Word processing programs keep closing - spoolsv.exe?

[Wayne]

Whenever I try to open Wordpad, MS Works Word Processing,
or MS Word, the program closes with the message "... has
encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry
for the inconvenience."

I am using Windows XP Home Edition. I have done some
troubleshooting and find that whenever I close the
spoolsv.exe process from the Task Manager, I am able to
use the above word processing programs.

Any ideas?