The Problem:

Word has gotten so flaky it's barely worth using. Sometimes it starts okay but then hangs; sometimes it gives me errors about there being no space on my hard disk or being unable to save a file; and sometimes it produces registration errors on startup. I've tried using Help » Detect and Repair, but it hasn't fixed the problem.

The Solution:

What you need to do is back up all critical Word files and then reinstall Word from the Office CD or from the installation cache on your hard disk.

See the bulleted list in the previous Annoyance (Move Word to Another Computer) for details on the items that you should back up. To reinstall Word, choose Start » Control Panel » Add or Remove Programs, click the Office item, and click the Change button. In the Office Setup Wizard, follow the procedure for reinstalling Office. In Office 2003, choose the Reinstall or Repair option; in Office XP or Office 2000, choose the Repair Office option. You may need to provide your Office CD.

Word 2000 Closes on Startup

The Problem:

When I try to start Word 2000, it just closes, without even an error message. Excel and PowerPoint do the same.

The Solution:

This usually happens only with an Office 2000 installation that has either Service Release 1 (SR-1) or Service Release 1a (SR-1a) installed. The problem is that the installation CD key is faulty. You can tell because the CD key will start with the characters GC6J3. You need to get a valid CD key from your Office reseller or from Microsoft, and then delete the relevant key from the Windows Registry (see http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=255503 for details). After doing so, start Word and enter the valid CD key when prompted for it.