Error "'xmldoc.documentElement' is null or not an object " in most of the Help and Support pages
Published: June 17, 2005Send your feedback
Symptom
When you open a page in Help and Support Center, the following error may appear.
'xmldoc.documentElement' is null or not an object
For example, accessing the Help Topics such as What's new in Windows XP or Change your password may return the above error.
Solution
The error suggests that one of the variables used in the Javascript returns null data, usually occurs when parsing an XML document.
In most cases, clearing the Temporary Internet Files and the TEMP folder should fix the problem.
Clear the Temporary Internet Files
- Close all Internet Explorer windows
- Type INETCPL.CPL in Start, Run dialog
- Click the Delete Files button
- Select Delete all offline content and click OK
- Click OK to close the dialog
Clear the contents of the TEMP folder
- Type %TEMP% in Start, Run dialog
- Select all files in the Temp folder and delete them
Some files in the TEMP folder may be in use. If so, ignore the error and continue deleting the remaining files in that folder.
Note: The above procedure may not help if you're receiving another error (such as ActiveX component cannot create object )
