Handling Office 2007 License Keys with SVS

Many of us have built an Office 2007 package that helps out greatly on SVS machines. Many of us, like myself, are building professional packages for customers and from every customer we get the question: "Can you build Office 2007 for us?"

That is a great question, and because we do not like to build a new package every time I have a solution for you with Office 2007.

First of all, build a good, solid Office 2007 layer. Test it and than test it again until you are completely sure that you have a valid, working Office version.

This version has a customized settings in it that you do not want to distribute to your customers, a most important one: your license key.

Are you aware of the fact that this information can be extracted from the version? No? Ok, I'll to show you how to do it.

After you have built a good package, de-activate it, and double click on it.

It will now open the filesystem.

• Go to the tab: register
• Open up the read only part.

  That is always shown at top.

• Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
• Go to Software
• Go to Microsoft
• Go to Office
• Go to 12.0
• Go to Registration.

  The complete path is

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Registration\{91120000-0011-0000-0000-0000000FF1CE}
   
   

  You notice the key between the {}.

• Click on it.
• Delete the following two entries completely.
  • DigitalProductID
  • ProductID

After removing these, then you can close the screen, and activate the package.

When you know start Word or Excell, the software will show you a screen to requesting a registration key as shown below.

Click to view.

Now you have a version that asks for a new registration key.

Step 1 is done.

Every import and activation now needs a licensekey. Is that what we want? The answer, probably, is no.

I have a trick to do this as a one-time action for that particular customer.

• De-activate the package on a clean packaging machine, and de-activate all other activated software.
• Click on file, and then on build on existing layer.
• Select the Office 2007 layer.
• Select c:\windows\system32\cmd.exe as the software to capture.
• Click next.

  The svs admin disappears, and you see a black magical box popping up with something like c:> in it.

• Go to my computer, c:\program files\Microsoft Office\12.0 and select Word.
• Copy the executable, and go to the DOS box.
• Click in the middle of the DOS box, and then do a rightmouse click. select paste.
• Then press enter. Word will startup, and you can activate the software.
• After finishing this, you can close the DOS box by typing exit.

  The capturing is ready, and the software is licensed again.

  Please remember that this may only be done with an open license or a volume license.
• Export the layer, and you're ready to go.

Hopefully this prevents you from building layers over and over with the same Office 2007.

Regards
ErikW

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