explain in 'easy' form...

Hi all,
I've only got myself a new laptop ...old 1998 one finally put to rest! lol

ANYWAY...
Can anyone explain...when you buy a new laptop and they say comes with a 'latest 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium operating system' does that not mean that you will have all the microsoft office already installed too?? The product key is saying invalid - that I either need to purchase or use the starter version... The company say that it should come with word...but the only application I see is Office 2010 which wont allow me to enter unless I purchase..or use the starter version. Surely, this should already be included.

Is this normal? Should it have already be installed?

Thanks

To say it comes with "the latest 64 bit..etc, means only that. It does not include Office, which is a separate application.
But "The company say that it should come with word" Which company? If they say that, I would read it as meaning it is a fully licenced installation.

I am waiting for the Stone group team to call back as they promised to get the appropriate team member to return call! Thanks for your post!

Like Dave said, 64-bit W7 Home Premium is just your Operating System and has absolutely nothing to do with Microsoft Office.

Many computers come with a 60-day or 90-day trial of Microsoft Office pre-installed but you have to buy it to keep going after the trial period. And some computers may come with Microsoft Works which has a full license but of a basically stripped down version of a Word processor/spreadsheet/database/calendar. An alternative is Oracle's OpenOffice or LibreOffice which is free; it's probably better than works but not as good as Microsoft Office because there will be a learning curve and some functions are not supported.

Did you have Microsoft Office on your old machine? What version? If you have Office 2003, 2007, or 2010 from your old computer you can likely transfer that license to your new computer but you will need that product key.

Thanks for the info. Unfortunately , my old computer's programs are way too old - 1998 I think : (
Soooo..I'll be do my ten year research! lol. Its taken me over that long to buy a new one!

Microsoft Office and Microsoft Windows are separate products, and both cost approximately $200 USD each. If your computer comes with Office, it will only be a 30-90 day trial, after which you will have to pay the retail price of the program just like any other user that wants Microsoft Office.