My computer is frustrating me to no end. This morning I woke up to find that Microsoft Word would not open. Every time I tried to open it, it tried to install Microsoft 2000 over and over and over again. I tried to reboot the computer but it did not work. I tried to restore to an earlier time when the known settings were working, it did not work. I tried to set the computer back to yesterday and it told me nothing had changed.

I tried to talk to HP techs. First they told me to restore, and defrag. I did both. Then they told me something else. Next they told me that I must be mistaken, never had the software and it was a sixty day trial (I've had the computer for two years and I have the disks :-?.)

So I googled and I could not find any information on the problem. I thought uninstalling all of my Microsoft programsL publisher, works, and 2000 would be a GOOD idea. Nope. Now the link beeps at me and tells me Word is not installed. I cannot uninstall anything with the microsoft name because it all tries to load Microsoft 2000.

I can't figure the glitch out at all and it is driving me crazy. I swear my computer is being possessed by Bill Gates.

I am running Windows XP on a Hewlitt Packard computer. I did download INTERNET Explorer 7 on the 19th and on the 27th, I added Family Tree Maker and GenSmart. I have since removed Gensmart because I thought maybe it was the culprit. I had Family Tree Maker 9 for years so I don't think that is messing it up.

Please help. I am a WRITER and a MOM of a little girl in school and we depend on having word there for us. Thank you.Are you sure you are free of viruses and spyware? That is the first place to start.

Is there a listing in Add and Remove Programs in Control Panel to remove Word (or all of Office if that is what you have)? If so remove it totally and reinstall.

If there is no listing there, just try a full reinstall. Sometimes that will help you remove it first. If so,do that. Sometimes the SIMPLEST solution is the best.

Post back your findings. That was the weird thing every time I tried to uninstall any microsoft program from ad/remove it would just try to install microsoft office 2000 ove and over and over again. I finally wound up doing a safe reboot and turning off a bunch of useless junk in the startup file. Then I ran chkdsk and rebooted. That found a ton of errors in win/sys32/igfxrheb.lrc. Whatever the *censored* that is. It fixed them and fixed a bunch of spaces too. That took about an hour. Then I used Microsoft Works Cleanup to completely remove that because that was giving me a fatal error. Reinstalled office, downloaded Works Cleanup and ran that. Rebooted, reinstalled works and all was good.

It took me to 3 in the morning but it was well worth the lack of sleep! And Bill Gates has been excised from my computer once more LOL. Thanks for your help!he'll be back when you update your computer