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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.

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.

I have Windows Vista and accidentally used “open with” on some zip files and selected an inappropriate program. Now I can’t turn them back to the normal zipped up folder icon. I can’t extract anything from the zip files.

The “Open With” Option

This sounds like you accidentally told Windows to always use the alternate program for opening ZIP files. Whenever you use Open With and then browse for the default program, there’s a small option with a check box that says, “Always use the selected program to open this kind of file.” That check box most likely had a checkmark in it once you selected a program to open the ZIP file. If so, now, whenever you want to open a ZIP file, that program will attempt to open it. And, if the program selected is not capable of extracting ZIP files, it won’t work. So, you’ll need to set a new file association.

You should be able to do this by reversing the Open With process. However, Windows Vista uses its own built-in decompression function, so ZIP file associations are the exception to the general file association rules. Let’s try reversing Open With first. If that doesn’t work, you can try either using System Restore or editing the Windows Registry.

Reversing “Open With”

First, let’s get rid of the check mark in that “Always use the selected program” box. Right-click any one of the ZIP files and choose Open With> Choose Default Program. Now, clear the check mark. Normally, you would click Browse and search for an appropriate program for unzipping files such as Winzip (if so, you’d want to mark the check box), but in this case Windows Vista’s Windows Explorer is capable of unzipping compressed files.

Once the check mark is removed and you have clicked OK to confirm your decision, go back to the ZIP file and right-click it. Now, choose Extract All. This should extract your compressed files.

Problems Setting the ZIP File Association via Default Programs in Windows Vista

While you can set most file associations in Vista through the Default Programs icon, the ZIP file extension is absent from this list. Windows Vista has its own decompression functions built-into its Windows Explorer program. If reversing the Open With option didn’t work, then it’s time to either do a System Restore (if you have valid restore points from just before the accidental switch) or manually edit the Windows Registry. Hopefully you have a good restore point, because that’s the easiest and safest choice.

Resetting the ZIP File Association by Editing the Windows Registry

Note that editing the Windows Registry is always risky. Backup your registry by creating a restore point before attempting this tweak.

Go to Start and type regedit in the Search bar. Click the regedit.exe icon. Navigate to the following:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.zip

Delete the UserChoice subkey and exit Regedit.

Because the ZIP file association is an exception to the rule, please write back and let us know if any of these steps worked, and if so, which one it was. Future readers will appreciate it.

How To Fix Zip Error Message “Cannot open file: it does not appear to be a valid archive”Zip Files Problem Repair

Zip files are a convenient way to compress single files or a group of multiple files. Compressing files makes them smaller and, therefore, more convenient for emailing, storage, or for archiving. Zip archives, however, can become corrupt and if your zip archive folder is the only location where specific files are stored then you may lose these files with no possibility of getting them back. The following error message is the most common symptom of a corrupt zip archive or portion of a zip archive:

Cannot open file: it does not appear to be a valid archive

A Corrupt Archive

This is indicative that at least a portion of your zip file has become corrupt. This normally occurs because of a halted or incomplete action such as move, copy, or download. While it has become less common, thanks to dedicated high speed Internet connections, another common cause of this error is noise on a phone line when attempting to download a zip file. If this is the case in your instance then the easiest solution is to attempt to download the file again.

Using Repair Zip Pro

Repair My Zip Pro is a data recovery application that is designed specifically to deal with this potentially damaging situation. If attempting to download the file a second time does not remedy the situation then Repair My Zip Pro can be used to successfully and completely recover corrupt zip files. In order to combat the error message above follow these simple instructions:

Once you have downloaded, installed, and open Zip Repair Pro click the Add Zip File button at the top left of the main application window.
Browse to the zip file that you are experiencing difficulties with and click Open to include this in the list of archive files to work with.
Back on the main application screen click the Repair button to begin repairing the chosen files.
A Simple Recovery Procedure

The process is a quick and simple one that requires no technical knowledge or expertise whatsoever. The interface is intuitive and simple to pick up, requiring no mastering in order to get to grips with the power that this application has to offer.

Zip Repair Pro Conclusion

The free trial version of Zip Repair Pro enables you to recover small zip files without having to purchase a license key. For zip files under 5mb simply download and install the trial version and follow the instructions above for full recovery. However, if you need to recover a zip that is larger in size than 5mb then you will need to purchase a license to complete the recovery process.