My winzip file is not working! :(

Is it a re-writable CD?

Sounds like there's a problem with the CD. If so it might not be possible to fix.

Given that the file reports 99% decompression then aborts, I would tend to suspect a problem with the file extension. That can happen, for instance, using a "Zip" utility to handle a "RAR" file. Several pay-versions of compression/decompression utilities have a "fix" function, but the recovery success rate is not exactly stellar, even less impressive when used on files compressed by a different utility. I've had generally good experience with V-Com's PowerDesk, a multi-function file management utility which includes a versatile compression/decompression feature.

498MB is a hellacious amount of data for a typical non-industrial-strength, consumer-type zip utility to handle anyway; most comp/decomp utilities totally choke on really large files, and generally include size-limit advisories in their documentation.

Filealizer, a plug-in for SpyBot S&D, may let you open, examine, and save the file in an external text editor, and there are relatively reliable, if pricey, commercial data recovery services specializing in unravelling critical but inaccessible data, and there is powerful, but pricey forensic data recovery software available. Hate to tell ya this, but win or lose on recovering the data, this might turn out to be an expensive lesson for you. I hope not, and wish you good luck.

timber's reply is very informative and useful. I'll defnitiely give it a try, let's hope it works!