How to move MS-Word from one Mac to another?

April 6, 2007 12:38 PM

How can I help my girlfriend move Microsoft Word from her old Ibook to her new Macbook Pro without a CD?

I'm good with PCs, but not so good with Macs. She just bought a new Macbook Pro to replace her wonky IBook, and she has a legitmate, licensed copy of MS Word on her IBook. She'd like to get it on her new one.

I figured there would be a way to transport the license, at least, and use it to register an eval copy or something, but I don't really know how to do this on a Mac. I did search around, but my search-fu is apparently inadequate.

posted by Thistledown to Computers & Internet (13 answers total)

You can just copy the Microsoft Office applcations folder to the new computer. Microsoft doesn't require activation or anything like that, and as far as I can tell, the serial number is written into the preference files inside the application itself. Just copy it to the Macbook and run the apps -- they worked fine for me when I tried something similar.
posted by Aanidaani at 12:43 PM on April 6, 2007

The MacBook will come with a utility called Migration Assistant which will move all the apps and files off the old iBook for her. She'll need to still have the registration key, but that should be all you need.
posted by lekvar at 12:54 PM on April 6, 2007

Right. You at least need to be careful with most Mac applications - migrating them may not be as simple as dragging the file from one application folder to the next. The MA works good!
posted by phaedon at 1:18 PM on April 6, 2007

Or You can use the Firewire connections to set up one or the othe as a Target Disc. Simply connect the two and start one normally, then start the other whilst holding the t key. The drive will show on the desktop. Then drag the Microsoft Office or Word folder from one to the other.

Migration assistant, as mentioned above will do all that and more.
posted by Gungho at 1:23 PM on April 6, 2007

In my experience, if she uses the Migration Assistant, she won't even need the key. She will, however, have to get rid of the Microsoft Trial version, which is set to default on new machines, and which will bug you to buy it every time you open an Office document. There's an Uninstall Office program that should do that for you in the Office folder.
posted by hwickline at 1:45 PM on April 6, 2007

Migration Assistant is an amazing bit of software. Trust it, it'll do the right thing. The only problem I had with it is when I went from PPC to Intel it migrated some now useless OS9 apps.
posted by chairface at 1:58 PM on April 6, 2007

One more for Migration Assistant. I upgraded my wife to an Intel MacBook recently and it moved everything over -- serial numbers, preferences, her desktop wallpaper, her passwords (including for an IM account we had both forgotten the password for) everything. The machines are indistinguishable from each other except for stuff that was newer on the new machine (OS, new apps etc.) Migration Assistant and Parallels are two pieces of Mac software that do a single task so incredibly well it's astonishing. Until you use MA and compare it to any similar experience you've ever had on a PC you don't realize how well that particular task can be done. It's a cliche, but It Just Works.
posted by The Bellman at 2:25 PM on April 6, 2007

And one more for Migration Assistant. I had the same situation -- Word (and many other things) on the old mac, and needing to get it to the new one. I have the Word CD around here somewhere, but who knows where. :) I ran MA, and everything appeared like magic on the new Mac, all configured exactly as it was before. Same prefs, everything.

It is almost freakish how well it works. All the stuff you normally have to redo when switching computers, you just don't have to even think about any more.
posted by litlnemo at 5:05 PM on April 6, 2007

I might put this in bold because it's important, it's something MS spent ages working on, and I really, really applaud them for it: INSTALL MAC WORD BY DRAGGING-AND-DROPPING THE OFFICE FOLDER. That's it.

She won't "need to still have the registration key". You don't have to run Migration Assistant to make it happen (unless you want all the other stuff coming along for the ride -- and if she's started configuring her new Mac already, you probably don't). You don't need to copy any other files: if Word launches and finds a file or font missing, it'll copy it to where it has to go. It's brilliant. Shame Word sucks.
posted by bonaldi at 6:32 PM on April 6, 2007

It's been a while since I last used Word*, but doesn't it insatll a bunch of stuff the first time you drag the folder over? If she doesn't have the original CD that method may not work.

Word X or whatever it was called. My info is probably sadly out of date.
posted by lekvar at 6:38 PM on April 6, 2007

Sorry, I meant to say "doesn't it insatll[sic] a bunch of stuff the first time you launch the application"
posted by lekvar at 6:39 PM on April 6, 2007

Yes, it does -- but it does it from its own secret stash, which comes with the folder. No need to use the CD more than once, ever. Yey.
posted by bonaldi at 6:44 PM on April 6, 2007

That is clever.
posted by lekvar at 6:50 PM on April 6, 2007