Can't open raw format files in photoshop elements 3.0

Question

I'm sure this question has been posed here 1,000 times already, and I've just spent over an hour surfing the web, using adobe on-line support, etc. -- too much to sift through, and none of it giving me a simple answer.
So here's the question:
- Using Windows XP
- I have a Nikon D40
- Photoshop Elements 3.0
- 2.3 Camera Raw Plug In
From what I am able to gather, I SHOULD be able to open raw format files using PE 3.0, but I get the various error messages:
"Could not complete your request because it is not the right kind of document".
"Could not complete your request because the file-format module cannot parse the file".
Am I missing some sort of simple step before I start downloading plug-ins I don't need and messing up all the settings on my computer? Any help would be appreciated, and once again, apologies if I'm repeating a question that's been asked a million times before.

Answer 1

Support for the Nikon D40 was added in Camera Raw version 3.7. So you would need Photoshop Elements 4.0 or later to be able to use that.
To use your version you may need to download the free DNG converter from http://www.adobe.com/products/dng/ and convert your D40 files from NEF to DNG.
John