# I give up. How do I open up these damn .zip files? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 25, 2001, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-how-do-i-open-up-these-damn-zip-files/83772 "2001-09-25T19:51:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Vinnie\_Virginslayer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/53a042/32.png) [@Vinnie\_Virginslayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vinnie_Virginslayer)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2001, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-how-do-i-open-up-these-damn-zip-files/83772/1 "2001-09-25T19:51:32Z")
Zip files are the bane of my computerized existence. Here is what I am trying to do. Thanks to a tip on another SDMB thread, I an trying to download the following game for my palm pilot: [http://www.palmgear.com/software/showsoftware.cfm?sid=43303320010925132134&prodID=3856](http://www.palmgear.com/software/showsoftware.cfm?sid=43303320010925132134&prodID=3856) So I hit the “zip” version, and the “save as” file screen opens. If I keep it a zip file, I get this damn “not a w32 application” error message after opening the file after the download. If I change it from a .zip to a .prc, it won’t load onto my Palm Pilot. HELP. Please help. How do I “unzip” these fuckers? ---
**Author:** ![Why\_A\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Why\_A\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Why_A_Duck)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2001, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-how-do-i-open-up-these-damn-zip-files/83772/2 "2001-09-25T19:56:01Z")
> **[WinZip | Download Your Free Trial](https://www.winzip.com/en/mac/)** > > WinZip makes it easy to encrypt, share, compress, and manage your files! Enjoy direct integration with popular cloud services and keep files safe with apps for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS. Wunnerful program. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2001, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-how-do-i-open-up-these-damn-zip-files/83772/3 "2001-09-25T20:02:38Z")
I dunno about putting them on your Palm, but I do know that the .zip file that you want to unzip and use has to be Saved as a .zip file on your hard drive before you try to unzip it with Winzip. I know, it sounds “duh” obvious, but it took me a while to figure out. So I presume that after you have it unzipped, you change it to a .prc file to put it on the Palm. ---
**Author:** ![TheNerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@TheNerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheNerd)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2001, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-how-do-i-open-up-these-damn-zip-files/83772/4 "2001-09-25T20:14:06Z")
No, you don’t need to do any manual renaming (except to undo what you’ve apparently already done). Get and install winzip from the link above. Download and save the .zip from the palmgear link. Open it with winzip. Inside will be the .prc that you’ll need to install on your palm pilot, probably with readmes and other things that you might find useful. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2001, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-how-do-i-open-up-these-damn-zip-files/83772/5 "2001-09-25T22:19:51Z")
Just out of curiosity: You’ve never used WinZip or anything like it before, right? Did you make up the term “unzip”, or have you heard people use it? I guess it’s sort of intuitive to call extracting the compressed files “unzipping”, but I’m surprised that you’d know to call it that without ever having heard it before.