Help and Support not working

  • Thread starter Thread starter Vladimir Gurieff
  • Start date Start date
V

Vladimir Gurieff

I have just upgraded to Windows XP Pro frpm Win2K Pro.

I can't get Help and Support to work. When I run it either from the Start
menu or by pressing F1, I get a very brief hourglass cursor and nothing
else. The service is started. There are no corresponding entries in any of
the event logs. I have searched my disk for a helpctr.log file but none
exists. I am running Norton Firewall and have tried dissabling it but this
made no difference. My whole network is behind a Linux firewall and Proxy
Server. Don't know if this is significant or not, but Setup could not
detect an internet connection. Since XP has been installed, everything else
seems to be working OK. It is registered an all patches have been applied.

I have done some web and newsgroup searches and tried the following fixes
bouncing the service after every attempt theat did not require a reboot.
None of which have had any effect:

- Reinstalled Windows XP Pro

- Place the XP installation CD in the drive.
Go to Start / Run, type in: SFC /SCANNOW and press OK. This
should replace that file and any others that may be missing.

-To reinstall Help and Support: Go to
C:\Windows\inf\pchealth.inf. Right click and choose
install. Have your CD handy.

- Even though I have never had Easy Cleaner installed on my machine, I
have run the following scripts to repair the registry: fixwinxphelp.vbs,
helpsvc.reg, helpsvcrestore.reg

- 1. Insert the Windows XP installation CD into your CD-ROM.
2. Browse to your CD-ROM and change the folder to \I386
3. Copy the following files into a temporary folder on your hard disk:

Winhlp32.cn_
Winhlp32.ex_
Winhlp32.hl_

4. Click Start->Run, type CMD and then press Enter.
5. Change to the temporary folder where you stored the Winhlp32 files.
6. Type the following commands:

EXPAND WINHLP32.CN_ WINHLP32.CNT
EXPAND WINHLP32.EX_ WINHLP32.EXE
EXPAND WINHLP32.HL_ WINHLP32.HLP

7. Copy Winhlp32.exe to your \%SYSTEMROOT%\ folder.
8. Copy the Winhlp32.cnt, and Winhlp32.hlp to the
\%SYSTEMROOT%\Help\folder.
9. Typically this folder is C:\Windows.
10. Delete the contents of your temporary folder.

I am now at a complete loss. Please help.

Regards,
Vlad.
 
If you've run Toni Arts Easy Cleaner on your XP installation, and allowed it to delete what it found in the registry, then your Help and Support will not run. Easy Cleaner deletes the values of 2 necessary Registry keys. See my web site, www.dougknox.com and go to the Windows XP section. Follow the appropriate link for Fix Window XP Help. This small VB Script will repair the damage done by Easy Cleaner. Note: other Registry cleaning programs cause the same problem.
 
Doug,

thanks for your reply and sorry that it has taken me so long to respond
(busy time of year). I understand that as a busy MVP it is hard for you to
give each post the attention it may deserve but I it seems that you read no
more of mine than the subject line.

In my post I went to the trouble of listing 5 different procedures that I
have tried for resolving my problem. The 4th point refered to running 3
different registry repair scripts including your own. None of these
procedures made ANY difference.

Just to be sure, I have just downloaded a fresh copy of yours and re-run it.
I have confirmed that it has indeed created the correct registry entries. I
gave bounced the help and Support service which starts just fine. BUT, the
Help and Support function is still not working, either from the start menu
or F1.

It seems that the problem that I am having is not the common one involving
these missing registry items.

Any assistance from you or anyone else would still be greatly appreciated..

Regards,
Vlad.

P.S. In the mean time I shall post questions regarding the things that I
want to look up in Help.


If you've run Toni Arts Easy Cleaner on your XP installation, and allowed it
to delete what it found in the registry, then your Help and Support will not
run. Easy Cleaner deletes the values of 2 necessary Registry keys. See my
web site, www.dougknox.com and go to the Windows XP section. Follow the
appropriate link for Fix Window XP Help. This small VB Script will repair
the damage done by Easy Cleaner. Note: other Registry cleaning programs
cause the same problem.

--
Doug Knox, MS-MVP Windows XP/ Windows Smart Display
Win 95/98/Me/XP Tweaks and Fixes
http://www.dougknox.com
 
Back
Top