aol 9.0 and pdf files

I have a friend who has a laptop that is running winxp pro and aol 9.0 vr. Whether he connects through aol dial up or through tcp/ip to my hi-speed when he tries to open a pdf file sent to him via aol mail it downloads the file but then won't open it.... it either says it can't find it or some similiar error... sometimes the computer then locks up and sometimes it doesn't.... Aol told him to do a quick restore or to reinstall the aol software.... However he has realized that ALL of his computers have started acting this way.... To me that sounds like maybe aol had some update that broke the adobe plugin or some such.... I have tried the quick restore on his laptop and that didn't do anything.... ( except make me have to go through setting up his aol again.... )

anyone seen this before or have any ideas? oh by the way he can open the file as long as he doesn't do it from aol....

he would rather not to have to do the extra steps.... why should new things ( just got the laptop and installed aol on it ) not work as well as older stuff... ( and now aol doesn't work as well as it did... and that's bad!!!! )