OK...here are answers.

1. Don't remember when I used Help & Support. It was a long, long time ago--at least 2 months.
2. Ran MSCONFIG...Services. All were checked.
3. Ran a virus scan. Nothing found.
4. Spyware. l ran Lavasoft Ad-Aware. Found registry entries for W32.Blaster.Worm and W32.Blaster.a.worm and 38 tracking cookies. I deleted them all.
5. I got the computer from a local dealer now out of business. It has no brand name that I can find. It has a Intel P4 processor, 1.7 ghz. The current motherboard (it was just replaced) was manufactured by AOpen.com and the mobo's model # is MX46-533V.

Tried clicking on Help and Support from 'Start'. That window just disappeared as before. That was all.

Note: Since I wrote you my long letter I restored back to a later Restore Point since I needed some programs in that later restore. In this (the current) Restore Point I did determine that in Services, Help and Support was there and was started and set to Automatic.

Could it be that the bunch of XP KB files and Service Pack 1, installed on May 8, somehow got corrupted during install and that could be the problem? Remember, I only went back to the 10th. of May as that was the Restore Point just before the last update (on the 11th.)