My second crack at it: this may be a Normal.dot template problem.
1. I don't know whether this is necessary, but I close all open documents
before I mess with the Normal.dot.
2. Open Normal.dot. When you select open, you will have to change the file
type from 'Word Document (*.doc)' to 'Document Templates (*.dot).' If you
are not sure where your Normal.dot template is, close the "Open File" dialog
box. Go to Tools, Options, File Locations. The location for User Templates
is what you are looking for. I forget the default location, because I
changed mine so that it would be in a location that backs up every night on
our system. Once you know that, go back to the open dialog box and open
Normal.dot.
3. Once you have opened Normal.dot, then go to the Tools, Options, View and
deselect the white space as you have tried before. Then save and close.
4. Open your other document again. You will probably have to change the
file type in the "Open File" dialog box back to Word Document (*.doc) for
word to locate your documents.
If that doesn't work, then this is a problem beyond me. . .