Can not open attachments in Windows Mail

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

MS isn't about to point the fickle finger at longtime "security partners,"
Gary. That's our job! <wink>

[Somewhere in my unwieldy, 8+ year old Favorites is a link to a KB article
that finally fingered email scanning as a troublemaker in MS Mail Clients.
I was struck dumb when I first saw it. Methinks it may have been pulled,
most likely for "political" reasons. I'm pretty sure it was issued shortly
after Vista went RTM but I'll be d****ed if I can find it now.]

I just wish Microsoft would get interested enough in this problem
to do some vigorous and definitive testing, followed by a
suitable Knowledge Base article describing the appropriate fix.

<snip>

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

First of all, Defender is not an anti-virus application, it's an
anti-spyware application.

Second, I have no idea why Defender's real-time protection doesn't interfere
when installing an IE upgrade or Windows Service Pack. I just know that
it's doesn't based on user feedback in newsgroups and my own testing.

Then tell me why it's OK to leave Defender on
and risky to not turn other AV software off.

I'm not bashing Microsoft but they full well know who
the major players are in the AV world and need to
take this into consideration instead of just using Defender
as a baseline to perform a suite of tests prior to Patch Tuesday
or other updates.

Wrong.

"Windows Defender is the one anti-spyware
application you do not need to disable prior to installing
or uninstalling IE8 (and IE9, when it's released)."

That's because Microsoft does not have a vigorous
"Integration Testing" plan!


[crosspost to IE General & Windows Update newsgroups]

I'd have to question the veracity of such claims myself; e.g., Did they
do
a clean install or a Repair Install? Did they install SP1 or SP2 *and*
IE8 during the same session? Did they use the OEM CDs that came with
their computer or the hidden Recovery partition to reinstall Vista,
both
of which would have reinstalled the free-trial AV app or security suite
that came preinstalled when they bought it?

We learned this the hard way back when IE6 SP1 was "pushed" to Win9.x
machines via Windows Update. Thousands of users ended up with a horked
install because they'd failed to disable their anti-virus application.
(There weren't any anti-spyware apps back then! <wink>) cf.
http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion/msg/fadd6a73c471dd7f
&ff

We re-learned this the hard way when IE7 was released to WinXP in
Oct-06.
See Sandi's IE7 Installation Tips page:
http://www.ie-vista.com/known_issues.html#pre-install (ignore any
references to Vista).

There's not a doubt in my mind that we'll have to re-learn this again
when
IE9 is released.

Now, I'm NOT saying that all anti-virus and/or anti-spyware
applications
and/or third-party firewalls cause such troubles when installing an IE
upgrade but IMHO you're better off being overly-cautious than not
cautious
enough when it comes to installing an IE upgrade *and* a Windows
Service
Pack.

NB: As I've frequently posted in these newsgroups, Windows Defender is
the
one anti-spyware application you do not need to disable prior to
installing or uninstalling IE8 (and IE9, when it's released).

IMHO you're doing your OPs a disservice by placing the blame solely on
IE8. The vast majority of Windows users who had disabled these
real-time
protections before installing IE8 have not encountered any issues with
opening attachments in any Mail Client (i.e., Windows Mail; Windows
Live
Mail; Outlook Express; Thunderbird; and MSN Mail).
--
~Robear


Gary VanderMolen wrote:
I disagree. I've had several people tell me that they did fresh
Vista installs, and with *no* third party security software installed,
yet as soon as they installed IE8 the problem with attachments began.

Gary, with all due respect, IE8 is NOT the culprit here. Installing
IE8
without having first disabled all real-time "system protections"
(e.g.,
anti-virus; anti-spware; third-party firewall) is.
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Client - since 2002

Gary VanderMolen wrote:
Thanks for that confirmation regarding IE8 being the culprit.


Gary VanderMolen schrieb:

The error message is classic for the IE8 issue.

Exactly!!
And no AntiVirus issues involved.

Rainald



WinMail: Tools | Options | Security | Block images... <=if you
disable/uncheck this option, does the behavior persist?

Have you installed IE8?

What anti-virus application or security suite is installed, is
your
subscription current, and is it supported in IE8? What
anti-spyware
applications (other than Defender)? What third-party firewall (if
any)? Were any of these applications running in the background
when
you installed IE8?

Has a Norton or McAfee application ever been installed on this
machine (e.g., a free-trial version that came preinstalled when
you
bought it)?

Do you have an available Restore Point which predates the install
of
IE8? <=Just asking for now!!
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Client - since 2002

Peter wrote:
Recently I can not open attachments in Windows Mail. I'll get
the
message C:\Windows\System32\xxx.xls or xxx.doc can not be found
How can I solve this problem, in the past I did not have this
problem....- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I can confirm for the second time that the occurrence of this bug on
my systems is not connected to security software. When I first
installed IE8 on my old Vista x64 system, I deactivated my antivirus
software first (Avast) as I normally do with any significant
software
installation. As many others have reported, I also had the on again
off again intermittent Vista email problem when opening JPG
attachments.

Recently, I finished doing a clean install of Vista x64 SP1 on a
new
system. I then applied all the outstanding Vista updates via windows
update (except SP2). At this point I was still using IE7 and had no
Vista email attachment problems. Yesterday I upgraded to IE8 and
bingo
the problem has returned. Please note that I have NOT installed any
security software yet. Windows Defender is the only thing running on
my system at this time.

 

[Gary VanderMolen]

<< In many instances, uninstalling IE8 has not corrected the problem >>

Sorry, I can't agree with that statement. In my experience, most of the
instances where the characteristic attachment error message appears,
the matter has been resolved by uninstalling IE8.
In the Vista Windows Mail newsgroup, as far as I can recall, only *one*
individual reported back that reverting to IE7 did not cure the problem.

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

You should hang out in WU and IE General more often. <wink>

 

[Gary VanderMolen]

I can just barely keep up with the Windows Mail and Windows Live Mail
newsgroups as it is. Regrettably, I can't spread myself any thinner.

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

Oh, I hear you, brother, believe me! Come July awards cycle, I think you'll
have some more help. <wink>

[I regularly monitor 15+ public newsgroups & I'm an Admin & Moderator at
http://aumha.net.]

 

[Steve Hebert]

Gary, I added some info to your report on connect from another message in
this ng (in case you haven't seen the other ng thread lately)

--
Steve


<< In many instances, uninstalling IE8 has not corrected the problem >>

Sorry, I can't agree with that statement. In my experience, most of the
instances where the characteristic attachment error message appears,
the matter has been resolved by uninstalling IE8.
In the Vista Windows Mail newsgroup, as far as I can recall, only *one*
individual reported back that reverting to IE7 did not cure the problem.

 

[Gary VanderMolen]

Was that the workaround comment regarding changing the shortcut
for opening Windows Mail? I had already covered that scenario
in my cover page comment of May 25th which acknowledged it with
the caveat that it did not fix JPG and TXT attachments.

I also just added the comment:
It has been suggested that this problem occurs only when the user
installs IE8 without first disabling his antivirus program. That can't
be the only cause because several users experienced the problem on
computers where Vista had recently been installed and no antivirus
or other third party security program had yet been installed.

 

[Steve Hebert]

From my two confirmed successes with this problem, opening WM from the
Start, Programs, Windows Mail link, resolved the problem (for reasons that I
don't yet understand). After doing that once, opening WM from the normal
shortcuts also works correctly. My tests include, jpg, pps, txt, pdf, and
doc attachments - all of which previously would not load on the problem
systems.



--
Steve


Was that the workaround comment regarding changing the shortcut
for opening Windows Mail? I had already covered that scenario
in my cover page comment of May 25th which acknowledged it with
the caveat that it did not fix JPG and TXT attachments.

I also just added the comment:
It has been suggested that this problem occurs only when the user
installs IE8 without first disabling his antivirus program. That can't
be the only cause because several users experienced the problem on
computers where Vista had recently been installed and no antivirus
or other third party security program had yet been installed.

 

[Gary VanderMolen]

Thanks for that data point. I can only go by what others report,
since I don't have the problem myself.

The reason why the shortcut change works for some is because
it changes the location where temporary files are stored. Opening
any attachment in Windows Mail requires WM to write that
document to a temporary file and then notify the correct app
where to find that file.

--
Gary VanderMolen, MS-MVP (Mail)

From my two confirmed successes with this problem, opening WM from the
Start, Programs, Windows Mail link, resolved the problem (for reasons that I
don't yet understand). After doing that once, opening WM from the normal
shortcuts also works correctly. My tests include, jpg, pps, txt, pdf, and
doc attachments - all of which previously would not load on the problem
systems.



--
Steve


Was that the workaround comment regarding changing the shortcut
for opening Windows Mail? I had already covered that scenario
in my cover page comment of May 25th which acknowledged it with
the caveat that it did not fix JPG and TXT attachments.

I also just added the comment:
It has been suggested that this problem occurs only when the user
installs IE8 without first disabling his antivirus program. That can't
be the only cause because several users experienced the problem on
computers where Vista had recently been installed and no antivirus
or other third party security program had yet been installed.

 

[Steve Hebert]

From both my personal experience and other responses that I've been involved
in, changing the shortcuts are not required. Only opening WM from Start,
Programs, Windows Mail seems to be needed. Here's another that just replied
http://social.answers.microsoft.com...1500b48d#c6548138-72b2-469c-a636-5afc2e9d7fd8

--
Steve


Thanks for that data point. I can only go by what others report,
since I don't have the problem myself.

The reason why the shortcut change works for some is because
it changes the location where temporary files are stored. Opening
any attachment in Windows Mail requires WM to write that
document to a temporary file and then notify the correct app
where to find that file.

--
Gary VanderMolen, MS-MVP (Mail)

From my two confirmed successes with this problem, opening WM from the
Start, Programs, Windows Mail link, resolved the problem (for reasons that
I
don't yet understand). After doing that once, opening WM from the normal
shortcuts also works correctly. My tests include, jpg, pps, txt, pdf, and
doc attachments - all of which previously would not load on the problem
systems.



--
Steve


Was that the workaround comment regarding changing the shortcut
for opening Windows Mail? I had already covered that scenario
in my cover page comment of May 25th which acknowledged it with
the caveat that it did not fix JPG and TXT attachments.

I also just added the comment:
It has been suggested that this problem occurs only when the user
installs IE8 without first disabling his antivirus program. That can't
be the only cause because several users experienced the problem on
computers where Vista had recently been installed and no antivirus
or other third party security program had yet been installed.

 

[Gary VanderMolen]

From what I can recall, that is not a universal fix, but I'll add it
to my repertoire of what the OP should try. Some have reported
success opening Windows Mail with the 'Read Mail' shortcut on
the IE toolbar.

--
Gary VanderMolen, MS-MVP (Mail)

From both my personal experience and other responses that I've been involved
in, changing the shortcuts are not required. Only opening WM from Start,
Programs, Windows Mail seems to be needed. Here's another that just replied
http://social.answers.microsoft.com...1500b48d#c6548138-72b2-469c-a636-5afc2e9d7fd8

--
Steve


Thanks for that data point. I can only go by what others report,
since I don't have the problem myself.

The reason why the shortcut change works for some is because
it changes the location where temporary files are stored. Opening
any attachment in Windows Mail requires WM to write that
document to a temporary file and then notify the correct app
where to find that file.

 

[Rainald Taesler]

From what I can recall, that is not a universal fix, but I'll add it
to my repertoire of what the OP should try. Some have reported
success opening Windows Mail with the 'Read Mail' shortcut on
the IE toolbar.

This indeed was mentioned several times. But AFAICS we have no report on
a *persistent* success and no feedback about JPG and TXT attachments.

As to my experience (tested on my four computers and posted several
times) the way of launching WinMail with the mail-icon in IE does not
really help. Naturally so: It just has the same effect as editing the
"Start in:" field in a shortcut - WinMail is not started with a "wrong"
destination to be started in.

Nothing better so far than the workaround you and me propagated numerous
times.

Rainald

 

[Rainald Taesler]

From both my personal experience and other responses that I've been
involved in, changing the shortcuts are not required. Only opening
WM from Start, Programs, Windows Mail seems to be needed.

It only seems so.
And it depends on what is specified in the shortcut in "Start | All
Programs"

The problem remains with JPG and TXT attachments in any case.
And this does not take wonder:
The problems lies in the storage of the temporary files needed for
opening an attachment.

If a shortcut used for launching WinMail gas the destination path
"C:\program files\winmail" in the field "Start in:" the system tries to
open the temporary file in "c:\windows\system32" and does not find it
there (Office apps correctly report this directory).
If one removes the entry or enters a directory with full permissions,
f.e. %UserProfile% wir %Temp%, almost all types of attachments an be
opened fine because the temporary file is placed there correctly and can
be found there.
Different with JPG and TXT files: The temporary files are written in a
newly created subdirectory of "Content.IE5". This works a number times
but sooner or later it does not work anymore. Heaven knows why :-( :-(

Strange enough: in all of my four systems with Vista Business this was
the case. When installing the English version of Enterprise32 the path
was already set to %UserProfile%.

Here's another that just replied

http://social.answers.microsoft.com...1500b48d#c6548138-72b2-469c-a636-5afc2e9d7fd8

Thanks for the pointer.
I had a shirt look. The discussion seems a bit strange and
hardly to the main points of the problem.
I'll revisit it later (perhaps tomorrow and post my findings there).

Rainald

 

[FredZ]

Gary/Steve/Rainald,
Feel a bit sorry for you guys repeating the same sort of response numerous
times. It looks like people do not take the trouble looking a bit deeper into
the discussions.
Just for what it is (still) worth: one of the solutions worked for me on two
(almost) identically set up laptops: open WM from the Start icon/All
Programmes - all attachments (docs, jpeg, xls) opened again. Deleted the
short cut on the Quick Start bar and replaced it with a new one. Thanks guys
- you were really helpfull!! Fred Z, The Netherlands

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

You may want to review this thread:

http://www.microsoft.com/communitie...&p=1&tid=d3068845-8131-4eb7-aaa2-d656f98efaf3

 

[Gary VanderMolen]

Thanks for your feedback. Changing the shortcut used to start WM
can bring some relief, although it is not universal, and also not effective
for TXT and JPG attachments. The best workaround at this time is to
uninstall IE8.

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

Or get IE8 installed properly.

cf.
http://groups.google.com/group/micr...er.general/browse_frm/thread/a17d79493eac253d

 

[Rainald Taesler]

Gary/Steve/Rainald,
Feel a bit sorry for you guys repeating the same sort of response
numerous times. It looks like people do not take the trouble looking
a bit deeper into the discussions.
Just for what it is (still) worth: one of the solutions worked for me
on two (almost) identically set up laptops: open WM from the Start
icon/All Programmes - all attachments (docs, jpeg, xls) opened again.
Deleted the short cut on the Quick Start bar and replaced it with a
new one. Thanks guys - you were really helpfull!!

Thanks for your reply.
You are right, most folks just post without having checked the postings
in the group.
OTH quiet man threads in this topic meanwhile have become "endless" and
it's not easy to find one's way through.

What you report is just a variation if the workaround with editing the
"Start in:" field of the shortcut. The standard item in top of the start
menu can not be edited and it may contain a wring path.

What I wondering about is that you say that even JPG files can be
opened.
Keep an eye in that. I'd rather assume that the problem will come back
with JPGs and TXTs.

Good luck

Rainald

 

[Rainald Taesler]

Or get IE8 installed properly.

Would be too nice, would this avoid the appearance of the IE8-WinMail
bug!
In fact too nice to be true.

Even after the cleanest install of IE8 thinkable on my newly installed
main computer the bug came crawling in after a day or too. {siiigh}

Rainald


http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.internetexplorer.genera
l/browse_frm/thread/a17d79493eac253d