Strange MS Entourage error, please help

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My Entourage on my new MACbook worked well for the first few weeks, but this weekend when I opened a Word document it pulled open a MS Office 2004 Testdrive that was on my computer. Since then my Entourage won't open anymore and gives me the error message "This identity cannot be opened with this version of Entourage."

I deleted Test drive, then I deleted MS Office 2004, and re-installed MS Office 2004, but the error is still the same.

What to do? Please help.
 
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uninstall it again, then use spotlight to remove any office.plist or other office files that have hung around before reinstalling it again. It (like all other Microsoft crap) never does a clean uninstall and you have to find and remove stragglers to get it totally off there.
 
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Somewhere, in a dark, hidden, secret corner of the Mac hard drive, there must some fairly persistent data that is used to stop people from doing the following:

- get a time limited trial version of any software
- use it until the time expires
- uninstall it
- re install it
- start with a new time limited trial
- Repeat whole sequence as long as desired, never pay for program

Somewhere deep in OS X, there must be a place where software authors can record the fact that at some past time, you installed their trial and its time ran out. Else, you could do the above forever.

I would conjecture that this is what is happening to you. Once the Test Drive's time limit ran out, you are now being stopped from running any 2004 version of Office. Uninstalling and re-installing can't be the solution - if it were, you could then use the Test Drive version forever.

Does anyone know what this hidden "registry" (gasp, on a Mac?) might be, and how to purge it? This is what Apfel may need to get his/her legitimate Office 2004 to be recognized as such again.
 
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Apfel
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The funny thing is my test drive had not even run out yet, in fact it would still be in a test phase for the next 20 days. Entourage actually just opened in test drive, while all other Office applications opened regular in the "non test drive" version. I deleted test drive because I did not want to run on it, plus I went into my preferences and deleted all plist office items and that did not do the trick either after I re-installed it again. :-(

I actually have a legit version of Office 2004 (not the test drive version), the test drive version was just sitting "dorment" on my computer until last wekend when it decided to open.

Herbert
 
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Does normal Word not open at all?

Word docs will get confused if they've been set to open up Test Drive instead of normal Word. I patched Office and everything then started to try and open up Test Drive.
 
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Apfel
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Does normal Word not open at all?

Word docs will get confused if they've been set to open up Test Drive instead of normal Word. I patched Office and everything then started to try and open up Test Drive.


Word and Exel open just fine as does Powerpoint, only Entourage has the issue :-(

Herbert
 
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Did you remove Test Drive before installing the full version? I seem to remember a recommendation to uninstall it first, and not install the licensed version alongside it.
 
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Apfel
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Did you remove Test Drive before installing the full version? I seem to remember a recommendation to uninstall it first, and not install the licensed version alongside it.

I didn't even realize that it was there and thus the answer sadly is no.
 

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