Go to start > run and type winword /a
Note the space between winword and the forward slash
then press enter.
This starts up Word out of the box, vanilla, without any add ins or custom
templates.
If word allows you to type there, then the basic installation is probably OK.
Next try renaming your normal.dot. Do a search on your C drive for the file
(it is probably in documents and settings under your username).
Rename the file (right click and choose rename and change the .dot bit to
your initials).
Restart Word. If it starts up ok then the problem was your normal.dot.
If you still have problems, then go look at the templates in your startup
folder. C:\program files\microsoft office\office xx\startup. Cut them one by
and save them in a temp folder and restart Word each time you remove one (you
can't just rename them as sometimes Word will still try to load them).
Eventually you might find the one causing the problem.
Good luck
Genine
