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Unable to extract any .zip archives

Anonymous
2021-11-22T15:53:17+00:00

I recently reinstalled Windows on my computer. After reinstalling I noticed that I cannot extract or open any files stored in zip archives. If I open a zip file I can see the contents but I cannot open the files in the archive. If I try to extract the archive, it create the directory for the unzipped files but the directory is empty. No error messages are coming up and no records of anything blocked in Windows Defender. I am using anti ransomware protection but it is not in a protected folder and was happening even before I turned on the protection.

I have multiple HDDs and the same problem happens regardless of what drive the archive file is on.

OS: Windows 10 Home

Version: 21H2

OS Build: 19044.1348

Experience: Windows Feature Experience Pack 120.2212.3920.0

I am able to open and extract the contents of the archive if I use another application like 7zip but not the built in windows explorer. Problem existed before I installed 7zip. This is a brand new install of Windows 10 that I've been running for only a couple days now.

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Files, folders, and storage

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  1. Anonymous
    2021-11-23T19:37:34+00:00

    So the first part of your solution in diagnosing the startup programs and services actually ended up causing a much more serious problem on my computer. After I tried disabling the services and programs and restarted I was unable to log back into Windows. I got an error saying: "Something happened and your PIN isn't available. Click to setup your PIN again", but there is no ability to setup a PIN, nor is there any way to log in with my original password.

    I have tried booting into safe mode but that didn't work. I tried Startup repair, but that didn't find any problems. I tried system restore from a restore point from a few days ago but that failed as well. I tried doing a reset and to keep my files intact but that failed because I made a change to the system to have all of the user accounts saved to a different volume.

    I am now left doing a full reset and deleting all of my settings and account info. Hopefully my personal data will remain intact as it is saved to a different volume.

    In the future, I highly recommend being careful with the option to disable startup programs and services in case the person only has a single user account and is logging in with a PIN on a MS account as this step appears to break the system.

    5 people found this answer helpful.
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  2. Anonymous
    2021-11-23T13:31:53+00:00

    I would rather not use a third party program to work around a problem with the OS. I did already try with 7Zip and it works with that, but Windows is supposed to be able to open and extract these archive files on its own without the use of third party software.

    4 people found this answer helpful.
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  3. Anonymous
    2021-11-22T17:13:37+00:00

    Hello Anubis8192, welcome to the Microsoft community, I'll be happy to help you today;

    In that case I recommend using WinRar:

    https://www.win-rar.com/fileadmin/winrar-versio...

    Most users use Winrar to unzip files;

    Check if the problem still occurs with Winrar;

    I hope I have helped, see you soon!

    3 people found this answer helpful.
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  4. Anonymous
    2021-11-23T19:59:57+00:00

    Dear Anubis8192,disabling third-party programs from startup does not cause this type of problem, on the contrary, it can improve performance and decrease Windows startup time;

    Probably your system was already corrupted before executing the clean boot, so it wasn't able to extract the files previously;

    Hope the restoration solves your problem;

    Any problem we are still available;

    See you soon!

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  5. Anonymous
    2021-11-23T14:27:20+00:00

    Dear Anubis8192,in this case, initially I recommend that you look for new updates on Windows Update and do all of them;

    clean boot;

    Clean boot serves to determine whether a background program is interfering with the system or optimizing system loading.

    1. Press the Windows + R keys, type msconfig and click OK;
    2. In the System Configuration window, click on the services tab;
    3. At the bottom of the screen, check the Hide all Microsoft services box and click Disable all;
    4. Now click on the Programs Startup tab and on Open Task Manager;
    5. When loading the task manager, click on the start tab and disable all non-Microsoft programs (right-click on the program and choose disable), close the Task Manager and click OK on system configuration and restart computer if requested.

    NOTE: This procedure disables all third party services and programs. You can later, if the problem is solved in this way, selectively enable the programs and services that will start with Windows, instead of keeping all disabled. If the problem returns after activating the startup of a specific service or program, the problem is exactly in the startup of this software and it is recommended to remove it.

    Do a disk cleanup;

    Press WIndows key + R and type: cleanmgr and press Enter;

    Click Clean system files and wait for the files to load;

    Select all files and click ok to delete them;

    Run the SFC and DISM commands;

    Press the Windows + X keys, select Command Prompt (Admin), copy and paste the commands below and press enter after each command.

    Sfc /ScanNow

    DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth

    Dism /Online /Cleanup-image /RestoreHealth

    Wait for the process to finish and restart the pc;

    Check if the problem is fixed;

    I hope I helped, even more!

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