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New computer = new headaches in store. Please help :)
Thread poster: Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 16:23
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
Aug 21, 2017

I'm just setting out on the terrifying job of switching to a new computer as my 2010 machine is starting to seriously worry me. I've done the easy bit - I bought a new desktop tower processor. Now I have to transfer all my data, set everything up the way I understand how to use it, and download old and/or new software onto the new machine. Difficult days ahead . I'm going to have the help of someone who says he knows about these t... See more
I'm just setting out on the terrifying job of switching to a new computer as my 2010 machine is starting to seriously worry me. I've done the easy bit - I bought a new desktop tower processor. Now I have to transfer all my data, set everything up the way I understand how to use it, and download old and/or new software onto the new machine. Difficult days ahead . I'm going to have the help of someone who says he knows about these things - let's hope he does! I need to use MS software as I can't be dealing with incompatibilities etc. But I need it in English and I live in Spain. Apparently, that's no problem with the operating system (W10 Home) as it can be changed to English, but there are all the other things to consider. So here are a few questions for you experts here, if I may:

1) I used to have a legitimate copy of Word 2007 in French (I still have the installation CD etc., but that's not what I want on the new machine). Now I use an English version that a local PC expert "had handy", so I don't suppose I can transfer it anywhere, can I?
1.1) I don't think I've got any sort of licence. Where would I find it if I've got one?

2) If I buy MS Office software online, will I get everything I need to in order to avoid having the same problem next time things change?

3) Can I perhaps buy a Spanish version and change it to English? I'd want it totally changed as I'm still learning Spanish, and none of my clients speak it either, AFAIK. So I wouldn't want it reverting to Spanish error messages.

4) If I go straight from 2007 to 2016, will there be any problems with compatibility (I suspect not)? BTW, I don't think I want 365.
4.1) Am I going to be confronted with major differences that will really confuse me and take me ages to understand?
4.2) If so, would it be better for me - as a rather basic IT user who is getting too old to handle too much change - to get 2010 or 2013 instead?

5) Is there any way I can get a printout of all the settings I currently use? There are loads in Word that I know I've changed over the years, but I can't remember them all.
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Philippe Etienne
Philippe Etienne  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 17:23
Member
English to French
Spanish language Aug 21, 2017

Busy days ahead indeed!
As a non-expert, I can't really comment on the W10/Office2016 combo because I am still running W7/Office 2010.
But if you need an English interface, you may have to specifically buy an English version. It may not be available in retail shops in Spain, so an online purchase of physical CDs/DVDs for W10 and Office from abroad may be the way to go.

At least I experienced this limitation first hand in 2012 when I bought a new computer with Windows 7 H
... See more
Busy days ahead indeed!
As a non-expert, I can't really comment on the W10/Office2016 combo because I am still running W7/Office 2010.
But if you need an English interface, you may have to specifically buy an English version. It may not be available in retail shops in Spain, so an online purchase of physical CDs/DVDs for W10 and Office from abroad may be the way to go.

At least I experienced this limitation first hand in 2012 when I bought a new computer with Windows 7 Home included: the interface was only in Spanish (and other local languages like catalan) and couldn't be changed if I didn't upgrade to the dearer version (Pro or Enterprise, whatever it's called). But maybe it's different with a real W10 CD/DVD as opposed to a pre-installed version and no CD/DVD.

I then bought the 2010 Office SOHO/SMB (hogar y pequeña empresa) DVD, there again in Spanish only, no English and even less French. I tried some tweaks from the Internet but couldn't manage.
However, the tooltips' language in Office could be changed to another language, which came in handy to figure out some Office options I didn't understand...

Besides, spelling tools can still be set to whatever language.

In terms of method, I took a two-day break, made a list of all my programs and noted the data, customer and settings files I could find to use them on the new one. Planning!
For some programs (compatibility?), you may have options to export settings from your old computer to a USB key and import them to the new one after you install the related program.
As regards the transfer of settings to W10 and Office, as far as I remember, I had to redo gradually my macros and custom settings.
And if your old computer is still running, you still have the option to go back to it to retrieve things you overlooked at first.
Oh, and some software makers require you to hand back your license on the old computer to get it to work on the new one (Trados for instance I think).

Good luck anyway in your endeavour. It's a necessary evil, like going to the dentist, but with method, time and keeping calm, it is less terrifying than you think.

All the best,
Philippe
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Lincoln Hui
Lincoln Hui  Identity Verified
Hong Kong
Local time: 00:23
Member
Chinese to English
+ ...
- Aug 21, 2017

1. Strictly speaking, it's illegal software. You can actually download Office 2007 from MS using a valid product key at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/office?culture=en-US&ref=o12 , which I believe lets you choose your preferred language, but I don't know if the original product key's language is an issue. Costs you nothing to try.
1.
... See more
1. Strictly speaking, it's illegal software. You can actually download Office 2007 from MS using a valid product key at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/office?culture=en-US&ref=o12 , which I believe lets you choose your preferred language, but I don't know if the original product key's language is an issue. Costs you nothing to try.
1.1 If Office is installed, click the upper-left corner, go to Word Options, then Resources at the bottom of the left list, and About where it says "about Microsoft Office 2007". It will show the person that the software is licensed to.

2. I strongly recommend that you stay away from Office 365. If you have to buy a new copy, buy one of the legacy versions that you get to own, rather than on a subscription model. Office Online is actually free (https://products.office.com/en-us/office-online/documents-spreadsheets-presentations-office-online) and could be an adequate solution. Office 2016 is provided as a download, so you can always re-download it.

3. Hopefully rendered irrelevant by 1 and 2. Actually I don't know why you would want to do that; I assume that Amazon still delivers to the Canary Islands. As mentioned above you don't actually need physical goods; just buy the product key and download.

4. Probably not.
4.1, 4.2. I'm not in a position to speak for you.

5. The best I can recommend for you is to get a spare monitor, hook it up to the old rig while it still lives, open the settings screen (or each of the settings screens), and have it side-by-side with your new machine as reference while you set up the new machine.
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Thomas T. Frost
Thomas T. Frost  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 16:23
Danish to English
+ ...
What's wrong with Office 365? Aug 21, 2017

Lincoln Hui wrote:

2. I strongly recommend that you stay away from Office 365.


Why? What's wrong with it? I'll need a new computer soon, so it would be good to know.


 
Susan Andrew
Susan Andrew
Local time: 16:23
Spanish to English
Product key from Amazon Aug 21, 2017

Hi Sheila,

You have my sympathies, I hate it whenever I have to change anything on my computer too!

I was recently in a similar situation and opted for Microsoft Office 2016
... See more
Hi Sheila,

You have my sympathies, I hate it whenever I have to change anything on my computer too!

I was recently in a similar situation and opted for Microsoft Office 2016 Professional Plus for Windows PC from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=Microsoft%20Office%202016%20Professional%20Plus%20for%20Windows%20PC

The price seems to have gone up a bit - I think I got it for £12.75 but £18.55 isn't bad either. You don't get a CD or anything, they just send you a link to download the product key. It's very simple to downlaod and install and they send an email to check you don't have any problems. I'm not very tech savvy and I managed it fine. It's all in English too so no problem there. The only issue may be that I think you can only install it on one computer - I'm not sure about that but you can't have everything for that price anyway.

Good luck - it won't be as bad as you think!

Susan.
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John Fossey
John Fossey  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 12:23
Member (2008)
French to English
+ ...
Office 365 Aug 21, 2017

Thomas T. Frost wrote:

Lincoln Hui wrote:

2. I strongly recommend that you stay away from Office 365.


Why? What's wrong with it? I'll need a new computer soon, so it would be good to know.


Good question. I have Office 2016 in the Office 365 subscription and haven't found anything significant to complain about.


 
Lingua 5B
Lingua 5B  Identity Verified
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 17:23
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
Similar issues. Aug 21, 2017

Just got a new laptop, and no Office installed. Windows Home 10 running and installing automatic updates (no way to stop it?) which takes forever without even asking me, closing down all of my work.

Am I going to have to go with Win 10 Pro to prevent these things?

Office 365 stops once you stop your subscription? It is very much cloud based? It depends on being online while working? I don't know, sounds like a big headache.

I'm confused and stressed out. To
... See more
Just got a new laptop, and no Office installed. Windows Home 10 running and installing automatic updates (no way to stop it?) which takes forever without even asking me, closing down all of my work.

Am I going to have to go with Win 10 Pro to prevent these things?

Office 365 stops once you stop your subscription? It is very much cloud based? It depends on being online while working? I don't know, sounds like a big headache.

I'm confused and stressed out. Tomorrow I will visit a software person for them to suggest some package for me, no idea what to do.

So far I am used to Win 7 and Win 8, Office 2007 and 2010.

Any suggestions? Thanks.
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Thomas T. Frost
Thomas T. Frost  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 16:23
Danish to English
+ ...
Upgrade to Pro Aug 21, 2017

Lingua 5B wrote:

Windows Home 10 running and installing automatic updates (no way to stop it?) which takes forever without even asking me, closing down all of my work.

Am I going to have to go with Win 10 Pro to prevent these things?

Office 365 stops once you stop your subscription? It is very much cloud based? It depends on being online while working?



You need to upgrade to Windows 10 Professional if you want to have anything to say about updates. There should be a function in Windows to do so.

I believe Office 365 can only be used with a current subscription, but you get support and all the new versions while you are subscribed.

You don't need to use it with the cloud if you don't want to, so it should work offline too.


 
Lingua 5B
Lingua 5B  Identity Verified
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 17:23
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
Thanks, Thomas. Aug 21, 2017

Another issue: I find this laptop extremely loud for a new laptop. Is it because of constant updates running in the background? I had old laptops that were much quieter than this one.

It's like fans are overworking or some strange loud sound. It's been with me for just two days. Today when I switched it on in the afternoon, automatic updates started and it took couple of hours. Unbelievable. And I had no any control over it.


 
Maxi Schwarz
Maxi Schwarz  Identity Verified
Local time: 11:23
German to English
+ ...
the MS Office part Aug 21, 2017

I was in a similar situation late last year. I bought a new laptop while my desktop was under repair and both would have Win10. Originally I purchased the Office software from "the store from which I will never buy important things again" and it was misrepresented. Eventually I phoned the folks at Microsoft who take care of Office, and they handled the whole thing for me. That included installing it for me, making sure it worked, ensuring that it would work on all computers in the house (tw... See more
I was in a similar situation late last year. I bought a new laptop while my desktop was under repair and both would have Win10. Originally I purchased the Office software from "the store from which I will never buy important things again" and it was misrepresented. Eventually I phoned the folks at Microsoft who take care of Office, and they handled the whole thing for me. That included installing it for me, making sure it worked, ensuring that it would work on all computers in the house (two computers, one laptop), and doing a follow-up a week later to make sure everything was ok. Yes, I spent some money, but this is a business expense, and I have the tools I need up and running in good order.Collapse


 
Thomas T. Frost
Thomas T. Frost  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 16:23
Danish to English
+ ...
Check what's running Aug 21, 2017

Lingua 5B wrote:

Another issue: I find this laptop extremely loud for a new laptop. Is it because of constant updates running in the background? I had old laptops that were much quieter than this one.

It's like fans are overworking or some strange loud sound. It's been with me for just two days. Today when I switched it on in the afternoon, automatic updates started and it took couple of hours. Unbelievable. And I had no any control over it.



You'd need to have a look at the Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) to check which tasks are using how much CPU and disk I/O (only relevant if the disk isn't SSD).

The fan could also be faulty. I ended up having to change the fan on my daughter's Lenovo. It sounded as if it were grating metal.


 
Lingua 5B
Lingua 5B  Identity Verified
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 17:23
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
Yeah, weird. Aug 21, 2017

Thomas T. Frost wrote:

Lingua 5B wrote:

Another issue: I find this laptop extremely loud for a new laptop. Is it because of constant updates running in the background? I had old laptops that were much quieter than this one.

It's like fans are overworking or some strange loud sound. It's been with me for just two days. Today when I switched it on in the afternoon, automatic updates started and it took couple of hours. Unbelievable. And I had no any control over it.



You'd need to have a look at the Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) to check which tasks are using how much CPU and disk I/O (only relevant if the disk isn't SSD).

The fan could also be faulty. I ended up having to change the fan on my daughter's Lenovo. It sounded as if it were grating metal.


It's a new machine so it's weird the sound is like in an old machine that's overheating or struggling to work. Will also be checking it with the support team as the machine is under warranty. Nonetheless it's irritating needing to do so much micromanagement after purchasing a new machine. I was hoping just to sit down, start it, and resume my work, but not that easy.

Does your daughter's Lenovo have a built-in battery?


 
Thomas T. Frost
Thomas T. Frost  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 16:23
Danish to English
+ ...
`Detachable Aug 22, 2017

Lingua 5B wrote:
Does your daughter's Lenovo have a built-in battery?


No, a detachable battery pack. Why?


 
Lingua 5B
Lingua 5B  Identity Verified
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 17:23
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
Mine is a built-in. Aug 22, 2017

Thomas T. Frost wrote:

Lingua 5B wrote:
Does your daughter's Lenovo have a built-in battery?


No, a detachable battery pack. Why?


Mine is a built-in, I thought the weird sound might be the constant "charging sound". I am used to detachable batteries and when I work in the office, I just use a power supply, with battery out.

I might even consider returning this laptop, I don't like it much. Especially not the sound.


 
Thomas T. Frost
Thomas T. Frost  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 16:23
Danish to English
+ ...
Unlikely Aug 22, 2017

Lingua 5B wrote:


Mine is a built-in, I thought the weird sound might be the constant "charging sound". I am used to detachable batteries and when I work in the office, I just use a power supply, with battery out.



'Charging hum' nearly always comes from the transformer, and that is usually sitting in the middle of the charging cable, and in any case not inside the laptop. There's only low-voltage DC inside the laptop and the battery. It would be very unusual for that to produce any 'hum'.

In addition to the fan, a defect hard disk (not an SSD) could produce noise.


 
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New computer = new headaches in store. Please help :)






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