Why is MS Word no longer free?

Except for the advertising-supported Microsoft Word Starter 2010, Word has never been free except as part of a limited-time trial of Office. When the trial expires, you cannot continue to use Word without buying either Office or a freestanding copy of Word.

On the other hand, WordPad, which is an "accessory" that comes with Windows, may serve your purposes.

In that case why does Window7 block all attempts to install anything other than office 365 or office 2013 as it was previously known

I have Office Pro 97 and office 2010:  both of which I own and paid good money for: yet I can use neither on Windows 7 Operating system

and since I lost my Office Starter 2010 I now have only Word pad left

It's about time MS started playing fair and allowed previously purchased MS software to carry on being used

You should be able to open a Word document in WordPad. It might not look the same, and if it's a form then it might not be editable in the same way.

Other alternatives include:

• Sign up for a free Microsoft account, copy the document to the OneDrive storage that's part of the account, and then use Word Online (also part of the account) to view the document. This provides editing capability, although not all of the features of the full Word program.
  
• Download and install the free Word Viewer program and use it to view the document.
• Download and install the free Open Office. This is not a Microsoft product, but it can open MS Office documents.

I have Office Pro 97 and office 2010:  both of which I own and paid good money for: yet I can use neither on Windows 7 Operating system

...

It's about time MS started playing fair and allowed previously purchased MS software to carry on being used

Office 97 isn't compatible with Windows 7. That has nothing to do with whether MS will 'allow' you to install & use it (both of which can be done).

Office 2010 works just fine on Windows 7. Indeed, Office 2010 is probably what most Office users on Windows 7 run.

Apologies my comment should have read Office Pro 97 and Office Standard 2002

But my point still remains

I purchased these products as I have migrated through Microsoft's Operating Systems through the years

I currently run Windows 7 and other than a stripped down version of Office Starter 2010 I find that once again I'm expected to either rent or buy a whole new suite of office 365 if I want full functionality

Even if I did chose to do so how long before windows release yet another operating system and I'm back to square one

But you can bet I'll think twice next time;  I change computers if it will be a Microsoft Platform I chose

; so much for being a long standing user of MS Products and Platforms

As Jay Freedman suggested the only answer is to go open office (luckily I already own an original version)

If you just need to read a Word document, you can download the Word viewer from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=3657ce88-7cfa-457a-9aec-f4f827f20cac&displaylang=en.

Thanks Suzanne,

appreciate the reply : if you uninstall Office Starter 2010 from Windows 7 it reverts back to Word Viewer

but that still doesn't give me the functionality I have come to expect from MS Office  the last version I purchased was actually Office Standard 2002 better known as Office 2003

excuse me for being a little fed up having to buy new software every time Microsoft Brings out a new Operating System

Particularly since I have been a loyal customer since they bought out 3.1; I also own a full version of Sun Office otherwise known as Open Office

And as I stated in another thread will be thinking twice before I chose a Microsoft Platform next time I upgrade

Assuming that you have installation media and a product key, you can run Office 2010 without problems on Windows 7. Note that this doesn't apply to OEM installations, which are tied to a particular computer.

If you have a product key (not an OEM version), you can download a backup of Office 2010 from http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/products/download-back-up-restore-microsoft-office-products-FX103427465.aspx.

Stefan,

thanks for your reply  but no I do not have a product key office Starter 2010 comes bundled with Windows 7 : I also do not have Windows 7 on Disk; but than you should know that

simply put Microsoft bring out a new operating system I upgraded from XP to Windows 7; and pretty much most of my old software ends up in the bin

My issue revolves around the fact that twice now 1st when upgrading from 98 and 2nd to Windows 7

previously purchased MS Office software costing a considerable amount of money are now reduced to little more than shiny drink coasters

Quite frankly if this is the loyalty Microsoft show its long time users; they can expect me to be just as loyal next time I buy a new platform

As for my MS Office suite; hello open office: here It come....