My saved documents are no longer the W icons but orange icons that I can't open. Please help.

Gosh... Is there anyway to install Microsoft Office Starter 2010 again?

Maybe.

There are 5 ways of re-installing starter that I am aware of:

1. use the "Office Program Manager" entry in Control Panel > Programs and Features
2. re-install Windows from the recovery partition
3. you have a backup copy of the Starter program files
4. you can find a copy the Starter installation file, SetupConsumerC2ROLW.exe, somewhere on the internet
5. talk to your computer builder

Option 2 wipes out all of your installed programs and personal data files. You have to have a good full disk backup before doing it.

Option 4 requires some dedicated googling. Another poster said he recently found a copy of it.  As well, you have to decide if you trust the source to be clean of malware ...

Option 5 is a very long shot. They typically, ERRONEOUSLY, tell you to talk to MS for help.  They are unlikely to give you the installation file.

Here are the various links I've collected on re-installing Starter.

*************

HP instructions on Office Starter Repair, Program Manager, Uninstall Starter and Re-install Starter via Program Manager in Pictures

Although they are by HP, they can by used on many computers. The best instructions I've seen for "fixing" Office Starter are this HP page:

http://h10025.www1.hp.co`m/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=uk&lc=en&dlc=en&docname=c02981221#N272

Starter is not actually installed on your computer. It runs inside of a “virtual computer” , “computer within a computer”,  located in the “Q:\” drive and the program code is downloaded over the internet every time the program is started. Therefore there are limited things we as users can do to "fix" starter:

1.   Run an Office Repair on Starter

2.   Confirm that you have the KB 2553141 update (in theory it should be there ‘automatically’ … )

3.   Use "MS Office Manager" to re-install Starter from the Windows program Manager

4.   Re-install WINDOWS from the recovery partition, wiping all installed programs and personal data files!

5.   Phone the OEM who supposed to support Starter. They will tell you to do steps 1-4 and then lie to you and tell you to call MS!

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=2553141 – CTR Feb 14 update, kb 2553141

Lovely!!! Updated Office with http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=2553141 , and all in a sudden could get rid of it via Control Panel - Programs and Features!!! Good luck community, hope it works for you as well :)

These instructions are not bad too - ****http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/officeinstall/thread/1ae40c57-100e-4dbe-ad6d-0d9df26a5b0f

HP Recovery Manager

http://www.zdnet.com/photos/12-ways-hardware-makers-screw-up-a-perfectly-good-windows-pc_p13/6331812#photo

On this HP notebook, if you go to the Advanced Recovery Methods page in Control Panel, you're given an option to "Return your computer to factory condition." After a restart, you're presented with these three options. The Minimize Image Recovery option does exactly what it sounds like. You get a clean Windows installation, with the proper drivers and required HP utilities. But trialware and other unwanted software are completely missing. On a default installation, the Programs option in Control Panel includes 50 entries. Using this option, the same list is stripped down to a mere 25 entries.

Manual backup of Starter re-install files

http://triplescomputers.com/blog/casestudies/click2run-configuration-failure-when-office-2010-starter-is-launched/

Make a backup of the Starter installation files if you don’t have access to them elsewhere by copying the following directory to another location:

%PROGRAMDATA%\Microsoft\OEMOffice14\OStarter\en-us

Manual Fix to set CTR to be Default File Associations

If Repair doesn’t work, try this: Set Click to Run (CTR) to be Default File Association :

·    Open File Manager and navigate to the file.

·    Right click the file (i.e. doc) and select Properties.

·    Now click on the general tab and select open with change.

·    Change ''Microsoft Office 2010 Component'' to "Microsoft Office Client Virtualization Handler".

·    If these tips don’t work, you will have to go back to the manufacturer for support.

Re-install Office Starter

https:// skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=e9a78c332557256f&resid=E9A78C332557256F!212&parid=E9A78C332557256F!132

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2465140#method7

Office 2010 Starter is only officially installed by computer builders. If you google skillfully, there are a few links to the installation files.  Home users do not have access to the installation file so there are only 3 options for “re-installing” it.

There is an option that allows users to re-install Office Starter without using the recovery partition.  It requires that you have the “Microsoft Office 2010 Program Manager” installed. If you go into Programs and Features dialog, look for the “Microsoft Office 2010” entry.  The link above shows how this entry appears in Programs and Features, and how to use it to re-install Office Starter.

Starter is Part of the Recovery Partition

https:// www.microsoft.com/oem/en/products/office/Pages/office_2010_build.aspx****

Hard drive recovery is a requirement for distributing Office Starter 2010. A hard-disk-based recovery solution enables Win7 to automatically recover from most known causes for unbootable systems as a result of loss or corruption of files.

This type of recovery will wipe out all of your installed programs and personal data files. Therefore, before starting this type of “repair” you should make a backup of your disk and make sure that you have the installation files and product keys for all of your applications.

Activate Starter - Activated at Factory, No Product Key

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint-workspace-help/activate-office-2010-programs-HA010354227.aspx?CTT=3

<snip> If you are using Microsoft Office Starter 2010, the software came pre-installed on your computer. Office Starter 2010 is already activated, and there is no Product Key for you to enter. <snip>

Gosh... Is there anyway to install Microsoft Office Starter 2010 again? Just before i found this post, i found this: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2465140/en-us and followed the steps to it. And now, office starter is uninstalled from my pc!

Can anyone please help me?

I'm glad that worked for your Excel files. Thanks for confirming that this is the solution. Note that, to make this permanent, you need to use "Choose default program...," select "Microsoft Application Virtualization DDE Launcher," and make sure the box for "Always use the selected program to open this kind of file" is checked.

See the instructions in this article.