Attachments On Vista

[gulliver1]

I cant download my attachments from my email on vista.
When I press download it comes up Windows Media Centre
Its only just started doing this, I must have messed up somewhere.
Has anyone else had this problem...

[Buenchico]

Vista has nothing whatsoever to do with email. It's solely an operating system. Please tell us whether you're using an email client (such as Outlook, Outlook Express, Windows Live Mail or Thunderbird) or a web-based mail system (which you access via a browser, such as Internet Explorer, Firefox or Chrome). Then we might be able to help you.

In the meantime, however, (as a bit of a guess) I'll suggest right-clicking on the attachment to see whether you've got options to open or save the attachment.

[pinkyboyid]

Have you tried saving the attachment to disk instead of attempting to open it from within the email?


What is the attachment File type, for example a Word document has .DOC or .DOCX file extension?

[BayBoy1]

Buenchico thanks for your reply, I am not using an email client, I use internet explorer to access my emails. (Hotmail)
When I right click and save it still comes up the same

[Buenchico]

Thanks for that, whoever you are!
(gulliver1/BayBoy1).

We're nearly there then. When you click on an attachment to open it, Windows needs to know which program to use. For example, if you click on a document, Windows will open it in Microsoft Word (or something similar). If you click on a music file, Windows will open it in Windows Media Player (or a similar program).

Your post suggests that Windows is trying to open the wrong program for the type of file in the attachment. You need to tell Windows which program it ought to be using (which is fairly easy to do).

However you've not answered Pinkyboyid's question about what type of file is actually in the attachment. We need to know the file extension. e.g. if the file is 'report.doc', it's the 'doc' bit we're interested in. Similarly, if the file is 'latesthits.mp3', it's 'mp3' that we need to get sorted out.

You tell us the file extension and we'll tell you how to re-associate the correct program with it.

[BayBoy1]

Pinkyboyid & Buenchico, thanks for helping me, sorry about the 2 names I share a laptop with my partner and for got to change the name.
The attachment file type is MX-M260_2...pdf

[pinkyboyid]

Since your attachment has .pdf file extension, it might be worth downloading / re-installing the Adobe PDF Reader package which should reset the file association for the default program that opens PDF files. It can be downloaded from here:

http://get.adobe.com/uk/reader/

[Alston]

An alternative to the Adobe Reader might be worth a try.:-

http://www.foxitsoftware.com/Secure_PDF_Reader/

[Buenchico]

I suspect that the above suggestions may well have fixed your problem but, if not, do the following:

Save the attachment to a suitable location (e.g. 'My Documents') on your computer. Go to that location and right-click on the file. Select 'Open With > Choose Program'. Put a tick in the box which says 'Always use this program . . ' and select 'Adobe Reader' (or whatever other PDF program you use, such as Foxit) from the list.

That should BOTH open the particular attachment which has been causing you problems AND ensure that all future PDF attachments open without any bother.

[BayBoy1]

Pinky Alston & Buenchico,
Every time I press open the attachment, the screen comes up Windows Media Centre, with options TV + Films, Play dvd, set up tv, on line media etc.,

[Buenchico]

Have you saved it to disk yet?

Try RIGHT-clicking on the attachment in your email (or otherwise seeking a 'SAVE' option, rather than an 'OPEN' one).

Once you've saved it, follow my instructions above, remembering to start by RIGHT-clicking on the file ON YOUR DISK (and NOT in the email).

Alternatively, forget all about the email and the attachment for a moment. Find ANY 'pdf' file on your PC. Almost everyone has a few on their PC. If you're not sure how to find one, use the search facility and look for *.pdf (that finds all of the PDF files you've got). RIGHT-click on ANY one of them and follow my instructions for 'Open with' above. Once that's been done, the correct file association should have been set, so that you can then correctly open PDF files anywhere.