Credit for this technique goes to the talented staff in Microsoft Help and
Support.
1. It is important to note if you have recently made alterations
to your computer before this problem occurred, or if the Help and
Support Center ever worked correctly. If you have recently made
alterations to your computer before this problem occurred, try
to undo the changes you made or uninstall the hardware or software
that could have caused the issue. After you do so, test to determine
if the issue is resolved, and if it is, skip the remaining steps. If
the issue is not resolved, continue to the next step.
2. Remove the .cab files from the Packagestore folder, and then
rebuild the original Help and Support Center:
a. Click Start, click Run, type "cmd" (without the quotation marks),
and then click OK to open a command prompt. Type "net stop helpsvc"
(without the quotation marks), and then press ENTER.
b. Type "cd /d <windir>\pchealth\helpctr" (without the quotation marks),
where <windir> is the Windows folder, and then press ENTER.
c. Type "rd packagestore /s /q" (without the quotation marks), and then
press ENTER.
d. Type "cd binaries" (without the quotation marks), and then press ENTER.
e. Type "start /w helpsvc /svchost netsvcs /regserver /install"
(without the quotation marks), and then press ENTER.
f. If any of the following processes are running, stop them:
helpsvc.exe
helphost.exe
helpctr.exe
To stop a process, right-click the taskbar, and then click Task Manager.
Click the Processes tab, click the process you want to stop, and then click
End Process.
g. At the command prompt, type "net start helpsvc" (without the quotation
marks), and then press ENTER.
3. If the Help and Support Center has not been customized by an OEM, skip
to the next step. If the Help and Support Center has been customized by an
OEM, completely refresh the Help and Support Center:
a. Click Start, click Run, type "cmd" (without the quotation marks), and
then click OK to open a command prompt. Type "net stop helpsvc" (without
the quotation marks), and then press ENTER.
b. Type "cd /d <windir>\pchealth\helpctr" (without the quotation marks),
where <windir> is the Windows folder, and then press ENTER.
c. Type "rd packagestore /s /q" (without the quotation marks), and then
press ENTER.
d. Type "rd installedskus /s /q" (without the quotation marks), and then
press ENTER.
e. Type "cd binaries" (without the quotation marks), and then press ENTER.
f. Type "start /w helpsvc /svchost netsvcs /regserver /install"
(without the quotation marks), and then press ENTER.
g. Type "start /w helpsvc /register" (without the quotation marks), and
then press ENTER.
h. If any of the following processes are running, stop them:
helpsvc.exe
helphost.exe
helpctr.exe
To stop a process, right-click the taskbar, and then click Task Manager.
Click the
Processes tab, click the process you want to stop, and then click End Process.
i. At the command prompt, type "net start helpsvc" (without the quotation
marks),
and then press ENTER.
NOTE: The preceding procedure should not negatively affect an OEM-customized
Help
and Support Center. However, it does remove any other .cab files from the
Packstorage
folder, such as the Windows XP support tools (which adds their table of
contents into
the Help and Support Center).
4. If the preceding steps do not resolve the issue, use the Windows XP
CD-ROM to start
your computer, and then run a repair (in-place upgrade) installation.
