i wrote these instructions, responding on another list a few years ago. here's what you can do. In Windows XP:Windows Explorer: Go to C: then hit d for Documents and Settings; open it with right-arrow; look for your computer user name, and expand the folder with right-arrow: Application Data, expand; down to Microsoft, expand; down to templates, and then tab into the list view. At that point, if you hit the letter n you will highlight "normal.dot", or hit n until you do. Then, delete that file. Word creates a fresh normal.dot the next time you open
it. (Follow the precise file path, or you won't get there.)