I'd really be very angry if my copy of Office 2003 was rendered useless. Will the automatic update feature work to build up again a patched end-of-life Office 2003 ? Will I have to pick and choose at random among hundreds of updates to be applied manually? Is SP 3 the freshest state, and would I have to add anything to it ? Office Watch does not seem overly concerned, and advises to grab Service Pack 3, just in case (which I did). Its site suggests that it won't be possible, however there are still plenty of updates available for manual download. However, will I be able, at least, to bring my copy back to its April 2014 updated state ? Is Microsoft pulling the rug under legitimate buyers' feet and silently changing its activation rules in order to force people to upgrade ?Īlso, I understand that there won't be any more updates to Office 2003, which opens in theory a security risk. However, the telephone number answers that it cannot be used for that software anymore. I have read some horror stories of users trying to reinstall Office 2003 recently, and being met with a message that they have made too many activations (this not being true in some cases), and that they need to activate by telephone. However, since Office 2003 support has officially ended last April, I'm wondering whether I might get stuck in a situation where I would not be able to install it again, or make it run properly in the future. I have a home-built PC with an OEM version of Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, and a French Standard Edition of Office 2003 for Students and Teachers, both with the original discs and product keys.

I'm planning to do a clean reinstall of my system from Windows up, because it has become sluggish and unresponsive.

Office 2003 service pack