Well, got on with MicroCenter tech support, uninstalled the pre loaded version, and installed a purchased version from the etes site and used the key to activate...got the proper activation form and it went well. See pic.
NOT looking forward to attempting to activate Office-- Tech support wouldn't/couldn't stay on the line with me long enough to resolve password issue with my MS account, so we didn't get to try the Office activation, which he told me WOULD most likely give me problems. Oh joy! I call back to MicroCenter, and they're not accepting calls into the hold queue any longer.