I just purchased a recertified Asus notebook, and have a Microsoft Office Home and Student 2010 that I do not use; so I thought I would try to use it with this new notebook.

It seems I cannot. I called Microsoft and they told me I have an OEM version of the product, which means it can only be used on 1 computer.

I'm sure when I purchased this product a couple of years ago, I must have thought '1 computer' meant 'installed' on one computer, not 2 or 3 computers at the same time. But according to the Microsoft representative I spoke with, it means '1 computer' as in the computer you install it on is the only computer it will ever work with? I really don't understand this.

Is there any way to get this activated on my new Asus notebook?

An OEM version is valid only on the computer with which it was sold.

That doesn't make sense. I purchased this CD for the Microsoft Office Home and Student 2010 on eBay about 2 1/2 years ago. It did not come with my computer. It did say (1 PC), that is all.

An OEM edition can only legitimately be sold with a computer and can only be used on the computer it was first installed on. If you bought an OEM edition off ebay, whoever sold it to you was breaching Microsoft's licensing rules. Good luck getting a refund from the seller...

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