Office 2000 and Windows 10?

I’m currently running Windows 7 Home Premium with Office 2000 Professional. I’ve reserved my free download for Windows 10, but haven’t upgraded yet because I want to confirm that all my current programs – including Office 2000 – will be unaffected by the upgrade. Is there a way to check this?

ALAN WYNYARD-SIMPSON

Graham Barlow replies: Sadly O ce 2000 isn’t compatible with Windows 10 – or indeed Windows 8 before it. However, the good news is if you can’t afford an upgrade to Office 365, then there are a number of free Office alternatives available to you. Kingsoft Office Suite Free 2013 (kingsoftstore.com) is a good choice if you only need the core applications – word processor, spreadsheet and presentations tool – and are happy to use the same ribbon interface found in Office 2007 or later.

If you’d rather stick to the old menu-based system employed in O ce 2000, then LibreOffice ( libreoffice.org) is the best choice. is also o ers a database plus drawing and maths tools in addition to the core programs.

To verify that your other apps will work in Windows 10, right-click the Windows logo in the Taskbar Noti cation area and choose ‘Get Windows 10’. Click the hamburger like icon in the top le of the window to reveal a menu, and click the rst option underneath the ‘Getting the upgrade’ section, which may read ‘Your PC is ready’ or ‘Check your PC’. is will list your PC’s readiness for Windows 10, complete with any known compatibility issues you may need to address.