without any changes to my 2003 edition, excel hangs up when I click the open
button or click open from the file menu. This also happens in Word and I
cannot open either files to attach to an email

Maybe...

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/918165
Problems in Windows Explorer or the Windows shell after you install security
update MS06-015


Microsoft Patch Snafu Grows, Users Seek Workaround
http://www.techweb.com/wire/security/185303742

There's a link to Kelly's Korner in that article:
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

Scroll down to near the bottom of the list--find #383.

On the righthand side is:
HP's Share-to-Web Software - Fix More info: (MS06-015)

It's a link to a .vbs (scripting file) that updates the registry to fix the
problem if it was caused by the HP software.

sam wrote:

without any changes to my 2003 edition, excel hangs up when I click the open
button or click open from the file menu. This also happens in Word and I
cannot open either files to attach to an email

--

Dave Peterson