[berklee100]

this reply is the most salient and cogent i have received so far. unfortunately after doing some research i have found that i have no macro's! so it is safe to assume it is not a macro virus. my fault. there must be a workaround to this problem. i have followed every step i thought would clear up this problem. they are as follows.

a: tried to rename normal.dot. no go.
b:downloaded word 2002 support template utility for renaming normal . dot .replied w/ path not found (could be in wrong location).working on it. (help on this would be appreciated, this might work).
c: uninstalled office xp then reinstalled. didn't work.
d: am having problems now with installing sp2 for office. aborts in the middle saying install was unsuccesful. mind you, sp2 is on my machine just wont install. i have additional updates that are neede for office that i can't get to until sp2 is installed. never had this problem before.

with you guys help i am sure i will get this problem fixed. keep your ideas coming!