word 2003 help files missing

[klocke]

When I open Word 2003 up and try to get help with like borders on a table the
office assistant comes up with a dialogue box that said unable to find word
2003 help files. Also when i am online and open up word it goes straight to
word online assistance. Can I get my missing word help files back?

 

[Jay Freedman]

When I open Word 2003 up and try to get help with like borders on a table the
office assistant comes up with a dialogue box that said unable to find word
2003 help files. Also when i am online and open up word it goes straight to
word online assistance. Can I get my missing word help files back?

Try clicking the Help menu and selecting "Detect and Repair".

If that doesn't help, go to Start > Settings > Control Panel,
double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon, select Microsoft Office
2003, and click the Change button. When the installer starts, choose
the "Reinstall or Repair" option. On the next screen, choose Reinstall
(the other option, Detect and Repair, is the same as the one on the
Help menu).

In either case, you may need the installation CD to finish the job.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
newsgroup so all may benefit.

 

[klocke]

I did what you said to do and open Start>Settings>Control Panel and choose
Reinstall and Repair. Well another dialogue box has pop-up since
stating-Microsoft Office Word has bot been installed for the current user.
Please run setup to install the application-and now I cannot use the program
at all. I have Windows Xp and my Word 2003 came in Microsoft Office Basic
Edition 2003. I am logged into my computer as the system administrator. Got
any other advice?

 

[Jay Freedman]

Did you see any error messages during the reinstallation? Anything
about not being able to access a registry key? If that happened, look
at http://support.microsoft.com/?id=838687.

If you didn't see any errors until the one you quoted, then the only
thing I can think of is that you aren't really logged in as an
administrator, or the administrator account's permissions have been
altered. Do you have Windows XP Pro or Windows XP Home? If it's Home,
use the Start > Settings > Control Panel > User Accounts dialog to
make sure your account type is "System Administrator" --
unfortunately, Home's user management abilities are severely limited,
and that's about all you can do. If it's Pro, then right-click the My
Computer icon; choose Manage; expand the tree items Computer
Management > System Tools > Local Users and Groups > Users;
double-click your account in the right pane; click the Member Of tab;
and make sure the "Administrators" group is listed.

The article at http://support.microsoft.com/?id=898512 gives a
procedure that may help to fix the failed reinstallation.

If even that doesn't work, first back up all your customizations
(http://www.word.mvps.org/FAQs/General/FilesToBackup.htm) and then use
the Add/Remove Programs to completely uninstall Office, reboot, and
reinstall it. This is definitely a last resort, though.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
newsgroup so all may benefit.