Amiga.org
Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Software Issues and Discussion => Topic started by: JaXanim on July 02, 2004, 11:57:20 PM
-
In my fledgling attempts to understand the rudiments of the Win98 OS, I keep getting balked by my inability to open Zip files.
Whenever I click on a zipped archive, the system says it can't find 'Program'. I assume this is analogus to the Amiga's default tool, but my system doesn't have it it seems.
The Win98 system was installed to a freshly formatted drive, so I would have thought this tool and any other used by the OS would be included (?).
If that assumption is misguided (and I won't be surprised if it is), then where does one get this 'Program' tool - and where do you put it?
Cheers,
JaX
-
The Win98 system was installed to a freshly formatted drive, so I would have thought this tool and any other used by the OS would be included (?).
Zip and other compressed files weren't taken into consideration by the OS itself until Windows XP. You will need a program like winzip (winzip.com) to uncompress zip files.
Besides, There are no circumstances on the entire planet which would cause me to recommend anything older than Windows NT 4.x (really, my preference for a lower-end system would be Windows 2000 while I heartily recommend XP). It doesn't sound like you know Windows very well, so I'd recommend off the bat that you stick with 2000 Pro or XP Pro.
For all their faults, 2000 Pro and XP Pro are -- so far -- the most stable versions of Windows. 95 and 98 are laughable attempts to put a "skin" on MS-DOS.
Wayne
-
Wayne wrote:
Zip and other compressed files weren't taken into consideration by the OS itself until Windows XP.
Not exactly true, I think. If I remember correctly Win98 has an optional component on the CD that allows you to browse the contents of zip files like they were normal drawers. WinZip is still better, however.
-
Wayne wrote:
Zip and other compressed files weren't taken into consideration by the OS itself until Windows XP. You will need a program like winzip (winzip.com) to uncompress zip files.
Actually Windows ME has that feature but I'll admit that it wasn't that necessary when WinZip unregistered has no expiration date (that I'm aware of).
WinRAR (http://www.rararchiver.com/) supports .ARJ and .ZIP files as well as its own .RAR files. It costs about $30 to register but does a better job than WinZip.
-
Actually Windows ME has that feature but I'll admit that it wasn't that necessary when WinZip unregistered has no expiration date (that I'm aware of).
Aye, Windows Me had Compressed folders, that diappeared from Win2000 and came back with WinXP.
If you think you will ever be using various Amiga format archives, RARs and other filetypes, I'd have a look at PowerArchiver too - which similarly allows you to keep using it but nags more and more as time goes by.
-
Thanks. Never touched ME. Ever.... In network tech circles, ME was dead before it hit the floor.
-
My friend just told me when he backed up his ME system, it gave him 15000 viruses, the same virus multiplying again and again...
:lol:
-
JaXanim wrote:
In my fledgling attempts to understand the rudiments of the Win98 OS, I keep getting balked by my inability to open Zip files.
Whenever I click on a zipped archive, the system says it can't find 'Program'. I assume this is analogus to the Amiga's default tool, but my system doesn't have it it seems.
Broken file association at a (albeit I'm really tired) guess. Get an explorer window up, go into View > Options > File Types > find the zip file association, edit it.
If you're using WinZip, the command line being run should look something like:
C:\Program Files\WinZip\winzip32.exe "%1"
Failing that:
C:\Progra~1\WinZip\winzip32.exe "%1"
On my system its:
D:\apps\WinZip\winzip32.exe "%1"
Reinstalling WinZip should fix the association.
The Win98 system was installed to a freshly formatted drive, so I would have thought this tool and any other used by the OS would be included (?).
WinXP has zip file reading capabilities. They're not very good.
If that assumption is misguided (and I won't be surprised if it is), then where does one get this 'Program' tool - and where do you put it? JaX
www.winzip.com
Install that baby.
I quite like WinRAR though, handles Zip files too.
As for the good old "which version of Windows is best?" argument, my personal preference is Windows 2000 by far over any version of Windows currently available (though 2003 Server is supposed to be quite nice).
-
bah, winzip :nervous:
tis only shareware
I got a freeware zip tool called "UltimateZip"
wich works far better, it supports more file formats and has more decompression options (wich can save you some RSI)
Dunno, maybe Winzip has become better lately, but the version I used sucked big time. But still it's no freeware.
-
I'd like to mention 'filzip' as well (www.download.com) which is also freeware and rather good.
Sincerely,
-Kenneth Straarup.
-
JaXanim, use instead Winrar.
It handle a LOT of archieving formats, like zip, ace, rar(!), and fully Amiga compatible lha!
The rar compression is superior but slower than zip.
But winrar can also create zip archives like winzip, and the compression speed seems the same.
It has a good feature the winzip sucks : file splitting.
Winzip only splits to removable media, like floppys (bah!) not to HD.
BTW: What specs have your PC ?
Win2000 can be very heavy for old machines. It also needs at least 64MB for working. with 128MB it performs quite nicely (as long your CPU is fast)
It needs a PII ou better PIII for good performance. With anything older it will surelly drag (correct me if i'm wrong).
If you have a modern P4 or AMD Athlon, go for XP !
I takes 4GB of your precious HD but I really recomend it.
It needs 256MB or more to avoid abusing the virtual memory.
It's quite stable and have some goods features win2000 lacks, like hibernation.
BTW2: If you really like the amiga mod music files, try deliplayer (http://www.deliplayer.com/) . It's the best mod player on the PC. It really sounds good (winamp also supports it, but the mods sometimes sounds bad)
-
Duh! I forgot about this one too - 7-Zip, it supports 7z, ZIP, CAB, RAR, ARJ, GZIP, BZIP2, TAR, CPIO, RPM and DEB and it's GPL.
7-Zip (http://www.7-zip.org/)
which is also available on The Open CD, a great collection of Open Source goodness for Windows (OpenOffice.org, Mozilla, Filezilla, The GIMP etc. etc.):
The OpenCD (http://theopencd.sunsite.dk/)
-
Win2k can do hibernation... if you like I'll even send a screenshot :-)
I'd recommend 128 - 256MB or more for Win2k or XP. Both require some (but not particularly 'heavy hardcore' tweaking) to reduce the memory footprint by a huge amount, there are guides on my site of how to do that. I had 256MB in my machine for some time without any performance issues, so I have since upgraded to 768MB so I could do recoverable ramdisk stuff (so I have 512MB physical as far as Windows is concerned).
384MB for Win2k/XP should give a decent bit of slack for the vast majority of users.
At boot time my system uses about 50 - 64MB RAM (as in I can't remember exactly how much). With a web browser, email, mp3 player plus a couple of other windows I'm typically using about 100MB (give or take 50MB) RAM.
For the extra robustness, Win2k/XP is worth the upgrade cost (inc. licence and RAM). I'd go as far as to say that they're the first offerings by MS that stand up well (and surpass in many respects) to the competition. I did like NT4 rather a lot though, it had the same robustness, but it could be hard work for the average user.
-
BouncingAyatollah wrote:
Duh! I forgot about this one too - 7-Zip, it supports 7z, ZIP, CAB, RAR, ARJ, GZIP, BZIP2, TAR, CPIO, RPM and DEB and it's GPL.
Well, UltimateZip supports:
ZIP, RAR, ACE, BH, CAB, JAR, LHA (LZH), GZIP, TAR, BZIP2, ARC, ARJ, XXE, UUE.
yup, also LHA and that's quite convenient if you use also an Amiga methinks
-
Speelgoedmannetje wrote:
Well, UltimateZip supports:
ZIP, RAR, ACE, BH, CAB, JAR, LHA (LZH), GZIP, TAR, BZIP2, ARC, ARJ, XXE, UUE.
yup, also LHA and that's quite convenient if you use also an Amiga methinks
That's what I use :-D
Very handy for Aminet lha's :-D
-
mikeymike wrote:
As for the good old "which version of Windows is best?" argument, my personal preference is Windows 2000 by far over any version of Windows currently available (though 2003 Server is supposed to be quite nice).
imo,
windows 2000 is good for games
windows xp is good for "day to day life"
windows server 2003 is very nice, and with the Windows Services for UNIX 3.5 package, you can intergrate it quite nicely with the rest of your unix network.
it comes in four flavours;
Standard Edition
Enterprise Edition
Datacenter Edition
Web Edition
compare here: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/evaluation/features/compareeditions.mspx
tis very nice indeed... :-)
-
How is Windows 2000 not good for "day to day life"? :-)
-
it's not, i just find XP better :-)
-
XP was a nightmare for me, day to day life was month to month of virus infections and random blue screens, shut downs, missing hard disk space the list goes on.
Every version of Windows I have tried (3.1, 95, NT, 98, 98SE, ME, XP) is crap imho.
OSX beats the pants off all of them, Tiger, even Panther looks years ahead of Longhorn, although you can guess which one will be the most successful.
M$ can feed us any crap and we eat it.
-
HopperJF wrote:
XP was a nightmare for me, day to day life was month to month of virus infections
it does have insecurities, but most of them can be cured with ease
OSX beats the pants off all of them,
emm, yes, moving on
Tiger, even Panther looks years ahead of Longhorn
I've had a look at longhorn, it's nothing more than an even more user-friendly blue version of XP, enoucouraging more AOL style users to come along...
M$ can feed us any crap and we eat it.
just like with the three extra buttons eh? :-)
-
Gotta love how these Windows threads always polarise into unexperienced condemnation on one side and ill-deserved advocacy on the other. :)
-
KennyR wrote:
Gotta love how these Windows threads always polarise into unexperienced condemnation on one side and ill-deserved advocacy on the other. :)
dude, i don't promote it, it's just that it does have some justified merit :lol:
-
KennyR wrote:
Gotta love how these Windows threads always polarise into unexperienced condemnation on one side and ill-deserved advocacy on the other. :)
That's the thing, now isn't it? Being an AMIGA user by definition means that you've been brainwashed into the "hate everything else, especially Microsoft" mantra. I was the exact same way until 1991/92 when I sold my 3000 to fund my BBSand moved onto the PC (at that time an AT/286-10). I don't ADVOCATE Windows, but I do openly admit that it is usable for 99% of the every day tasks an average person will likely ever do.
Windows is also squarely positioned square in the middle level between the geeky user-hating Linux OS and the uber-made-for-idiots Macintosh.
Personally speaking, there are four types of computer literate people, and it seems to be divided by age.
(10%) Youth wants Linux, Amigas, and stuff to tinker with as they learn and broaden their horizons.
(10%) More comfortably aged and computer literates want Macintoshes because they "just work".
(10%) Are older folks who got old knowing one single platform and will never, ever have any desire to change.
(70%) of all computer users don't care any way and just want something with pretty icons that they can turn on and do whatever they want with, CHEAPLY.
That 70% is where Windows hits the mark, and this is very much verified by the fact that Windows is the most widespread OS (some would say Virus) on the planet.
The Amiga (old or new) never, ever has any chance of becoming more than 10% of the market, because it's striving for the same market as the Macintosh, and Apple's already got an insurmountable head start.
Sorry to be so negative. I'm not trying to be disparaging or slam the Amiga at all. I just bore of the naivety behind the mantra that "AmigaOS is still an every day Operating system that can do everything" or that "AmigaOS will soon conquer the world". It won't. It's not, and hasn't been since circa 1996.
In the computing world, both AmigaOS and MorphOS are pretty much irrelevant, despite anything Dvorak might have to say on TechTV.
I'm just very happy to have sold my Amiga 3000 back then for enough to pay off the $2800 loan that I took out to pay for it.
Wayne
-
Right, I need something like Winzip or one of the other tools mentioned.
I can't really contribute to any of the 'What's best' tangential stuff which simple queries inevitably create. Anyone actually interested in my particular system will have picked it up on my earlier threads. However, please go on arguing about Windows if you wish. I got what I needed, many thanks.
JaX
-
Wayne wrote:
(10%) Youth wants Linux, Amigas, and stuff to tinker with as they learn and broaden their horizons.
i guess that would be me :-)
-
@Sir_Inferno
Not if that's really your ugly mug.
-
I like WinZip, up to version 8.1 ... it's now starting to get feature creep.
BTW Stuffit (a similar program that can handle Zips) is on the cover of this months Personal Computer World (in the UK).
-
hey that's an insult lol
nah i got it off some dating website advert saying "Everyone you meet a geek?" :-D
-
That's the thing, now isn't it? Being an AMIGA user by definition means that you've been brainwashed into the "hate everything else, especially Microsoft" mantra.
Windows is also squarely positioned square in the middle level between the geeky user-hating Linux OS and the uber-made-for-idiots Macintosh.
With that second haven't you fallen into the same trap?
If Linux was user-hating it would have no GUI, if the Mac was made-for-idiots there'd be no Unix shell. I'd say they're both trying to do the same thing but from different starting points and have different approaches.
Personally speaking, there are four types of computer literate people, and it seems to be divided by age.
I don't think age has anything much to to do with it. Some people are:
A) Interested in computers and any platform.
B) Interested in computers but limit themselves to Windows / Linux / Mac.
C) The vast majority are conservatives and just don't like change.
A) Is a very small group and are more interested in the technology than the platform itself. I don't think you could say they use any particular platform but even if they do there they are prepared to change it if something better comes along. I guess these are the "early adopters". Some of these used to use AmigaOS but since moved on to OS/2, Linux, *BSD, QNX, BeOS and now OS X.
B) I'd these pople are interested in the technology and are prepared to change but need a damn good reason to do so. I'd put a lot of Linux users in this category.
C) This group get Windows because it's in the shop and it's cheap, some might have an interest in how it works but not so much that they'll consider a different platform. These may be considered as "idiot users" but the reality is they could be brain surgeons, they may simply not be interested in the inner workings of a computer. I'd put most Windows users in here.
Howevere, C also applies to people who just don't want to change and thus also makes up a chunk of alternative computer users - including many Amiga users. If you're still using an Amiga you're probably very resistant to change, there are better platforms around these days but the old miggy just feels comfortable doesn't it?
I said age doesn't have an effect but it does in that you may change from being in one group to another, I think everyone will gradually move towards C. I'm in A and am glad that I can and do switch platforms with relative ease, there's a little bit of C creeping in though.
The Amiga (old or new) never, ever has any chance of becoming more than 10% of the market, because it's striving for the same market as the Macintosh, and Apple's already got an insurmountable head start.
I don't really think Amiga and Mac are in the same market at all, they were years ago with the desktop video stuff but not these days. At the moment I'd say the Amiga is really in the "hobbiest" market, people who just like to play around. You may not be able to do everything you can with Windows but you can do most of it but it doesn't really matter as it's not "Work" and in that sense isn't competing with say, Windows at all. The Amiga companies may like to go after the general consumer market (where Apple is competing) but I don't think there's anything compelling to offer as yet.
--
"Kenya, where rules and regulations are usually treated like casual suggestions, or obstacles to be avoided."
- Andrew Harding, BBC
-
IMHO, windows does have its place. I like M$ only from the standpoint that I have continued to make money (a lot of it) on administering and now training on their products.
I too love MacOS X (any flavor) but before the pretty Aqua interface there was FreeBSD which I have long been a fan. I think it is great the Apple has increased the userbase of Macintosh and thereby FreeBSD (their amped version is known as Darwin, but alas it is still the kernel of FreeBSD).
As I go forward, I don't personally like M$ and I am aware of options that will mean not having to use their products, but I find myself in catch 22... As a professional who does programming and web development, I find that Macromedia is fast doing what M$ has done and getting to be as influencial in the web arena.
Anyhow, the original question was about a .zip file utility for windows 9x, I would be on the WinRar bandwagon there, it has been very good to me. I do believe in supporting shareware/freeware applications and believe Open Source is the future of computers, so I am wiening myself off of all MS products and deciding on what to do about my personal system. First is the Macintosh route... I may do that, although I do not want to spend so much scratch on a single system. Fortunately, my contracts normally provide a windows box that I can use for my professional side, so the risk of removing M$ from my personal system is becoming not a problem.
That is fully my opinion, and I think everyone has to decide for themselves. What is pushing me to make this change now is the stuff M$ has done for the last 3 years starting with this activation thing. Now with the impending doom of the SP2 fix, it is time to move on.
Take care,
Mike Needham
Shawnee, KS USA
-
Like I've said elsewhere, MS have heavy hooks into Apple (an influencing stock ownership and the major credibility that MS Office gives them in some circles), not the way to go if you want to avoid the heavy hand ...