Maybe your computer doesn't have quite enough memory to keep Word open. I'd try to run a defragmentation and a disk cleanup. You will find them under accessories, system tools.

The disk clean up won't take long, but the defrag can take hours, so I would do it when you know you won't be using the puter for awhile.

Also, because the computer must be on to run the defrag, you should disable the screen saver, so it will not interfere with the defrag.

Clear as mud? Hope this helps. It may free up space so Word can work better.

Download and run Crap Cleaner - I use this EVERY time I am ready to shut down for the night - keeps my computer free of all bulk and junk.

Here is a link that might be useful: Crap Cleaner free download

just be sure NOT to use the registry cleaner aspects of CCleaner or any other program. Using CC in default settings is ok. An even safer one is ATF which we use a lot on the help forums.
ATF-Cleaner

your copy of word possibly has become corrupted. you might try to re-install it if you have it. Have you done the updates for it? if not do that also, there have been several service packs issued for that version have you done all of those too?
How to find Office 2000 updates
Word 2000 Solution Center

doing the updates for this is really important since there are some serious vulnerabilities that have been addressed in these updates, patches, and service packs.
This is NOT the same as your regular windows updates for your Operating system these are specific to Word and Office.

Actually that's not unusual in Word 2000. I still suspect a good part of the issues involved are attributable to parity errors but that's my suspicion.

First suggestion is to reboot. That alone solves a myriad of problems. Next is a check of how much space you have on your hard drive. 10 year old software suggests that age on the computer which could mean you're running a comparatively "small" (by today's standards) hard drive. Windows likes to have about 1/3 of the drive free at a minimum to operate efficiently.

Next do a disk cleanup. Empty out the recycle bin, clean out temp files, etc. Ccleaner is a great help for this. I also really like Iobit's Advanced SystemCare and they have a free version. Check your startup to see if you have unnecessary programs starting all the time. Use the startup manager in a program like Advanced SystemCare or Ccleaner for this. Don't just use msconfig.

Next is a disk check and defragment. Do the thorough chkdisk and have it fix errors. This will take some time so enjoy a cup of coffee and a good movie.

Then get the anti-malware and antivirus checkers going, and of course make sure they have the latest definitions.

As mentioned, Windows and Office updates, though they should be all handled through Windows Update.

Before starting the regiment, be sure you back up important data.

Also, especially with that combination I got into the habit of saving *often* and if for instance I was doing a large report, I'd occasionally "save as" a different name, something like "report1", "report2", etc in case of corruption. You might also want to consider getting the current version of OpenOffice. It's free and pretty compatible with Office in many ways. Not 100% but still darn good and depending on what you do with it, could be all you need.

One other thought is whether you have had your computer cleaned out, physically, of dust and had the fans checked. Computers are excellent air cleaners. They'll hold a lot of dust which will interfere with cooling. A CPU running too hot will have a lot of flaky problems. Make sure air flow isn't obstructed.

If you are running an anti-virus program, check its settings. Set it to periodically clean out tracking cookies. Too many tracking cookies running will bog down your computer. For some reason, I pick up a lot tracking cookies on GardenWeb. If you do not want the automatic setting, then manually clean out tracking cookies once in a while. A few cookies may be important. These are cookies that belong to your installed software.

The version of XP may make a difference. XP sp3 (service pack 3) is the only version currently supported by MicroSoft. However, if you do not have XP sp3, get help for updating to sp3. I ran into a mess when I updated from an earlier version of XP. It did not pickup my installed software. That had to be re-installed and I lost my email files. (Luckily, I had backed up all my data files including email to an external drive.)

I went through a lot of pain to get all my stuff operational again, but XP sp3 has proven superior to its older versions.

I'm still using Word 2007. Have some problems starting new documents, even with cut and paste. But hubby is unable to help, both physically and intellectually due to his MS. No that's not Master of Science or MicroSoft, it's Multiple Sclerosis. Anyway, I usually can manage. When I want to write a business letter, I go into word and use an existing document rather than starting a new doc. But that's just me.