Word 2000 not responding

All of a sudden, my Word 2000 Pro is not responding. I cannot get a Word document to open--the window opens, but there's nothing there. And when I go to Word to try creating a document, the cursor does not flash and I cannot type anything. I tried a Repair, but it didn't change things. The only thing I've done lately is download and install Google Earth yesterday. Any ideas? Thanks.

 

Reckon I can if there's no easier way.

 

The repair tool didn't help. Do you think that I should remove MS Office and reinstall it from the disk?

 

The most common cause of Word problems seems to be a corrupted normal.dot file. Do a search for it (it's a hidden file) and delete it. Word will create a new one the next time you open it.

 

I have no idea what a normal.dot file is, or how to search for it. Could you please enlighten me? Thanks.

 

I'm a bit emarrassed to report that my problem has been fixed. I'm red-faced because I forgot to try what I call "kicking the tires" solution before posting. Kicking the tires, for me, is shutting down and restarting. When I did that this morning, Word was just fine. Thanks for your help, and I apologize for taking time and space for something I should have handled by myself.