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Windows Forum / Outlook Express / General Topics / March 2008Unable to open attachments
I am having problems opening attachments. This applies to word, excel, powerpoint & windows media files. I am also having trouble viewing pictures embedded in an email, these only partly appear then the rest of the image is grey. I have XP home SP2, ie7 & oe6. I have tried disabling mcafee, but this doesn't help. I have also sent myself an email containing an excel spreadsheet which I can open before sending, but cannot open when the email arrives. Any ideas? What happens when you try to open such attachments? Post any error messages in their entirety. Does all of the behavior you describe persist in a new identity?  Signature~Robear Dyer (PA Bear) MS MVP-Windows (IE, OE, Security, Shell/User) AumHa VSOP & Admin; DTS-L.org > I am having problems opening attachments. This applies to word, excel, > powerpoint & windows media files. I am also having trouble viewing [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > arrives. Any ideas? In word, I get the message "document name or path is not valid" In PPS, I get the message "Powerpoint can't read C:\documents and settings\Glen Herman\Local settings\Temporary Internet files\Content.IE5\LKOU2H53\.... and then the name of the file. In WMV, I get the message " Windows media player cannot paly the file. The player might not support the file type or might not support the codec that was used to compress the file" - the file I have tried to open is a .WMV file All the above apply to more than 1 type of file for each program, so I dont think it is the file I am trying open. As mentioned earlier, I couldn't open a file I sent to myself which was ok when opening from my C: drive beforehand > What happens when you try to open such attachments? Post any error messages > in their entirety. [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > arrives. Any ideas? 1) If you save the attachment (e.g. File, Save Attachments), then double click the saved file, does it open OK? 2) If that doesn't work and open the application, then select the saved file via the File, Open menu in the program, does it work OK? If both # 1 and 2 work, then there may be a problem with your file association where it needs "%1" added to the command line or the quotes added if the %1 is already there. It could also be an issue the file association needing the OPEN action fixed. If #1 fails, but #2 works, then it could be an issue of the file association being the wrong program for the file type. For the above, see the Identifying Attachment File Types and Setting File Associations section of Decoding Internet Attachments - A Tutorial http://pages.prodigy.net/michael_santovec/decode.htm#identify If #2 fails, then there may be a problem with the file. One possibility is that the sender used the break apart option (in OE: Tools, Accounts, Mail, Properties, Advanced) and you didn't get all the parts. Another possibility is your ISP is use Vodafone GPRS or similar compression which corrupts files. See the Problems and Complications section of Decoding Internet Attachments - A Tutorial http://pages.prodigy.net/michael_santovec/decode.htm#problem SignatureMike - http://pages.prodigy.net/michael_santovec/techhelp.htm > In word, I get the message "document name or path is not valid" > In PPS, I get the message "Powerpoint can't read C:\documents and [quoted text clipped - 34 lines] >> > arrives. Any ideas? I tried both #1 & #2, but neither worked. I am using Tiscali broadband as my ISP. I dont believe that the emails I receive are coming from a Vodafone GPRS, as I get the same results if I send myself an email. > 1) If you save the attachment (e.g. File, Save Attachments), then double > click the saved file, does it open OK? [quoted text clipped - 66 lines] > >> > arrives. Any ideas? Vodafone GPRS is a compression method that some ISPs use to give your faster download speeds by throwing away most of the data. I take it that you were able to save the attachment but when you opened the application and then opened the file within the application, the application still said that it wasn't a valid file. In the case of sending the attachment to yourself, make sure that in OE at Tools, Accounts, Mail, Properties, Advanced that Break Apart is NOT checked. In the case of the attachment that you sent to yourself, save the attachment, then right click it and select properties. Note the Size (not size on disk). Compare to the original. The sizes of the sent and received files should be identical. SignatureMike - http://pages.prodigy.net/michael_santovec/techhelp.htm >I tried both #1 & #2, but neither worked. I am using Tiscali broadband >as my [quoted text clipped - 86 lines] >> >> > arrives. Any ideas? michael.. let me add one more bit of information to this. i followed your instructions and went to tools> options> security tab> and in the virus protection section, i took the checkmark out of the box that says "do not allow attachments to be saved or opened that could potentially be a virus". i ok'ed that, and then went back and i find that the attachment is now open, not blanked out, and i can save it. this file i speak of is a .wmv file, a file that i have never had a problem with before, its never been blocked by my outlook before. i went back and put the checkmark back into that box, saved it, and went back to this particular email, and it remains openable and not blanked out. but it still has the winamp icon, even tho i have reset my default player to the wmp. very weird. firstly, michael, why are .wmv files coming to me with the winamp icon even tho i have reset to wmp. secondly, why would outlook recognize a .wmp file as a potentially dangerous file? is it because of my winamp player? i hope you get these replies to this older post, and can respond to them. thanks michael russell > Vodafone GPRS is a compression method that some ISPs use to give your > faster download speeds by throwing away most of the data. [quoted text clipped - 102 lines] > >> >> > arrives. Any ideas? See my reply to your new post as to why some types of attachments are blocked. It depends on whether you've installed XP SP2 and well as your default program for the file type and other file association settings for pre-SP2. The icon also comes from the file associations settings. SignatureMike - http://pages.prodigy.net/michael_santovec/techhelp.htm > michael.. > let me add one more bit of information to this. [quoted text clipped - 161 lines] >> >> >> > arrives. Any ideas? michael. i hope you are still following this post. i am having the same trouble with attachements as mentioned in this original post. but i read your options to see what might be wrong, and i find that your #2 option is helpful to me. im referring to an attachment that came to me, (others as well) with the winamp logo, but it is blanked out, as is the "save attachment" link, when i open the paper clip on the email. (i recently downloaded winamp and made it my default media player, but have reset wmp as my default) but, as you advise in your reply to this person issue, i can go up to file, and save the attachment that way. and i can see, by doing that, that this particular file is a .wmv file. so, i can save it to my desktop...it saves as a .wmv file with same icon....and i can easily open it and play it thru my windows media player. but from there i do not know how to set my outlook back so that these wmv attachments stop coming to me with the winamp logo....they are not sent that way to start off with. i know this because i asked the sender. so i assume my computer, or my outlook, is still being told that i want my media files to open with winamp. is that correct? how do i repair this, can you help me please? thank you michael. russell > 1) If you save the attachment (e.g. File, Save Attachments), then double > click the saved file, does it open OK? [quoted text clipped - 66 lines] > >> > arrives. Any ideas? For the problem opening PPS attachements, see http://windowsxp.mvps.org/ppsopen.htm For the WMV attachment: Is it only one WMV file or all WMV files? What version of Windows Media Player (WMP) is installed? If you save the WMV file to your hard-drive, can you open it (in WMP)? > My wife has her own identity on the computer, but she is having the same > problems Stand to reason. >>> ...I have also sent myself an email containing an excel >>> spreadsheet which I can open before sending, but cannot open when the >>> email arrives. Did you send the message using MS Outlook (not Outlook Express) and RichText or HTML formatting? Signature~Robear Dyer (PA Bear) MS MVP-Windows (IE, OE, Security, Shell/User) AumHa VSOP & Admin; DTS-L.org > In word, I get the message "document name or path is not valid" > In PPS, I get the message "Powerpoint can't read C:\documents and [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > a file I sent to myself which was ok when opening from my C: drive > beforehand <paste> > My wife has her own identity on the computer, but she is having the same > problems </paste> >> What happens when you try to open such attachments? Post any error >> messages in their entirety. [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] >>> arrives. Any ideas? I have tried the link below, but this does not resolve the problem. If I save a file to my hard drive, I am still unable to open that file. I can't open WMV files sent via email recently but I can open WMV files that have been sent to me from a month ago, but if i forward that file to myself now, I am unable to open it. I am using window media player 11. I also only use outlook express. Do you think it is a problem with my ISP? I am using Tiscali broadband at present. > For the problem opening PPS attachements, see > http://windowsxp.mvps.org/ppsopen.htm [quoted text clipped - 54 lines] > >>> arrives. Any ideas? > I have tried the link below, but this does not resolve the problem. If I > save a file to my hard drive, I am still unable to open that file. Is MS PowerPoint installed (as part of MS Office) or is PowerPoint viewer installed? Do you see the same behavior with WMV files if you uninstall WMP11 and return to WMP10? Is you anti-virus application configured to scan incoming/outgoing mail? Signature~Robear Dyer (PA Bear) MS MVP-Windows (IE, OE, Security, Shell/User) AumHa VSOP & Admin; DTS-L.org > I have tried the link below, but this does not resolve the problem. If I > save a file to my hard drive, I am still unable to open that file. I can't [quoted text clipped - 72 lines] >>>>> arrives. Any ideas? I think you have solved it - My anti-virus application is configured to scan incoming/outgoing mail, so I have switched it off & am now able to open attachments. I will now contact Mcafee to see if they can resolve it as I dont want to leave the my computer vunerable. Many thanks for your help > > I have tried the link below, but this does not resolve the problem. If I > > save a file to my hard drive, I am still unable to open that file. [quoted text clipped - 82 lines] > >>>>> arrives. Any ideas? Disable email scanning by your anti-virus application. It provides no additional protection and even Symantec says it's not necessary: <paste> Disabling Email Scanning does not leave you unprotected against viruses that are distributed as email attachments. Norton AntiVirus Auto-Protect scans incoming files as they are saved to your hard drive, including email and email attachments. Email Scanning is just another layer on top of this. To make sure that Auto-Protect is providing the maximum protection, keep Auto-Protect enabled and run LiveUpdate regularly to ensure that you have the most recent virus definitions. </paste> http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/nav.nsf/docid/2002111812533106 Signature~Robear Dyer (PA Bear) MS MVP-Windows (IE, OE, Security, Shell/User) AumHa VSOP & Admin; DTS-L.org > I think you have solved it - My anti-virus application is configured to > scan [quoted text clipped - 106 lines] >>>>>>> arrives. Any ideas? I don't know which version of McAfee entirely you are using, but I would be reluctant to connect to the Internet without active AV protection. I have two computers, one of which is running VirusScan 2006 (v.10) and the other VirusScan 2007. Both versions of VirusScan have been configured to scan inbound email messages and attachments - with no ill effects whatsoever. You don't need to scan outgoing emails. However, the worm-stopper is a very useful tool, which warned me, when my computer became infected with a previously unreported mailing worm. Pending the regular dat release, McAfee issued an extra.dat which cleaned the infection.) Have you run a full system scan for viruses? Also, have you tried uninstalling and then reinstalling McAfee? Otherwise, contact McAfee to see whether any other users have encountered similar problems, when opening and/or saving attachments. >I think you have solved it - My anti-virus application is configured >to scan [quoted text clipped - 124 lines] >> >>>>> arrives. Any ideas? Who said anything about entirely disabling the AV? In the past decade or so, we've learned that email scanning is a major source of OE problems /and/ loss of messages. It provides no additional protection and even Symantec says it's not necessary: <paste> Disabling Email Scanning does not leave you unprotected against viruses that are distributed as email attachments. Norton AntiVirus Auto-Protect scans incoming files as they are saved to your hard drive, including email and email attachments. Email Scanning is just another layer on top of this. To make sure that Auto-Protect is providing the maximum protection, keep Auto-Protect enabled and run LiveUpdate regularly to ensure that you have the most recent virus definitions. </paste> http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/nav.nsf/docid/2002111812533106 Chances are that VirusScan's email scanning /will/ bite you at some point, Bob. Signature~Robear Dyer (PA Bear) MS MVP-Windows (IE, OE, Security, Shell/User) AumHa VSOP & Admin; DTS-L.org > I don't know which version of McAfee entirely you are using, but I > would be reluctant to connect to the Internet without active AV [quoted text clipped - 149 lines] >>>>>>>> arrives. Any ideas? The previous posting said: My anti-virus application is configured to scan incoming/outgoing mail, so I have switched it off. I interpreted the words "I have switched it off", as meaning he had switched off McAfee VirusScan entirely. I apologise, if that interpretation was incorrect. However, I stand by the comment that I would be reluctant to connect to the Internet without active AV protection. > Who said anything about entirely disabling the AV? > [quoted text clipped - 169 lines] >>>>>>>>> arrives. Any ideas? > However, I stand by the comment that I would be reluctant to connect to > the Internet without active AV protection. I would, too. See my previous reply. You're not disabling VirusScan's real-time protection, simply the email scanning module, so the machine remains protected should you open an "infected" HTML message or an attachment to it. Signature~Robear Dyer (PA Bear) MS MVP-Windows (IE, OE, Security, Shell/User) AumHa VSOP & Admin; DTS-L.org > The previous posting said: > [quoted text clipped - 186 lines] >>>>>>>>>> arrives. Any ideas? hey bear. morning.... they seem to be regular .wmv attachments. this was the only one i saved and was able to see the properties on, see that it was a .wmv. (i didnt even think of trying to save it from "file" till i read a reply in this post. but i think that the attachments i have been getting that are blanked out are .wmv's. i have wmp 11 installed. i was able to save it from "file", and play it. it was a film clip of an iraqi car bomb going off overseas. youve probably seen it, its making the rounds. but i do know that my outlook express is recognizing it as a possible security risk, or virus, because i went into my outlooks settings and took the checkmark out of tolls>options>security tab>virus protection zone> where it says "do not allow attachments to be saved or opened that could potentially be a virus"....and after i removed that checkmark, the attachments un-blanked themselves and i could open them, or it, and save it. i put the checkmark back in and ok'ed it, went into my SET PROGRAM DEFAULTS and reset my media player back to wmp. (remember, these blanked out attachments all had the little winamp logo on them, the player i had recently downloaded and set as default. then, i mailed myself the very same .wmv, and another that i had saved to my videos, and they came to me openable and unblanked. i am not sure this has been fixed tho. im waiting for another email to be sent to me with the attachment blanked out. so far, i have not received one. what do you think? do you think that was the problem? that i had winamp set as my default media player and outlook was having issues with that in some way? thanks bear russell > For the problem opening PPS attachements, see > http://windowsxp.mvps.org/ppsopen.htm [quoted text clipped - 54 lines] > >>> arrives. Any ideas? I was replying to Glen, not you. > hey bear. morning.... > [quoted text clipped - 106 lines] >>>>> arrives. Any ideas? " I was replying to Glen, not you." Yeah, Glen, but I was asking YOU!. Pretty rude, dude, your brief "get out of my conversation" sentence. Charming. And, thanks for the help, "Bear"... > I was replying to Glen, not you. > [quoted text clipped - 108 lines] > >>>>> arrives. Any ideas? Glen is running OE6 in WinXP SP2 with IE7 and McAfee software installed. As you might not be running in the same environment, you should begin a new thread about /your/ issues and specific environment, please. > " I was replying to Glen, not you." > [quoted text clipped - 129 lines] >>>>>>> arrives. Any ideas? didnt mean to come on so strong, bear. but actually i am configured exactly the way that glen is, and that is why i searched out and found this particular post, and jumped into the fray..so to speak. so, sorry if i stuck my mouse in where it didnt belong. i kinda thought thats the way these forums worked. actually, i did have another thread going, regarding the same problem, and i got the help i needed there, from another mvp who was right on with his assesment of my problem, and gave me a fix thanks bear. sorry for the hostility in the previous reply. russ > Glen is running OE6 in WinXP SP2 with IE7 and McAfee software installed. As > you might not be running in the same environment, you should begin a new [quoted text clipped - 133 lines] > >>>>>>> arrives. Any ideas? I thought so. Yet another reason not to make <Me, too!> posts in others' threads. <snip> > actually, i did have another thread going, regarding the same problem, and > i [quoted text clipped - 148 lines] >>>>>>>>> arrives. Any ideas? wow. iyour like my wife...everytime i admit i was wrong, and appologize, she uses holds it against me, rubs it in my chest, and makes me angry for even trying to be civil. as far as "you too" posts, i think there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with finding the help we need in someone elses post. if someone else has already entered and posted, and is getting help from a post with the same problem i am having, isnt it better for me to get my help there instead of asking the same question in another, or even the same, message area? "i thought so", you replied. its that "i know everything" attitude that makes these forums so difficult to find a freindly person who enjoys helping others. i think youve "helped" too many people, mr bear. your becoming jaded and it shows in your post side manner. thanks for your input on forum etiquette. i learned alot, mr bear. rlm > I thought so. Yet another reason not to make <Me, too!> posts in others' > threads. [quoted text clipped - 152 lines] > >>>>>>>>> arrives. Any ideas? Or maybe your missus is really trying to help you learn from your mistakes because she doesn't like how PO'ed you get when you make them? > wow. iyour like my wife...everytime i admit i was wrong, and appologize, > she [quoted text clipped - 196 lines] >>>>>>>>>>> arrives. Any ideas? lol. well, i dont make any mistakes bear. i learn from hers. and yours. hehe r > Or maybe your missus is really trying to help you learn from your mistakes > because she doesn't like how PO'ed you get when you make them? [quoted text clipped - 199 lines] > >>>>>>>>>>> arrives. Any ideas? My wife has her own identity on the computer, but she is having the same problems > What happens when you try to open such attachments? Post any error messages > in their entirety. [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > arrives. Any ideas? The image problem is typical if the sender broke apart large messages (in OE this is at Tools, Accounts, Mail, Properties, Advanced) and you only got the first part. It's possible the additional parts trapped by spam filters on your mail service or your PC. Also see the Problems and Complications section of Decoding Internet Attachments - A Tutorial http://pages.prodigy.net/michael_santovec/decode.htm#problem SignatureMike - http://pages.prodigy.net/michael_santovec/techhelp.htm >I am having problems opening attachments. This applies to word, excel, > powerpoint & windows media files. I am also having trouble viewing [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > arrives. Any ideas? |
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