Multiple instances of Helpctr.exe stopping my system

[Guest]

I can find no pattern to what is causing this. I have used system restore, to
no avail. What happens, is that I will see help windows pop up in whatever
program I am running and my system will slow to a crawl. Opening theTask
Manager shows thaat many instances of Helpctr.exe are running, with new ones
spawning all the time. All I can do is power cycle at this point. I have seen
a couple other references to this problem by searching on Google, but no
solutions.

 

[Pennywise]

I can find no pattern to what is causing this. I have used system restore, to
no avail. What happens, is that I will see help windows pop up in whatever
program I am running and my system will slow to a crawl. Opening theTask
Manager shows thaat many instances of Helpctr.exe are running, with new ones
spawning all the time. All I can do is power cycle at this point. I have seen
a couple other references to this problem by searching on Google, but no
solutions.

Download and run Process Explorer http://tinyurl.com/y7wma8
Double click on the helpctr process and read it's image.

I hit F1 and the image shows"
WINDOWS\PCHEALTH\HELPCTR\Binaries\HelpCtr.exe" -FromStartHelp

If that doesn't help, you can always rename HelpCtr.exe to stop it
from loading until you find an answer.

 

[Pennywise]

Thanks for the suggestion. However, if I delete the helpctr.exe file or
rename it, it is immediately recreated by the system. (This happens on any
system, not just the one with the problem. Even if I delete the prefetch
entry, the problem comes back before very long.

What happens, is that sometime (at random) after a program (any program) is
started, the help wilndow will open up on it's own - I don't open it. When
that happens, it is all over but the shouting. Pretty soon I see new
helpctr.exe process being spawned until there are so many I can no longer
control the PC, and have to power cycle it. I have run virus scans, adware
scans, the "silent runners" script, and anything else I could think of.
Nothing ever pops out as a problem. Stopping the "help and support" service
doesn't stop it either. I think I am going to have to reformat and start over
(bummer...) - as soon as I can find my XP CD, that is.

Quit using IE for awhile and see if that might fix it.
Final suggestion

 

[JGO]

Has anyone found a solution to this problem that I maight have missed? I
am having the exact same problem and have had the same luck fixing it.