The Normal.dot file is the template Word opens when you start
a new document. This can get modified by opening documents from
other sources or by viruses. You can protect it with a password
so that only you can make changes to it.

To Password Protect the Normal.dot template:

1. Open Microsoft Word.
2. From the Tools menu, select Macro/Visual Basic Editor.
3. In the window labeled Project, click on Normal.
4. From the Tools menu, select Normal Properties, then click
   on the Protection tab.
5. Check the Lock Project for Viewing check box and type in
   a password twice and click OK.
6. From the File menu, select Close and Return to Microsoft
   Word, then close Word.

The next time you start Microsoft Word, the Normal.dot
template will be protected.

Office 2000 can be a real pain to manage without the original
install CD’s or when multiple versions of Office 2000 have been
loaded on the PC. Each time a new feature, plugin, or other
add-on is applied it will prompt for the CD to load new files.
In cases where multiple versions are installed it will sometimes
prompt for the wrong CD. This process will completely remove all
instances of Office 2000 from the computer and allow you to start
fresh with a new install.

Download the Office 2000 Eraser from Microsoft’s website. There
is an eraser for Disc 1 and Disc 2 so grab them both if you have
installed content from Disc 2. I have had best luck going to
www.microsoft.com/downloads
and doing a search for “eraser”.

Run the Office 2000 Eraser(s) and let it delete anything and
everything it can find.

Reboot.

The eraser will miss some content on the first pass, so
run it again and reboot.

Delete the “C:\Program Files\Office” directory – or alternate
location if a custom install was done.

Click Start, Run, and enter Regedit.exe. Delete all entries
that reference Office 2000 under the
HKEY_Local_Machine\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
group. They will be at the top of the list and be a long sting of
characters bracketed by curly braces.

Reboot.

Now you can reinstall Office 2000 if desired. If it doesn’t run
properly, click Start, Run, and enter “X:\setup.exe /FV X:\data1.msi”
where X is the drive letter or path to the installation CD or files.

A favorite tactic at New Age Digital is to create an install folder
right on the user’s hard drive, copy the contents of the Office 2000
CD to the folder and run setup from that location. That way the user
is never prompted for the CD again. Office will grab whatever content
it needs from the hard drive install folder.