Unable to move files due to .tmp files remaining after closing the document and Word

Products involved:
-XP Pro SP2
-Microsoft Office 2003 SP2 - specifically Word and Outlook
-SharePoint 2007


A user opens a Word document, makes edits, saves and closes the file. The user then does one of two tasks:

1) He tries to move the folder containing the edited document to another folder and receives the error message:
"Cannot remove folder "My Folder": It is being used by another person or Program. Close any programs that might be using the file and try again."
The folder is copied to the new location but the original copy remains in its location and cannot be deleted.

OR...

2) He opens and edits a Word document from a SharePoint document library then saves and closes the file. He then opens a new email message and attempts to attach the file: Insert File | My Network Places | My Folder on SharePoint | My Document

In example "1" the file and folder aren't moved. The above-mentioned error is generated, the file and folder are copied to the target location and the original is left behind along with a .tmp file. Subsequently, the original folder and file cannot be deleted.

In example "2" the file (which appears to be the actual file) is selected, inserted and then appears in the "Attachment" field as a .tmp file.

We have given the user a fresh OS build and the problem went away-- for a while. It's back again. We uninstalled/reinstalled Office. No luck. We have tried to identify an environment delta and if one exists, it has eluded us. We eliminated NTFS permissions as the culprit by migrating data to a SharePoint document library and the problem manifested itself there too with slightly different behavior but with the root cause still related to a seemingly locked .tmp file.

Advice is much appreciated,

Stockamp Support