Help and Support Error Message

1) When I try to access Help and Support from anywhere, I get the following error message: Windows cannot open Help and Support because a service system is not running. To fix this problem, start the service called Help and Support.

2) I went into Administrative Tool>Services and Help and Support is shown as automatic. When I tried to start the service I received the following error message: Could not start the Help and Support service on local computer. Error 1083: the executable program that this service is configured to run in does not implement the service.

Tried several on-line fixes, got Help and Support back into Adminstrative Tools, from which it had disappeared, but not to work.

Thanks.

 

Hi Favorsham,

Please be specific in what you have tried to fix this thusfar.

In the meantime......

http://windowsxp.mvps.org/wscsvcfix.htm

http://windowsxp.mvps.org/helpsvc.htm

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555329

-------------------------------------------------------
Restore or reinstall Help And Support

Evan say's

suferdude2 say's

And I say ditto.....

 

When I attempt to reinstall Help and Support according to instructions above, I can't locate pchdt_p3.cab either on my hard drive or XP CD when req., so the installation won't complete. Any ideas? Thanks.

 

You'll have to help XP find that file. Run the install again and when it asks for the file, click the browse button and point it to X:\I386, substituting your CD-ROM drive letter for the X. The required file should appear on screen although it will be named differently, pchdt_p3.ca_. Select it and click OK. The install should complete and ask you to reboot. Do so and keep fingers crossed.

 

Thank you very much. My Help and Support is now Started and operating in Administrative Tools. However, when I click Start icon for Help and Support I get no error message but it doesn't connect anywhere. ?????

 

Now that the proper files are located where they should be, it may be helpful to go back to the drawing board and review some of Help and support troubleshooting links.

For instance:
http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache...d+support&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us&lr=lang_en

What happens when you type HelpCtr.exe in the startmenu runline and hit enter?

How about a click on the desktop for focus and hitting the F1 keyboard key?

 

Reply to Goddez1

Hi, when I hit F1 or Start Menu Help and Support I get an hourglass that stops almost immediately. When I go to recommended fix @ Ramesh's Windows site, as suggested, the "fix" startmenuhelp.reg can't be downloaded but is a file that I don't know what to do with.

 

Hi Faversham,

To download these files you right click on them and select save or save as. Once downloaded you can view them in notepad as previously described. To merge them into the registry double click on them. A reboot may be required for the change to effect [unsure].

Should the need arise, the above ^ patch is easily reversible. In my opinion, it is a "low to no risk" procedure.

Don't know what a reg patch is:
*Although you can edit the Registry with a Registry Editor, such as windows "regedit ", you can also make changes by using Registry patches.

*A Registry patch is an exported portion of the registry.

*It is text file, with the .REG extension. It is that extension that controls the behavior of the file if double clicked on.

*If you double-click on a .REG file, the patch is applied or merged into the registry, usually after prompting the user "if they are sure ".

*This is a way to share or back up small portions of the registry for use on your own computer, or someone else's.

*It is generally considered a much simpler, convenient and less dangerous method of editing the registry as opposed to manually editing.

*If curious, nervous or wishing to double check what will be effected by using a regpatch, they can be opened in notepad for viewing.

*Once you have determined the patch is safe, using ^the above notepad method, you can apply it to the registry by double clicking on it, or by opening regedit its self and selecting the File>import option from the toolbar and browsing to the *.reg file desired.

*NOTE* However, it is always advisable to backup the registry before making changes. Links to how-tos are provided below:
Create a restore point
http://www.online-tech-tips.com/comp...ckup-registry/

-------------------------
Since you've had a little trouble in understanding how to run the above reference registry patch, does this mean you've also failed to download and run this one? :
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/helpsvc.htm

 

Hi, when I download and open in Notepad, can't find any Merge command. What am I double-clicking? When I doubleclick the downloaded file it opens in Notepad. Help! Thanks.

 

Opening it in notepad is only to check the file out to see what hkeys and settings are being effected. This is just to ease any nervousness or curiosity about what the patch contains.

To merge this into the the registry just double click on the *.reg or open regedit and from the toolbar select file>import from and browse to the *.reg.

To run regedit:
startmenu>runline type regedit

 

Thanks again but we're gonna have to back up a little. When I download the startmenuhelp.reg file it saves to the desktop as a .txt file, which I can only look @ in Notepad when I double-click.

What am I doing wrong?
Stuart

 

Apologize for my obtuseness.

This time I downloaded the .reg file correctly and merged it into Registry. Shut down computer. Same thing -- momentary hourglass for Help and Support, that's all. H/S running in Admin. Tools.

????

 

?????? back at ya'.

Remember to reboot. These changes may require such.

Your files are or should be there due to "reinstall of help and support" only thing I can think of is a registry problem:
Try this one:
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm
scroll to and right click download and merge as before
#235 Restore Help and Support Service

Do you still have the same problem/error when you try to restart the "Help and Support" service in admintools>services?

Does the toolbar help sections work from within other applications?

Do you have another account you can long into to see if the problem is recreated or cured?

 

Ugh -- can only save #235 as text file, not .reg file when downloading. Double-clicking merely puts it into Notepad. Advice? Thanks.

 

Is the file named helpnsupport.reg or helpnsupport.reg.txt?

Download the file using the rightclick "save as" option
Once downloaded make sure it ends with the extension of *.reg

If not it needs to be renamed:
Right click on the downloaded file and:
Rename or remove .txt so the file is named as shown in the bolded text below
helpnsupport.reg

 

Ran http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm -- no change. (Now understand, in my denseness, how to change .txt to .reg -- sorry for inconveniencing you).

What do I do next? If anything. Help and Support runs in Admin. Tool. but can't be opened via F1, Start or anywhere else. Windows Help programs run in ind. programs.

 

Hi,

Well this is frustrating isn't it? You've done almost all I am aware of to fix this, short of a repair install. I haven't suggested this for what I would consider a nuisance problem at the moment. As long as I had net access and help topics worked in apps when needed, I'd live with it and hope some underlining problem that may be connected to this will expose its self in the future.

You may have noticed that I haven't mentioned restore points. The reason behind this is, I have found more reports of that procedure not working with a "Help and Support" malfunction then good results, the same for a repair install for that matter. The choice is ultimately yours but as said, I personally, wouldn't do it for this particular problem alone.

I did find one obscure lone post about a safemode boot and "Help and Support" working while in safemode. This lead to the discovery of third party app compatibility between a Stardock icon thingy and "Help and Support" malfunction. You may wish to give a safemode boot a shot. Please don't be confused and think I mean the problem is specifically with the Stardock thingy. If it is a compatibility problem, it could be with anything you may be using in regular mode. Safemode will either confirm or eliminate this as a possibility. If it works in safemode, additional steps can be taken to pinpoint which process is/are the problem. See:
Help and Support problem

The above is similar to why I suggested you log on as another account user and see if the problem is fixed.

To sum up I need to know what path (the whole path) your pchealth folder is using. Curious why? I did notice that a couple of the regpatches you've applied had an apps path in it pointing to helpcrt.exe location. The path would have to be the same drive letter and sub directory folders your specific windows install is using. For example my path is "C:\WINDOWS\PCHealth\HelpCtr\Binaries\HelpCtr.exe ".

I was half expecting you to come back and report that when clicking on help and support you get an error saying "cannot find helpCtr.exe" or something similar but Checking for the correct path can't hurt.

Your registry should reflect the same path setting that your helpctr.exe is in. This setting in the registry would be found in:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\HELPCTR.EXE]

Fingers crossed for you and good luck. Let me know if any of the above helped.

----------------------
NOTE* I still have a couple more ideas but these really border on the "desperate, I'll try anything" category. I don't think we've quite entered that stage yet..

 

Don't capitulate until you try Dial-A-Fix. It's free.

Download and install it. Run it and click the green arrow on the first screen. Then click the GO button. Allow a few minutes for it to complete - help it along with the time zone thing. After that it'll take a few minutes. Be patient.

When it completes, click on the button with the claw hammer pictured on it. Then scroll the list down to "Reinstall Help and Support Service." Click that and click GO. Be prepared to furnish the XP CD. When it finishes, scroll down to "Reset Help and Support Service" and click it. Click GO and wait until it finishes.

Reboot may be needed. Test for effect and post back your success (we hope).

 

WOW! Dial-A-Fix worked!!!!!
Many thanks to all who spent their time, esp. Ann & surferdude2, helping me on this one.
Stuart

 

Great news indeed!

I wish I could remember all the things this tool can help in repairing. I can't tell you how many times I have read and reread the info file on Dial-a-Fix but it just doesn't stick. I always seem to forget what it can do, darn it.

In any case thanks for the update and I'm happy to see you've found your fix.

Thanks suferdude2 for suggesting Dial-A-Fix. It's always a good thing to end a post resolving the problem. Great suggestion, wonderful tool, happy ending! My hat's off to you.

Your most welcome.