outlook: the system cannot find the file

this is now the second time that this has come up;
when opening any attachment in outlook XP other than a mail message (zip, doc, xls , etc.) outlook responds: the system cannot find the file specified
this this question all over google(deja) and the answer is not there. This is not the excel answer either. the previous fix was to go back to a previous restore point. Won’t work this time(restore doesnt go back far enough).
GOOD LUCK