 at 23:10
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@TJLuoma According to the 4th question of the Trial FAQ, you can "convert" the trial to the full product using a product key that was purchased either online or from a boxed version. I do agree, though, that making a disk image of your software DVDs is a very good idea (installing from disk images is usually quite a bit faster than from DVDs, too).– joelsephFeb 18, 2012 at 23:18
If you have a working backup on Time Machine, you can reinstall Lion, then run Migration Assistant, restoring both user accounts and applications from the Time Machine drive.
For me, this worked to reinstall Microsoft Office without resorting to the physical media and without having to download or re-enter product keys.
The trial software download is no longer on Microsoft's page above -- just Office 365. However, I was able to get a download link in less than one minute using the LiveChat feature to contact an agent. She gave me a link to a page that asked for my product key and that subsequently gave me a download link.
