Vista - another issue...

[Boerseun]

So, a friend of mine's got this issue on his Vista box. Dunno if any of you've seen this before:

 

He gets mail, and if there are attachments named Image001, 2 or 3.jpg (or .gif), he simply can't open them. Once it changes to Image004.jpg(gif), he can open them fine. He can open all other .jpg's and .gif's, but if anything is named Image001, 2 or 3.jpg/gif, he simply gets an error on the box.

 

So, I've closed Outlook, and tried to manually create files with those names on his box. No ways. The box just tells you to go to hell with the shortest possible route. There's nothing on the error that gives any info towards the problem, either.

 

So what I'm thinking, is that there's three files (with the names Image.001, 2 and 3) somehow stuck in the memory. And if you try to copy, write, create, or any way handle other files with those names, the computer doesn't like it very much. I've restarted the box, done all the obvious things, but can't get it right. There are also no references towards those file names in the registry.

 

How could this be? And is there any way of forcing a memory "flush", or completely erase the contents of the clipboard in Vista?

 

Any help will be much appreciated!

[Buffy]

I doubt this is due to Vista.

 

The behavior is highly reminiscent of Outlook 2003, which decided on its own without warning what files were dangerous and just would plain not let you at them no matter what.

 

There are more choices in later versions of Outlook.

 

Also Outlook *Express* has never really fixed the 2003-like behavior that was introduced about the same time, and although I have not used it, the thing called "Mail" that comes with Vista is basically Outlook Express.

 

Also, various anti-virus programs can cause this behavior no matter what version of Outlook you're using.

 

It is a waste of energy to be angry with a man who behaves badly, just as it is to be angry with a car that won't go, ;)

Buffy

[Boerseun]

Thanks, Buffy - but it does not seem mail-related.

 

I've restarted the box and never executed Outlook, it was not in the memory or anything. No related processes were running. And I can't even create a file in Photoshop and save it as "Image001.jpg". It simply tells me that I don't have rights to the file. Which tells me that in creating the file, it conflicts with a similarly-named file in the clipboard, which might be viral - 'cause I have full admin rights on the box as is.

 

But is there a way of completely clearing the clipboard on Vista that you know of?

 

Mighty strange...

[Buffy]

Well one thing about Vista is that even if you're Administrator you can't do anything you want! Be real sure that the folder permissions are right!

 

The clipboard does not persist across reboots, so I don't think it could be the clipboard.

 

Have you tried saving the file directly from Outlook instead of copy-paste?

 

It could also be a virus....

 

You can't always get what you want, :phones:

Buffy

[Boerseun]

Yes - can't handle the file, at all. Can't save the attachments, can't copy, can't do anything with it. The data is there, however, 'casue I can simply forward the very same mail to my own computer, and the attachment opens fine.

 

I realise the clearing of the clipboard on restarts, but I guess that there might be something in the startup that simply inserts it again. If that's the case, and I can clear the clipboard manually between restarts, then the startup-insert sequence can be ruled out.

 

But there's simply no way of creating, copying, opening, manipulating in any way a file called Image001,2 or 3 on this particular box.

 

Curiouser and curiouser...

[C1ay]

Did you search the registry for those filenames to see if they're stored in some off the wall key?

[Boerseun]

Yep - a search in the reg turned up nothing. :phones:

[Maurice A. Williams]

Interesting thread! I have a two-year-old Dell with Windows XP. I bought also the original Vista, but have been afraid to use it. I was worried about bugs.

 

Is anybody having good results with Vista?

 

Sincerely,

 

Maurice A. Williams

[C1ay]

And I can't even create a file in Photoshop and save it as "Image001.jpg". It simply tells me that I don't have rights to the file. Which tells me that in creating the file, it conflicts with a similarly-named file in the clipboard....

 

I'm still unsure about it being a clipboard problem. Will it let you save such a file to a USB drive?

[alexander]

Yes - can't handle the file, at all. Can't save the attachments, can't copy, can't do anything with it. The data is there, however, 'casue I can simply forward the very same mail to my own computer, and the attachment opens fine.

are you sure you have permissions in the temp folders?

 

it may be well-worth backing up your profile, going in as another admin user, removing your profile and getting the machine to recreate it :confused:

 

basically your profile is in C:Documents and Settings{user name}

 

if you feel like you can't do it, then first try this, log in, and change the permissions for the entire folder to give yourself modify permissions in the folder, make sure you get it to propagate to all folders and sub folders, then try it, if that does not help, i would suggest renaming your profile as another admin to say {profile name}_old, then logging in as the user again, yes its supposed to reset all your customizations, then you can move over your my documents folder, and whatnot, just remember to first check if PS is still having the issues and if email attachments can now be saved.

[Boerseun]

Definitely not a profile issue. :confused:

[alexander]

oops sorry, i dint read into your first post enough, no this would not be a profile issue.

 

what exactly is the error that it gives you?

 

and you say its system-wide... is the os up to par with all the updates?

[Zythryn]

Definately not Vista-wide as I can save files with those names on my Vista machine (and to the poster that asked, I have no issues with Vista on the three machines I use it on).

Very odd issue though. I liked the temp permissions folder except that file attachments with other names work fine. Please keep us up to date as it is very puzzling.

[alexander]

it may very well be that you dont have that problem, Z...

 

system-wide merely says that it's not linked to a particular program acting up...

[Boerseun]

Yep - system-wide.

 

Noticed it in Outlook first, when someone sent a mail with an attachement titled "Image001.jpg". When my friend called me over to come look at it, I tried to manually create the files (from a clean boot without Outlook running) and the computer just says:

 

"Can't create file: Image001.jpg. Right-click the folder you want to create the file in, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu to check your permissions for the folder."

 

I have full admin rights on the folder. But the thing is, if you receive this as an attachment in Outlook, it gives exactly the same error. And that's just clicking on the file to open it. When you open a file, you don't create anything in any folder - except in the memory. Which makes me think that if the error is anything to go by, there exist in the memory three files called Image001, 2 and 3 that was created with an account with a different SID, and somehow they get loaded into memory again every time the machine starts. And every time you open a file called Image001, 2 or 3, it attempts to overwrite the similarly-named files already existing in the memory. Once you create, open, modify or in any way handle a file called Image004, then all's fine.

 

Quite probably viral by the looks of things, but it might simply be an algorithm gone loopy.

 

But the only way to test for this particular issue is to be able to somehow force-flush the memory...

 

Oh, yes - everything on the box is service-packed to the latest version, including all hardware drivers and various software.

 

Very, very strange...

[C1ay]

When you open a file, you don't create anything in any folder - except in the memory.

 

Where do you think the files in the cache folders come from?

 

Can you create the file on a thumb drive or media other than the system hard drive? Can you create a file like image004.jpg somewhere like the desktop and subsequently rename it to image001.jpg? How about image001.txt?

 

It could be viral as you say but Googling those symptoms doesn't seem to turn up other users with the same problem so I'm inclined to think it's something peculiar with that machine only. Possibly some obscure security policy entry. Even though you are admin on the box does not give you rights over files owned by the system so it could still be a rights issue. Maybe something in the system paging file is causing it.

[Boerseun]

I can create a file called Image001.jpg on another computer, copy it to a stick, and insert into the problem box. The machine will enumerate all files on the stick, and show the file "Image001.jpg" on the explorer window.

 

And that's it.

 

You can't manipulate the file AT ALL. No copy, delete, rename, open, move, anything. Because then, it seems, it collides with the file that's currently sitting in memory.

 

This machine is not on a domain, so all SIDs are resident.

This machine is not on a network, so the only vector for entry for any file created with a foreign SID would be email or internet.

 

Which brings us back to the virus-scenario.

 

I have, however, also failed to find anything referring even remotely to a similar issue on the web.

 

Which makes me think that its prolly Windows going loopy. But programming just don't "go wrong" on an off-the-shelf Operating System that's distributed world-wide and affects only one single machine. Won't be hardware, because there is no logical reason why the hardware will have an issue with three numerically consecutive filenames, Image001, 2 and 3, and not have a single other manifestation of a problem.

 

Which brings me, after a very long-winded detour, back to my suspicion that there are three files loaded in the memory with these names, and that these files get loaded every time the machine boots up.