Have you ever used a new computer and found, to your dismay, that a 3rd-party shareware program (such as WinZip) was currently set to handle compressed .zip files?  Windows XP already has built-in .zip file integration, so unless you’ve decided to replace it with a program such as 7-zip, it is usually best to let Windows handle those files.

To restore Windows XP’s built-in .zip file handling:

1. Click your Start Menu and select Run.
2. In the dialog box that appears, enter REGSVR32 ZIPFLDR.DLL and press enter.  Click OK in the notification that appears.
3. If this did not work, open the Run dialog again and enter: cmd /c assoc .zip=CompressedFolder and press enter.

When you open a .zip file in the future, it will now open with Windows XP’s built-in software.