Strange problem with an Excel file

[mlautermilch]

Hi,

I am an IT admin for a large business network, and I have encountered one computer issue that I simply can not solve.

Here's the problem:
One user has received an email with an attached Excel spreadsheet from a coworker.  He regularly receives Excel documents via email from this same coworker, and has never had a problem before.  When he clicks to open the file, the spreadsheet does not open.  Excel opens, but only shows a blank grey background because there is apparently no workbook open.  The file can be viewed successfully by previewing it in Outlook and by previewing it in Windows Explorer.  Also, the file came from a user who certainly does not have the computer expertise to mess with the file intentionally in this way.

Details:
The file causing the problem is of the type: Microsoft Excel 97-2003 Worksheet (.xls)
The computer having the problem is running 64bit Windows 7 Professional and Excel 2010.

What I tried:
Opening the file on a different computer worked every time.  I tried this on a variety of computers including one with the same specs as the problem computer.
The problem computer could open any Excel file except for the one having the problem.  This includes 97-2003 .xls files which were sent via email from the same source as the troublesome file.  Just to be thorough, I tried other newer Excel files and files from other sources.
I scanned the file for potential threats using our anti-malware software, and it was found to be safe.
I checked for computer code in the file.  There are no macros or scripts which have been added to the file.
The problem computer could not open the file from the email or from a local copy of it.  The file was re-sent from the original sender, and still could not be opened on the problem computer.

Conclusions:
Since the file will open anywhere except for that one computer, the computer seems to be the problem.
Since the computer will open any other Excel file in Excel 2010 successfully, the file seems to be the problem.
This tells me that the problem lies not with the file or the computer, but somewhere in the relationship between the two.  Beyond that, I can not pinpoint the problem.

Any advice or theories would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!

[Calum]

If someone else logs on and opens that file on the same machine, do they also have the problem?  That would at least narrow the computer side of the issue to the machine or the user's settings.

[soybean]

Can you try using a flash drive to convey that file from the sender to the recipient to test whether the file can then be opened on the recipient's system?   If the file will open, this would seem to indicate something about the email transfer is affecting the file.