Without wanting to place too fine a point on it, if you don't have the media, username or password, it is most unlikely that you have a valid license. Regardless, if you create a restore point, then do the repair, you can revert to the current setup if you subsequently find yourself unable to access the files. The errant message about hardware changes suggest there's something more serious going on with your system.

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]

IS there usually a username and password for an Office 2003 system? Even when I used such a system at work I don't recall ever logging in to Office. You just switch on, log onto your PC and the Office programs just work.

(I'm aware that with Office 2013 you do have a username and password.)

No. I have never encountered such a system. I assumed from your posts that there might be some other feature of your system requiring this. Even having Office set up in a non-Administrator account to run only with Administrator privileges would require that - but then you'd have to know both the username & password to use it.

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]

The only sign that I might be asked for a username [and posssibly password) is in the Help box in Word - see attached.

I am still perplexed about why I get this Validation message. It's probably totally unconnected but System Restore warns me that "changes made to drive(s) F:E:\ after this point cannot be reversed". (Also see attached.) But these drives only exist (temporarily) if I plug in a USB, camera etc. They are not usually there.

Attached Images

	Word_D+R_message.jpg (60.1 KB, 16 views)
	SysRestore_warn.jpg (15.6 KB, 16 views)