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I have a Toshiba with Windows Vista. My problem is that when I download a zip file and go to open it up I get a message saying "Application Not Found." The standard zip file icon doesn't even show up. Instead it shows a blank page with the corner folded down. Why can't I download zip files?
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Trouble Unzipping Zip Files
Two possibilities come to mind. The first is that your computer may not have a utility installed capable of unzipping .zip files and the second is that the file association may have been lost. Let's explore these possibilities and see if we can get those files unzipped once and for all.
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Zip File Utilities in Windows Vista
Since you have Windows Vista, your computer is already set up to unzip files directly from within Windows Explorer. You do not need a special utility to work with standard .zip files. However, this option may have become corrupt or it may have been changed by another user or an application. When Windows Explorer is set as the default ZIP utility, folders containing .zip files will have an icon that looks like a folder with a zipper on it. What's neat about using Windows Explorer as the default unzip utility is that you can work with the files within the zipped folder in much the same way as you would any other file. That is, you don't necessarily have to go through the unzip process.
Go into Windows Explorer by right-clicking the Start button and choosing Explore. Now, find a folder containing .zip files by entering *.zip in the Search box. Does the folder with the zipper icon appear? Probably not since you are having trouble with this. Now, right-click the .zip file and choose Properties. Look under the General tab at the Opens With section. What does that say? When Windows Explorer is the default, it will say Windows Explorer. If that is not listed, click the Change button and browse for Windows Explorer. Windows Explorer is located in C:\Windows and is labeled "Explorer." Once selected, make sure to check the box that will make Windows Explorer the default application for .zip files.
Zip File Associations
If you do not want to use the default Windows Explorer tool for unzipping files, you can install an unzip utility such as WinZip and use that. If you have already installed such a utility, it's possible that the file association has been lost. In fact, if you have installed WinZip or a similar utility, it would have likely changed the file association for you. If you then uninstalled it and the file association hasn't been reset to Windows Explorer, the "Application not found" error would make sense. The process for changing the file association is the similar to the process described above. In this case, you would find a .zip file, right-click it and choose Open With. Browse for WinZip (or a similar utility) and mark the box that will make it the new default for unzipping files.
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Celeste Stewart | September 18th, 2009
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Thank you so much! It works now and I really needed it for my Computer Applications class. Thanks for the quick and detailed answer.
Many thanks. I have really struggled to open zipped files and at last found the answer. Not so bad when you are told how so thanks for making this information available.
Thank you so very, very, very much. I have struggled just as Brenda. I thought at one time my computer did unzip files as you said for vista. I guess it became corrupt as you mentioned. But I had no trouble following your directions. Thanks again.
Very useful to unzip on vistas .
many Thanks