Cannot Open Docs from Windows Explorer

I'll try that and let you know the outcome.

whs, I ran MS Office Diagnostics and it showed no problems.

PollyH said:

I have Norton Internet Security and prefer that. Are you saying that I have picked up a virus and that is what is causing my problem?

Antivirus programs, including NIS, have been know to interfere. Testing is simple. Uninstall, uninstall such things as SpyBot, install MSE, turn on Windows Firewall.

Problem gone?

I'm sorry but I don't see how to do the first step. Are you saying I should right click on the name of the document in Windows Explorer and run as Administrator? I'm confused.

PollyH said:

I'm sorry but I don't see how to do the first step. Are you saying I should right click on the name of the document in Windows Explorer and run as Administrator? I'm confused.

TAKEOWN

Make an administrator owner of a file

1. Go to an elevated command prompt, that is,
WIN key | type cmd.exe | right-click on cmd.exe in the list shown | click on Run as administrator
2. type Takeown /F filename and hit Enter where
filename specifies the filename or directory name pattern.
Wildcard "*" can be used to specify the pattern. sharename\filename allowed

Example: take ownership of a file named MyLostfile in your Documents folder
WIN key | type cmd.exe | right-click on cmd.exe in the list shown | click on Run as administrator
Type:
cd /D %userprofile%\Documents and hit Enter
Takeown /f mylostfile and hit Enter

Example: take ownership of drive I and every folder and file therein:
Type: takeown /F I:\ /R
the /R parameter specifies to “recurse”

NOTE:
TAKING OWNERSHIP IS OFTEN NOT SUFFICIENT
IF YOU CAN NOT USE THE FILE, THEN GIVE YOUR SELF FULL PERMISSION.
YOU CAN GIVE YOURSELF FULL PERMISSION WITH EITHER WINDOWS EXPLORER OR THE ICACLS COMMAND.

I resolved the problem. I found a thread on another forum that instructed finding the Winword.exe file and look at its properties and on the Compatibility tab I found that my Compatibility Mode was set to Run this program in compatibility mode for Windows XP (Service Pack 3). I unchecked that and it solved the problem. I can now open my Word docs from Windows Explorer.

Polly,
Many thanks for getting back to us with the solution.

My only nagging question in the back of my mind is how did winword.exe ever get set the wrong way in the first place. That definitely required an action by either an individual or by one of those "wonder" programs.