OFF2000: Cannot Use Help, or No Results Returned from Search

When you try use Help in any of the Office 2000 programs, either the Help window does not appear, or no results are returned when you search Help.

This problem occurs when the Msohelp.exe file is not registered.

To correct the problem, try the steps in the following sections in the order that they appear, and test Help until the problem is resolved.

Update to the Latest Microsoft HTML Help Files (Microsoft Windows 95/98 and Microsoft Windows NT Only)

NOTE: These steps do not apply to Microsoft Windows 2000 or Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me), because these operating systems already have an updated version of the Microsoft HTML Help Files .

1. Locate the following Microsoft Web site:
   http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms669985.aspx (http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms669985.aspx)
2. ClickDownload Htmlhelp.exe
3. Click Save this program to disk, and then click OK.
4. Double-click the Hhupd.exe program file on your hard disk to start the Setup program.
5. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the installation.

Register the Msohelp.exe File

1. Click Start, click Run, and then type:
   "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\1033\Msohelp.exe" /REGSVR32
2. Click OK.

Run the Internet Explorer 5 Repair Tool

If registering the Msohelp.exe file does not correct the problem, try running the Internet Explorer 5 Repair Tool.

1. In Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs.
2. Click Internet Explorer 5 and Internet Tools and click Add/Remove. This puts you into Maintenance Mode Setup.
3. Click Repair Internet Explorer and click OK.

NOTE: The Internet Explorer 5 Repair Tool is not available in Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition (SE).

Remove and Reinstall Help

If Help still does not work correctly, run the Office Setup program in Maintenance Mode and remove Office.

1. In Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs.
2. Click Office 2000 and click Add/Remove. This puts you into Maintenance Mode Setup.
3. Click Remove Office in the Microsoft Office 2000 Maintenance Mode dialog box.
4. Click Yes to confirm that you want to remove Office.
5. Use Windows Explorer to rename the following four files to completely remove HTML Help.
   
   In Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Me:

      File Name             Location
      ---------             ------------------
   
      Hh.exe                C:\Windows
      Hhctrl.ocx            C:\Windows\System
      Itircl.dll            C:\Windows\System
      Itss.dll              C:\Windows\System 

   In Windows NT 4.0:

      File Name             Location
      ---------             -----------------
      Hh.exe                C:\Winnt
      Hhctrl.ocx            C:\Winnt\System32
      Itircl.dll            C:\Winnt\System32
      Itss.dll              C:\Winnt\System32
   

6. Run Office Setup again to install Office 2000.

Remove the HelpViewer Registry Key

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

If Help still does not appear, delete the following key from the registry:

1. Start Registry Editor (Regedit.exe).
2. Locate the HelpViewer key under the following key in the registry:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Common
   NOTE: The above registry key is one path; it has been wrapped for readability.
3. On the Edit menu, click Delete.
4. Quit Registry Editor.

Quit and restart your Office 2000 programs.

For additional information about related problems with Help, please click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: