Moving to a new Pc, what is the way to go?

[StevieRay]

Hello, I build a new pc and have Vista 64 up and running with SP1. All is stable. Now to move the files. I am networked form my old pc with MS Office XP Pro w/ Frontpage SP2. Newest one is the Vista 64. My laptop is running Vista Home Premium 32 bit.

I have Office and outlook 2003 on my old pc.

Lappy has Office w/ outlook 2007.

New PC had only Vista Ultimate 64 w/ no office programs, at all.

I want to move all my files to the new machine which has no office.

I use outlook (heavy), Word (heavy), and Excel (moderate). Really not much else. I am a big fan of Mozilla and though I use IE, Mozilla is my first choice.

Here is the question:

1. Is there a way to take the outlook 2003 which I have the cd for and use it to then upgrade to the OEM outlook 2007 (I have the box with key)?

2. If not, then what about openoffice ? I used it at an old company, and it was not the same as office but workable. I have not used the new version. Would the switch be seemless or should I bit the MS office 2007 bullet?

3. If I load xp on the new machine, with office Pro and outlook 2003, then can I use the OEM box key to upgrade to outlook 2007? And will this work with Vista ulti 64 on it? Dual boot or not?

Frustratedly trying to save a dime, but if not, I will just go buy it and move on. Yes, I want my cake and eat it too.

thanks for your input...StevieRay

[screwballl]

OEM Outlook on CD should be the full version... the only way it would not work is if it is tied to a specific computer and the disk you have is only to work on a specific HP or Dell PC... otherwise it should install fine without the need to install the old version.
I always prefer Open Office anyways as the MSO software is a resource hog and overpriced....

[JazzyJake]

Agreed. Another thing to keep in mind: Have you used office 2007?
I believe there is a demo on MS's website. Give it a try before you go out and buy it, (if the copy you have is linked with a specific computer.)
personally, I like 2003 the most.

[Hitman]

Like all M$ software you can only install Office 2k7 on one computer. Office 2k7 has to be activated just like a M$ OS. If you install Office 2k7 on a 2nd computer when you activate it, M$ will know it's a different computer and won't let you activate it. you will then only be able to open the program 24 times before it locks you out. If you're to cheap to buy Office 2K7, stick with OpenOffice. It's not as pretty as Office 2k7, but it's just as functional. For a good alternative to Outlook, give Thunderbird a shot. It's a great email client and it's free. You do have to install an add-on for Hotmail support, and it's clunky at best. If you don't use Hotmail, you will have no issues with Thunderbird.

[screwballl]

good stuff hitman!

[StevieRay]

Thanks Hitman, JazzyJake, and Screwball. I have been using M$ outlook for so long now. I have had 2007 on my lappy and have grown to like the changes. All my business is based on emailing, word documents, and phone work. Thunderbird is interesting. My problem is the amound of info I have stored in Outlook. I guess I could switch over all my contacts and emails. A slow day for me is 80 to 90 emails incoming.

[screwballl]

Thunderbird can import your address book, emails and everything from Outlook... I think... I have not tried it from Outlook 2007 so cannot verify that for sure but I have used it with Outlook 2003 and OE and it has always worked perfectly that way...

[StevieRay]

Just to be sure, I am reformating my old pc and giving it to my sister. I want to put outlook 2003 on my new pc, but I can not, because it was on my old system.

Lovely. If so, going to openoffice now.

[Capper]

I'd recommend Thunderbird over Outlook anyway.....to me its a much more flexible and easy to work with mail program.

[Hitman]

Originally Posted by StevieRay

Just to be sure, I am reformating my old pc and giving it to my sister. I want to put outlook 2003 on my new pc, but I can not, because it was on my old system.

Lovely. If so, going to openoffice now.

You are able install Office 2k3 products on more then one computer. There is no activation, so it won't stop you. However to be in compliance with the EULA you need to have a unique CD key for every computer you install Office 2k3 on.

I live and die by MS Outlook at work and at home. I have never tried this, so you need to do some research, but I think you can import your Outlook PST folder into Thunderbird, along with your address book. My personal email is all IMAP, and my work email is all exchange server. I only use thunderbird with my personal email, and I don't have any issues.