> BTW what would be the significance of the 8.3 path name?
> Surely OUTLOOK.EXE is not a 16-bit program? <eg>

Probably just something stupid with Vista.

> >> What happens if you replace your (assumed) association
> >> with Outlook for the default association with Windows Mail?
> >> Perhaps your Outlook(?) association is the cause of your symptom?
> >

I switched the association to Windows Mail and experienced the same problem.

It's gotta be a bug in the Protected Mode feature.