# Windows Installation Guide Advice Doesn't Work
**URL:** https://discourse.processing.org/t/windows-installation-guide-advice-doesnt-work/7552
**Category:** Processing
**Created:** [January 16, 2019, 1:16am UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/windows-installation-guide-advice-doesnt-work/7552 "2019-01-16T01:16:07Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@neophyte](https://discourse.processing.org/u/neophyte)
#### Post date: [January 16, 2019, 1:16am UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/windows-installation-guide-advice-doesnt-work/7552/1 "2019-01-16T01:16:07Z")
From your “Getting Started” text tutorial:
“On Windows, you’ll have a .zip file. Double-click it, and drag the folder inside to a location on your hard disk. It could be Program Files or simply the desktop, but the important thing is for the processing folder to be pulled out of that .zip file. Then double-click processing.exe to start.”
That doesn’t work for me on Windows 7. What it does is produce a VERY SLOW extraction,
leaving one extracted file unmoved, and causing a Null Pointer Exception when I run the .exe file.
Instead I recommend:
“On Windows, you’ll have a .zip file. Right-click it, and choose Extract All from the popup menu. Accept the directory it chooses for you (a sub directory of the folder where you downloaded the zip file). Then double-click processing.exe to start.”
These instructions start the processing editor with no problems.
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### Author:  [@GoToLoop](https://discourse.processing.org/u/GoToLoop)
#### Post date: [January 16, 2019, 1:36am UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/windows-installation-guide-advice-doesnt-work/7552/2 "2019-01-16T01:36:11Z")
> [@Processing won't launch 3.3.7 Windows 10](https://discourse.processing.org/t/processing-wont-launch-3-3-7-windows-10/1893/2):
>
> javaw.exe (not found) Ru sure you properly extracted the downloaded “.zip” file? thinking Maybe use a better utility for it like 7-zip? hammer_and_wrench [https://www.7-zip.org/](https://www.7-zip.org/)
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### Author:  [@neophyte](https://discourse.processing.org/u/neophyte)
#### Post date: [January 16, 2019, 1:43am UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/windows-installation-guide-advice-doesnt-work/7552/3 "2019-01-16T01:43:17Z")
All files got extracted. One of the files failed to move.
The steps I give don’t attempt to move the files from their extracted location. That’s why it works for me on Windows 7.
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### Author:  [@kll](https://discourse.processing.org/u/kll)
#### Post date: [January 16, 2019, 1:50am UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/windows-installation-guide-advice-doesnt-work/7552/4 "2019-01-16T01:50:39Z")
yes, but understand that
> **[Getting Started](https://processing.org/tutorials/gettingstarted/)**
>
> Welcome to Processing! This introduction covers the basics of writing Processing code.
is just a general info about processing
( and that it comes as a zip file what needs to be extracted )
it will never cover all operating systems and their versions.
also it is not that detailed:
- after download from
[Download Processing / Processing.org](https://processing.org/download/)
pls find the zip file at your browser download folder,
using your OS file manager ( explorer ).
it is named (currently) like
> processing-3.4-windows64(or 32).zip
unzip it by double click/context menu/your zip tool
to any user directory.
i do not have a virgin win7 to play with
but dealing with zip files (like @GoToLoop )
might required to install add tools.
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### Author:  [@neophyte](https://discourse.processing.org/u/neophyte)
#### Post date: [January 16, 2019, 6:04pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/windows-installation-guide-advice-doesnt-work/7552/5 "2019-01-16T18:04:22Z")
thanks. that is a cute kitty.
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### Author:  [@kll](https://discourse.processing.org/u/kll)
#### Post date: [January 17, 2019, 1:42am UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/windows-installation-guide-advice-doesnt-work/7552/6 "2019-01-17T01:42:50Z")
> [@neophyte](#):
>
> that is a cute kitty.
yes, her name is MURLY
and my wife make that photo
when the cat was hiding under her bed
scared because of a heavy storm
looks like she is connected to a other world???