Can't open e-mail attachments

[raggie]

Could someone please help me?
I have a new job and am having work sent to my laptop via my e-mail (hotmail). The work is .doc files. I think my vista is home basic (it was already installed on a laptop from PC World, so I presume it won't be premium!), and my MS Word is 2000. The file will download and save, but for some reason the Word won't open it. The message I get is that the file path is invalid. It suggests I try to use the open file and locate the document that way, but that doesn't work either. I have a old pc (clockwork, I think!) running XP and if I run the dial-up cable around, it will download the files and open them using the same Word programme. I have my laptop set up to work on but short of opening them on the old pc, printing it out and copying into the laptop, I really don't know how to solve this problem. I have seen quite a few similar problems whilst searching desperately for a solution, but don't understand the answers. Can someone help me in simple terms??