Solved Cannot access windows start screen

The other day I was shutting down my laptop when a warning came up saying that I forgot to close a program - Microsoft Word 2003 - and asked if I wanted to continue the shutdown or cancel it. I chose to cancel the shutdown so I could save what I worked on, but now I can't access the start screen: the button won't highlight when the cursor hovers over it, and doesn't respond when I click on it.
What exactly happened and how can I fix it?
P.S. I apologies if I put this in the wrong forum section.

Welcome to Windows EightForums, NarfoOnTheNet.

I don’t know what went wrong, but I’m assuming you haven’t rebooted. Does hitting the Windows key bring it up? If not > On the desktop hit Alt/F4 > Choose reboot to see if that works.

That did it.
Thank you.

You're quite welcome. Glad to be of help.

One of the first things I learned in computing was that if something goes wrong save work if possible, then reboot. If that doesn't cure it then look for a solution. That's not to say you didn't know that.