First, before thinking about re-installing word there are two things to try.
Every time Word is loaded it lo0ks for a file called “normal.dot”. Normal.dot is the file that creates a blank document each time word is loaded and it will load even if you are not going to create a new blank word document when using the program.
To Rename normal.dot
1) In Windows Xp type in the search field “normal.dot”
2) When this file is found right click on the normal.dot and rename it to normal1.dot
if more than one instance of normal.dot is found rename each one normal1.dot,normal2.dot etc..
3) Now relaunch Word and if the problem does not fix go to the next step below.
(Windows will search for the new normal.dot file and if not found will create a new file)
STEP 2
1) If word is open, close word and find the start up folder, or it can be located here: C:\program files\Microsoft\Office\Word\Startup.
2) Word will be labeled “Startup” and excel will be labeled “Xlstart”. Check the Startup folder to make sure there are no files that were created by yourself or someone else as that could cause a problem.
3) Relaunch Word to see if that works.
4) If that fails proceed to STEP 3
STEP 3 (this step is for more experienced users)
1) If Microsft Word is opened close the program
2) Go to Run under the start menu and type “regedit”
3) Look for the folders if you have the following programs:
For Word 97:
hkey_current_user\software\microsoft\office\8.0\word
For Word 2000:
hkey_current_user\software\microsoft\office\9.0\word
For Word XP:
hkey_current_user\software\microsoft\office\10.0\word
4) After finding the correct version from above, right click the Word folder, click Rename and rename it to OldWord.
5) Press the Enter key and then exit the Registry Editor and then relaunch Word.
Final Step
1) If all other steps fail, remove windows from the uninstall programs option and re-install the program.
For more information on troubleshooting Microsoft Word try this link:
