Office & Vista – Not Good Bedfellows

I have MS Office 2003 running on Vista 64bit Business edition. The workstation is well hung, so its not a performance/capability issue.

Problem:

When I try to open a folder within any of the Office applications I have time to go downstairs, make a coffee and come back to find that the folder is now open. If I want to open a subfolder I have time to go get the coffee and drink it before the folder opens.

On screen, the Open, or Save As dialog box is frozen. If I click it, or the application behind it, both freeze solid for about 45 seconds to a minute.

I have no other problems of this sort with any other applications.

If anyone has any ideas, or has a similar experience, let me/everyone know.