Windows cannot open .swf

['Drew]

I have reached my wit's end with this one. My wife's laptop refuses to open
..swf files in either the Firefox or IE7 browsers. The files are downloaded
but will not open ("Windows cannot open this file unless it knows which
program created it."). She indicates that she has received this message on a
few other occasions but rarely tries to open .swf files.

I have uninstalled, rebooted, reinstalled the latest version of Adobe Flash
Player ( for both browsers) and the shockwave add-ons. I have checked
SpyBot, SpywareBlaster, Win Defender, Avast and Comodo for any indication
that they may be to blame but can find nothing.

Our systems are virtually identical right down to the Firefox add-ons we
use. I have checked file associations under "Folder Options" and neither of
us has a specific program listed to open .swf yet I have no problems.

Is there a setting somewhere I can change?

WinXP Home, SP2 fully patched, IE7 or Firefox 2.0.0.11, MSMVP's Hosts file,
antimalware above.

Drew

 

[Andrew E.]

R.click the file,select "open with" choose notepad or clipbrd

 

[Lu Powell]

Those are ShockWave files. Go to
http://www.adobe.com/products/shockwaveplayer/ then download and install
the player.

Notepad or clipboard won't do anything for you.

 

['Drew]

I knew that norepad was pointless, but I have noted a difference between out
systems. When I click the file address, it opens in situ same as a web page.
When he clicks the URL, his system downloads the file first (to a temp file
I suppose) that he must then click on to attempt to open the file. Is that
significant?