Have you installed the Excel updates as well. (Office Update)
Perhaps Excel considers the file to be corrupt, try detect and compare
don't know where that is though look in help.

Is your security set to "Medium

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HTH,
David McRitchie, Microsoft MVP - Excel [site changed Nov. 2001]
My Excel Pages: http://www.mvps.org/dmcritchie/excel/excel.htm
Search Page: http://www.mvps.org/dmcritchie/excel/search.htm

"Jay" wrote in message ...
I just installed all the current windows updates (WINDOWS XP)
Then i installed EXCEL because i needed it for a job i have to do,
EVERY time i try to open a previously created .xls file it says :

"The file cannot be opened because your virus scanner has detected a problem
with the file"

This is extremely strange because I don't have a virus scanner...
(a file that has previously worked)
So i created a new document, wrote a couple of letter on it, saved it and
tried to open this brand new file, and i got the same message, i cannot open
it,
i cannot open anything

I DO have a spyware scanner which operates only when i tell it to do a full
or quick system scan, but i tried shutting it down completey, and still got
the same message
i tried turning off this new microsoft windows virus detection thing from
the update but that also did not work.

HELP!!!!THank you in advance...