Trouble opening attachments

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Mudster

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As title,

I've recently started having problems opening email attachements, PDF's .Doc basically anything.

I've got no viruses.

Old attachments (previous to the last 10 days open fine).

The message I get when I try to open PDF's is:-

There was an error opening this document. The file is damaged and could not be repaired.

when I try to open a .doc file:-

The document name or path is invalid. Try these suggestions.
*Check the file permission for the document or drive
*Use the file open dialog box to locate the file.



Help...I can't open any attachments at all....
 
outlook express.
 
Can you open other .doc and .pdf files which are stored on other places on your computer?
If so try right clicking and doing a "save as" on the target file and then you should be able to open it.
If you get that far then you know it is a problem with Outlook Express rather than your PC
 
Interesting.....old attachments open fine, but not new ones?
Are you opening them directly from Outlook express, or saving them first? Try saving them to a location (e.g. my docs, or create a temp folder) and then open them from there using explorer, just like any other file.
 
I've tried saving them, it makes no difference, old ones open fine clicking directly on them in outlook express or if I save them.

New ones don't open either way, it's odd.

I forwarded a new email with attachment to my laptop via another email address (not my business one) they still won't open on another computer.

Logic tells me they are being corrupted on download, could the scanner (AVG) be corrupting them when it checks them?

It's an odd one.
 
Yep sounds really strange, it does sound as if they are getting damaged whilst being downloaded. Are you using an ISP with a web client so you could try accessing them online through your browser to see if the same thing happens?
 
right I think I've solved it.....just had an email arrive with a PDF and it opened.

There was an MS update recently and I've had a look through the Options tabs.....

click Tools>Options>Security

There was a box checked on there "Do not allow attachments to be saved or opened that could potentially be virus."

I've unchecked that, rebooted the computer and it seems happy now. It seems the update automatically checked this box.
 
good old windows update. Designed to keep you on your toes.
 
Quick thing to check is that they are not 0 byte files. But the point about corruption rings a bell. I don't have outlook express so I can't check this, but it is possible that the attachment type is not being set or detected correctly.
 
Heh, Glad you got it sorted.
 

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