# Problems with downloading files on my computer

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problems-with-downloading-files-on-my-computer/262632>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 1, 2004, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problems-with-downloading-files-on-my-computer/262632 "2004-09-01T20:17:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\
**Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problems-with-downloading-files-on-my-computer/262632/1 "2004-09-01T20:17:42Z")

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Lately, for some reason, whenever I click on a link to download say, a zip file, instead of the dialog box popping up to ask me what I wanted to do (open, save to a disk, etc), it will start OPENING said zip file, instead of giving me the option to save it to my hard drive (disk, whatever)

Now, I can always just right click and “Save Target As”, but quite frankly, some of the sites where I download zip files (for the sims) have the “No Right Click”, so that screws it.

Any way to fix this? I’m running Windows XP, and IE 6.

(And no, I don’t want to hear about using a different browser, not right now. I’ll deal with that later).

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**Author:** ![Alan\_E\_Sheets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Alan\_E\_Sheets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_E_Sheets)\
**Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problems-with-downloading-files-on-my-computer/262632/2 "2004-09-01T21:40:52Z")

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A “maintenence reload” of the browser and the service packs associated with it seem to be in order here.

You may want to start here: [http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/default.mspx#XSLTfullModule123121120120](http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/default.mspx#XSLTfullModule123121120120)

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**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\
**Post date:** [September 2, 2004, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problems-with-downloading-files-on-my-computer/262632/3 "2004-09-02T04:04:43Z")

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Thanks, I’ll look at it.

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**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\
**Post date:** [September 2, 2004, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problems-with-downloading-files-on-my-computer/262632/4 "2004-09-02T04:41:11Z")

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Ther’es nothing wrong with our browser; you don’t ned a hotfix or SP.

You probably inadvertantly checked the “don’t ask me again” box on a download for that file type once before. So from now on it doesn’t ask, it just opens it.

To fix that, start Windows Explorer (the disk/folder/file tool, not the browser).

From the menu, select Tools | Folder Options … Click the “File Types” tab. Scroll down to ZIP files, highlight that item, then click the [Advanced] button. You’ll see a checkbox “Confirm open after download”. That checkbox will be unchecked.

Check it and [OK] twice and and you’re back to normal.