We are using vista on an HP Pavilion laptop but just recently we haven't been able to download anything off the net. We can send and receive email but if there is an attachment we can not open it. Can anyone help me or should I just call the repair man??

Were you able to download before?

When you say download, are you referring to attachment or downloading of files

What happens when you try to open attachment

What kind of file is the attachment

Any changes that either happened or that you perhaps made to your computer around the time that the problem started; particularly any software or hardware that you installed or setup.

Yes we were able to download before.

Both, we cannot download attachments or files.

When I try to open an attachment the screen comes up telling me it is downloading but then it disappears and nothing happens.

I tried to download a program to open a POLI file and it said there was an error in the downloading.

There hasn't been any changes made to the computer that I am aware of.

Disappears know very much when it comes to computers so please excuse my lack of terms knowledge

Using internet explorer?

Do you use any type of antivirus/anti-malware programs

Try resetting defaults to see if that would help

-Click tools, internet options, Adv. Tab and at the bottom there is Reset Defualts, click that and let it do that then close options and try to see if you can download anything.

Yes Internet Explorer.

We had an anti-virus but it needed to download updates so Im not sure its even turned on now.

I tried to re-set but it still doesn't work?

Well do you know last time that it had worked - if not that long ago, using a system restore point may not be a bad idea at this point

If this option is avail for you to use, choose a date when you know things were OK

System Restore
-Go down till you see

How to use System Restore to restore Windows XP to a previous state
How to restore Windows XP to a previous state (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306084)

Also, IE has the embedded pop-up blocker that will stop downloads from appearing "Do you want to run or save this program?". Click Tools, Pop-Up Blocker, if it is on, turn it off and try your downloading again. If this helps, you may need to look into your settings for the pop-up blocker.

Thanks for your help but we have tried a system restore and it won't let us!! I am just going to call the doctor and probably get rid of vista and get XP as this system has been nothing but trouble. Thank-you anyway