"File does not have a program associated..." for Adobe Reader, but...

[gbl]

I am running Adobe Acrobat Reader 9.3.4 on Windows Vista Home Premium With service pack 2.
I can open pdf files stored on the computer with Reader no problem. Also ok with opening pdf files on websites.
I can't open pdf's received as attachments to emails (Windows Mail). Instead I get the message "This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action", etc.
Also when I run MS Publisher 2007 and want to "publish as a PDF", the "Open file after publishing" option is greyed out even though I have chosen "High quality printing" as my optimize for print option. The option is only supposed to be greyed out if Acrobat reader is not installed or the Optimization option selected is commercial.
Any ideas what would cause this?
Thank you!

 

[rclarke250]

http://www.winhelponline.com/articles/236/1/Unable-to-open-PDF-attachments-from-Windows-Mail.html

try this with the file association issue. Can't help with Publisher issue as I don't use it, but the fix for the mail issue may sort it all out.

 

[gbl]

Thank you rclarke250, for your suggestion.
(1) I followed the instructions at this link, and ran unassoc.exe. It removed the association for accessing pdf's directly on the computer. When I recreated file associations through Control Panel afterwards, the association for pdf's directly on the computer hard drive was restored. Unfortunately it was not resolved for email attachments or the Publisher problem I described above. I also created a new (standard) user, and had the same resut for Publisher. I am wondering if this is a registry issue.
(2) I've also got the "Filecure" program installed on this computer. Has anyone used this program to attempt resolving this kind of problem before?
Thanks for your help.

 

[linney]

Do your E-mails Attachments open if you tell your anti virus software not to check E-mails?

Do you have the same fault in Safe Mode?

Vista Advanced Boot Options (or 7)

http://techblissonline.com/vista-advanced-boot-options/

How to troubleshoot a problem by performing a clean boot in Windows Vista or in Windows 7

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/929135

950093 How to use the System Configuration utility to troubleshoot configuration errors in Windows Vista

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;950093