I can't open files unless I store them on my hard drive

[fujiyama]

Anyone know what the problem could be? I can't play a streaming video or audio. I have to d/l the file first. Shouldn't things go directly to the temp directory when you open files?

Doc files and PPT files seemed to work....as does Quicktime files. Other media (windows media, etc) are giving trouble though...as are Adobe Acrobat PDF files.

The problem isn't the programs. I have the memory and HD space. It's just kinda annoying that I have to save a file first...Though I suppose there isn't a big difference considering the files have to be stored somewhere temporarily.

[Xithras]

1. There's a longstanding IE bug, try this:

Tools>Internet Options>Delete Files (in other words, clear your browser cache).

IE can sometimes run into a problem locating items in its browser cache if it gets too large. You may have plenty of disk space left, but when you get a gig or two of stuff in your cache, IE develops alzheimers and starts forgetting where it puts things.

Clearing the cache clears up the problem about 80% of the time. Keep in mind though that it may take a while for it to clear if the cache is particularly large. If it looks like your computer is locked up or unresponsive, go grab a cup of coffee, let the computer do its work, and come back to it later...the process can take up to 20 minutes on some particularly cache heavy computers, and Windows doesn't like multitasking while it's deleting thousands of files.

[theKnave]

2. Check Internet and Email Options

make sure that you have open attachments from email.

Is this any link, or just email attachments?

and, as the other poster suggested, clean your temp directory.

[yellowcanine]

3. Get Adaware and Spybot and run them (free downloads)

Sounds like you might have spyware and popup ads on your computer. It can really slow things down. Even if the ads aren't popping up they can be running underneath and tying up your computer. Also might want to get Norton and run it about once a week to clear off any viruses and clean up your registry. I just did this on my home computer. Things were really getting out of hand. I also quit using Explorer and switched to Firefox (it's a free download). Firefox blocks most popups.