You receive a "Microsoft Word has encountered a problem and needs to close" error message when you try to start Word 2000 (326510)

SYMPTOMS

When you try to start Word, you may receive the following error message:

Microsoft Word has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience.

If the error message is still displayed and you want to see the data that the error report contains, click the click here link at the bottom of the message box. Error signature information appears that may be similar to the following:

   App Name     App Version  Module Name  Module Version  
   -----------------------------------------------------
   winword.exe  9.0.0.3822   mso9.dll     9.0.0.3821

CAUSE

This behavior may occur if either of the following conditions is true:

Word is installed on a Microsoft Windows XP-based computer, and Word is set up to use compatibility options for an earlier Windows operating system.
The default template Normal.dot is corrupted or damaged.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, use one of the following methods, as appropriate for your situation:

Method 1: Remove the Compatibility Mode Setting in Windows XP

Locate and then open the following folder, where drive is the drive on which Word is installed:
drive:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office
Right-click Winword.exe, and then click Properties.
Click the Compatibility tab, click to clear all the check boxes, and then click OK.

Method 2: Create a New Normal.dot File

Follow these steps to temporarily rename the Normal.dot template to determine if it is the cause of the problem:

Close all programs.
Click Start, and then click Search.
Click All files and folders.
In the All or part of the file name box, type Normal.dot.
In the Look In box, click My Computer.
Click Search Now.
For each instance of Normal.dot, right-click the file, click Rename, and then type OldNormal.dot.
Close Search Results, and then start Word.

If Word starts without the error message, the cause of the problem was a corrupted Normal.dot. When Word starts, Word creates a new Normal.dot to replace the renamed file. If you customized your old Normal.dot, you must re-do all the modifications to restore your favorite options.