Windows XP has great native support for zipped files. When you right-click on a zipped file, it gives a number of great options including, Extract All. I recently installed and then uninstalled PowerArchiver and it was kind enough to remove Windows’ native support for zipped files. Grrr..
Here’s the fix for any other likewise affected:
In Windows Explorer go to Tools > Folder Options. Select the File Types tab. Click New. In the dialog type “zip” and click Advanced. Scroll down and select “Compressed (zipped) folder”. You’ll have to do this with each extension you want it to be able to unzip for you (e.g. .rar files, etc.)