How to Fix Problems with Windows Help

Recently I had a customer call me about errors she was receiving when she tried to access Windows Help. For
instance, in Internet Explorer she would click on Help, Contents and Index. When she clicked on the Index tab, the computer would show a windows error related to itircl.dll and lock up.

Emptying the temporary internet files, deleting the hh.dat file that stores user-specific settings for all the HTML Help, and other possible fixes did not solve the problem and I was left with no solution until I stumbled upon a resource for HTML Help page errors.

Follow the steps below to diagnose and fix many errors involving Windows Help and its components.
Mj's HTML Help Diagnostics

1) Click on the link below to visit MJ's HTML Help Diagnostics page at
http://helpware.net/htmlhelp/hh_diags.htm
2) Download MJ's Help Diagnostics program at the link below and run it
http://helpware.net/downloads/#MJs

This utility reports if all the HTML Help runtime DLLs are installed and registered correctly. If a DLL is not registered then it will ask if you want to register it. It also checks the RoboHelp DLL and MS Help 2 DLLs.

3) When the program is open, click on the MJ's Diagnostics link on the left column and then click on Generate Diagnostic's Report button. Be sure to click the checkbox to "refresh registration of all HH 1.X DLLs".

4) Examining the report should show all DLLs as found and registered ok. The important information will be listed under the heading for HTML Help Run-time Components.

5) Restart your computer and try to open Windows Help again.

Everything should be back to normal.