'Rearm' trick extends Office 2010 free ride to 180 days

14.05.2010
Office 2010 can be used for up to 180 days without providing a product activation key, Microsoft confirmed today.

Although Microsoft generally touts a 30-day time limit for users to activate their copies of the company's software, including Windows, a little-known command designed for corporate administrators can be used by anyone to "reset" the Office 2010 countdown up to five times.

The company confirmed that a short command, which is documented on its TechNet support site, resets the activation timer in Office 2010, which officially but won't reach retail shelves until June 15. Companies with volume license agreements can get Office 2010 now.

Microsoft typically allows users to install and run Office or Windows for up to 30 days without requiring a product activation key, the 25-character string that proves the copy is legitimate. During the 30-day grace period, the software works as if it has been activated. As the grace period shrinks, however, messages appear on the screen reminding the user to activate the product.

In Office 2010, the messages change on the 25th day after installation. At some point, the Office 2010 title bar also turns red.

But by running a file named "ospprearm.exe," users can reset the time-until-activation to 30 days. The file is located in the folder "%installdir%\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\OfficeSoftwareProtectionPlatform," where ""%installdir%" is "C:" on most machines.