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Can You Run Old Software on a New Computer?

UPFRONT/TECH

Ask the Tech Guru

Photo of a laptop screen with a large ERROR mesage on the screen

I have a copy of Microsoft Word 2003 (on CD), but my new computer doesn’t seem able to load the software. What can I do?

Jason R. Rich, who has written personal-tech books for AARP: Sorry, but a 20-year-old copy of any software likely will not run on a newer computer. And you can’t buy MS Word anymore; you need to get a subscription. MS 365, which includes Word, runs $7 per month. A $2-per-month version of MS 365 and a free version of Word are also available, but they run in the cloud, meaning you need to be connected to the internet. Free, cloud-based Google Docs is another option.


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