Cannot open Help in XP or in Office 2000

[Tony R]

If I click on Start and go to Help and Support and click there, the hourglass
appears briefly and disappears. If I go to Task Manager, nothing is running.
If I open any app in Office 2000 and click on Help, a small window opens top
left of screen and remains open but it is empty - it looks as though it is
trying to show content but nothing is there.
I have reviewed MS websites and knowledge base and have applied a registry
update I found in this forum. I have re-installed Office 2000 but no change.
I used to have Norton but un-installed it and now run a free AV from Grisoft.
Machine has never been re-built due to trojans or the like - it has been
very reliable so I don't have any idea where to turn next. I feel it is
probably a simple fix but can find nothing on the web that fits.
If anyone has a suggestion, I would be grateful.
Thank you
Tony

 

[Andrew E.]

Try creating a new user account,restart pc,open in new.If all works ok,
the old account is corrupted,delete it.

 

[Tony R]

Sorry to take so long to respond to your kind suggestion - I had difficulty
signing back in !!
I did add a new user with full privileges on the machine and attempted to
open Help and Support from the Start menu. Once again, the hourglass appeared
briefly and then nothing. No program was listed in Task Manager as running. I
then opened Office and opened Access. The little assistant opened but there
were no topics available to read or search. This also happened in Word. Do
you have any suggestions what I might try next?
Thx