links broken in w2k help

[Daniel CLEMENT]

Hello,

I am running win2k sp4.

I just noticed that many links (not all) were broken in the main windows
2000 help file. Most of the broken links are "see also", "green" links and
shortcut links (like ones pointing to system folders).

E.g. if I click "see also" from the "taskbar" page, here is what I get:

Internet explorer script error
line 519
car 9 [always so]
error this object does not handle this property or method
code 0 [always so]
url ms-its:C:\WINNT\Help\where_nw.chm::/where_taskbar.htm

I thought IE was damaged, and I installed IE6, but it did not help.

Wonder if it is related to the "html help vulnerability fix" hotfix...

TIA for your help - best regards,

Daniel CLEMENT

 

[Pete Lees]

Daniel,

I am running win2k sp4.

I just noticed that many links (not all) were broken in the main windows
2000 help file. Most of the broken links are "see also", "green" links and
shortcut links (like ones pointing to system folders).

There's a good chance that you have a registry problem: the registry
entries for the HTML Help ActiveX control may be broken. A number of
the security patches and service packs that Microsoft released last
year are known to cause this problem, including the cumulative
security patches for Internet Explorer and SP4 for Windows 2000.

To fix this problem on a machine with Windows 2000 SP4 installed, open
a Command Prompt window and enter the following two commands:

regsvr32 /u <drive>:\winnt\system32\hhctrl.ocx
regsvr32 <drive>:\winnt\system32\hhctrl.ocx

The first command unregisters the ActiveX control; the second
re-registers it, thereby fixing the broken registry entries that are
responsible for the problem.

 

[Daniel CLEMENT]

Thank you for your reply.

Alas, I have now completely lost access to the help files (so I guess I'm
helpless...). I am getting

Impossible to open the file mkMSITStore:C:\Winnt\help\windows.chm

Assuming I would decide to take time reinstall everything, doing things
properly...

- my original w2k is sp2;
- I use money 2002 which requires IE5.5 sp1 (provided on the Money CD),

which hotfixes should I then apply in order to patch security (DCOM...)
without compromising html help?

TIA,

 

[Pete Lees]

Daniel,

Alas, I have now completely lost access to the help files (so I guess I'm
helpless...).

I'd try the following before you do anything else:

1) Delete or rename the file hh.dat, which you should find in this
hidden directory:

\Documents and Settings\%username%\Application Data\Microsoft\HTML
Help

The hh.dat file stores user-specific information on all the HTML Help
files on your system (favourite topics, search history, etc.), and can
cause the files to misbehave if it has somehow been corrupted. Windows
will create a new version of hh.dat when you next open any .chm file.

2) Use MJ's Help Diagnostics
(http://helpware.net/downloads/index.htm#MJs) to check that all the
help viewer components are properly installed and registered. The only
section of the MJ's Help Report that is relevant to your problem is
the one headed "HTML Help Run-time Components".

3) Empty your Temporary Internet Files directory (in Internet
Explorer, Tools > Internet Options > General tab > Delete Files). A
full TIF directory can cause the help files to misbehave.

 

[Daniel CLEMENT]

Pete,

Thanks for the continued support,

I've done 1), 2) and 3) and I'm back to my first problem.

The help files now open without giving me the dreaded mkMSITStore error.
(MJDiags initially reported that itss.dll was not registered [now OK], and
keeps saying that HHworksop and HTML Help 2 are not installed.)

But several links (typically the ones that open system folders, the "see
also" and "green" links) cause an IE script error.

I also noticed that I could not reach Windows Update.

Perhaps all this can be fixed in the end, but I eventually would like to
setup a "clean" config from scratch when I find the time.

I definitely would appreciate to be given a safe route to a proper config,
given that the required programs I wish to install over w2k+sp2 are
- money 2002 (hence IE 5.5 sp1),
- office 2k + sp3
- safety patches, mainly DCOM
(maybe not SP4 which could well have benn the begininng of my troubles...)

I guess there is a "proper order", but which one? I'd rather not have to
choose between security patches and HTML Help.

Daniel