Vista - Problems opening Excel files

I don't know if I'm in the right forum, but hopefully someone can help me.

When I go to my documents and try to open an Excel file, I get a message
saying that Windows can't find the file in that folder, to try and retype the
name again. I have other documents in that same folder which I can open
without a problem.

If I open the Excel application and go to the place showing the files last
opened, I can open the files listed there; however, I can't open those same
files from the "documents" folder. If I do a file search, the files show as
being in the "documents" folder, but windows does not seem to recognize them.
This only happens with Excel files. If I create a new Excel file, I can
open it by opening the application and going to the place that shows the last
documents opened, but can not open it from the "documents" folder. I tried
putting the Excel files in a different folder, but can't open them still.

I dragged and dropped the files from the "documents" folder, put them in a
flash drive and was able to open them in another computer.

If I receive an Excel file over the Internet, I can't open it either. I
tried restoring my system, but this did not work either.

I'll greatly appreciate any help that I can get.

what version on what operating system?

also can you open by clicking the file from your thumb drive on the subject
machine?



"stomped" <stomped@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:A0F9BED3-67CB-4A1C-8905-A7A6BA144231@xxxxxx

I had the same problem. Be sure you don't have the Compatibility tab set to
Run as administrator in the Properties dialog of Excel.exe

"stomped" <stomped@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:A0F9BED3-67CB-4A1C-8905-A7A6BA144231@xxxxxx

I have the same problem and run as administrator is not checked. You can
use the open button and browse to the file you want to open. If it is in
documents it is quick to find and open.

"John" <me@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:OhnfL$ihIHA.1408@xxxxxx

What firewall, anti-virus application or security suite is installed? There
are some that cause problems which do not appear immediately.
--
*Report back, please*

How to ask a question
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375
http://dts-l.net/goodpost.htm
http://oakroadsystems.com/genl/unice.htm

I have the identical problem, starting a week ago. I have 2007 Office Home
and Student 2007, which I tried reloading today, as the problem seems limited
to Excel files. Same problem. (However, when I paste a spreadsheet into a
Word document, I cannot save that either.)

I have Norton Security, but I have tried turning it off.

I had not updated Office since installing it three months ago, so I updated
it today, including SP1. Still no success.

I cannot open the excel files from a folder, including by right-clicking and
clicking on Open. Nor can I open them under recent documents. The only way to
open them is by opening Excel, clicking on File>>Open and then opening a file
in a file folder.

Any suggestions welcomed.

"Bob" wrote:

Norton is likely causing your problem.

Replace Norton with the free AVG http://free.grisoft.com/ or Avast
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html, and Windows Firewall and Windows
Defender. Disabling Norton is not enough. You need to completely uninstall
it. If it doesn't solve the problem, get rid of Norton anyway. Norton is
known to cause many problems in Vista which don’t always appear immediately.

Download and run the Norton Removal Tool.

http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT...05033108162039

It's called "360" because Symantec's goal is complete ownership of your
computer, and with even less communication about what it's trying to do or
ways to configure it than ever before (which would only interfere with its
goal.) That, along with Symantec's famous technical support, makes Norton
360 a disaster that I would only install on Granny's computer if she was
going to disinherit me.

-------
*Report back, please*
[When responding to posts, please include the post(s) you are replying to so
that others may learn and benefit from the issue]

[How to ask a question]
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375

"confounded" <confounded@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:6AA1B775-108A-4313-B487-067A29D0B355@xxxxxx

It's not Norton in my case or any other anti-virus. I personally wouldn't
have it in the same house.


"Bob" <nowhere@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:eeSdnTY-5tyWkH7anZ2dnUVZ_sednZ2d@xxxxxx

Thanks for the suggestion Bob. Unfortunately, the response is unchanged.

FYI, I did have 3 updates about a week ago for Vista. They were:
-Windows malicious software Removal tool
-Update for Windows Mail junk email filter
- Update for Windows Vista (KB946041)

Here is the exact text I get when I try to open a file:

Windows cannot find
'C:\Users\....\filename.xls'. Make sure you typed the name correctly, then
try again.



"Bob" wrote:

You might have better luck posting to an Excel newsgroup.

"confounded" <confounded@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:491F257E-8DDD-4C19-B50F-1E5E144E6E3A@xxxxxx