I recently formatted my HD. Was reinstalling office. i have the upgrade CD for '07. I now need the previous version too? Seriously? Any way around this? I have no idea where it is. Maybe I do, but its not readily available
There's no way to circumvent the check for a previous version on a Microsoft Office Upgrade disc. Not legally anyway, and we don't step outside that line here.
Phillip is correct in all regards. You need to locate the media (including key) for, and install, the previous version. The upgrade requires that it be present and there is no way to bypass this.