Is there a quick way to decompress lots of zip files at once without clicking on each one individually?

Yes - if you're an 'old skooler' (sic) you can use the DOS executable pkunzip.exe, available from www.pkware.com. If you run the command 'pkunzip *.zip' from the DOS prompt in the same directory as your zip files they will all be extracted sequentially without any further intervention from you.

On the contrary, if you can't bear to leave the more user-friendly Windows interface (hmmf, amateurs! :p) you can use Winace or Winrar instead. Once installed both of these programs become integrated with your file manager so that you can decompress your archives without having to open the program interfaces each time. To do this, locate the folder where your compressed archives are stored, highlight them by dragging a box around them and right-click on one of them.

Now if you select 'extract files' and choose a folder to store them in, you will be able to decompress the lot simultaneously with minimum effort. Conversely, if you prefer to open the Winace or Winrar file manager and then browse for your archives that way, this works just as well. Similarly this involves highlighting a selection of files and hitting the 'extract to' button.