I'm a PC Repair Tech working for the second time on this Dell Inspiron 6000 Laptop with this problem that never ends. I really hope someone has encountered this problem. I've tried several attempts to repair this problem with no success. So here it is. Help & Support pops up and not just one time, it will continue on up to and beyond 100 boxes. Sounds like malware but NO it is not, and I have already used the recovery console to reinstall windows and it still happens. I have reinstalled Help & Support and have tried everything related to Help & Support from Kelly's XP Tweaks and Trick's and countless other ulilities. I've tried to narrow down when it happens but it's not predictable. I thought it may be the hard drive getting too hot, but no, still happens when cool, and also ran extensive scans of the hard drive. It happens after coming out of stand by mode so I changed those settings, doesn't matter, still does it. I should also mention that when it "acts up" so to speak, it also pulls up every help window from every program opened including internet explorer. It's also not constant, sometimes it renders the laptop useless, not letting me even type and other times it acts like there's no problem at all. Let me also mention that it is completely up to date with windows updates and SP3. This is very strange and puzzling. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

is the f1 key broken?

Funny you should mention that, some of these keys including F1 is sticky (something apparently spilled on it some time ago I was told). If you really think that could be causing these problems, can you explain more about this? The F1 key is not stuck down that I can see or feel, it still presses down and pops back up. Can it really be the cause?

if the f1 key is shorting out or damaged in such a way that it sends the signal that it is being held down or pushed, then help will start up, its universal shortcut key for help...

Thanks so much, you may have saved my sanity. I ordered a new keyboard, praying this is the culprit that has caused me so much aggrivation.