XP "Help and Support" feature not working

[ejmeier]

From the Start menu, when I click on the link that says "Help and Support"
nothing happens. It's as if I've not clicked anything at all. Also, in MS
Word, or other programs, the help feature doesn't work either. A help box
pops up, but is completely blank, and nothing loads.

I'm not 100% sure, but I think it might be related to the new version of
Java that was just released and updated/installed automatically on my
computer. That's the only new thing I can think of that's changed. I tried
uninstalling it and then reinstalling it, with no change. I then tried
uninstalling it and then reinstalling a few older versions, but none of them
worked either.

I also get the message on certain programs: "unable to create the Java
Virtual Machine." I'm guessing/hoping that this is related to the
Help/Support feature not working on Windows XP.

 

[Leonard Grey]

http://windowsxp.mvps.org/startmenuhelp.htm

 

[ejmeier]

Thanks for the link, but that wasn't the problem. I can go to the folder
where helpctr.exe is located, and even if I click on it directly, nothing
happens.

Does anyone know what could be causing this problem, which happens both with
helpcenter, and also with all other help features in various MS programs?

 

[Gerry]

ejmeier

Have a look in the System and Application logs in Event Viewer for
Errors and Warnings and post copies here. Don't post any more than 48
hours ago.

You can access Event Viewer by selecting Start, Control Panel,
Administrative Tools, and Event Viewer. When researching the meaning
of the error, information regarding Event ID, Source and Description
are important.

HOW TO: View and Manage Event Logs in Event Viewer in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308427/en-us

A tip for posting copies of Error Reports! Run Event Viewer and double
click on the error you want to copy. In the window, which appears is a
button resembling two pages. Click the button and close Event
Viewer.Now start your message (email) and do a paste into the body of
the message. Make sure this is the first paste after exiting from
Event Viewer.


--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[WTC]

From the Start menu, when I click on the link that says "Help and
Support" nothing happens. It's as if I've not clicked anything at
all. Also, in MS Word, or other programs, the help feature doesn't
work either. A help box pops up, but is completely blank, and nothing
loads.

Hi ejmeier,

Take a look at the following article. Does it help? Is Word's Help
working after repairing Help and Support?

Reinstalling Help and Support Center in Windows XP
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/rebuildhelp.htm

[Courtesy of Ramesh Srinivasan, MVP]