Why Can I Not Open Zipped/Compressed File?

ZIP file is a data container that is widely used to store several files or folders in compressed form i.e. ZIP archive. ZIP file format is a very convenient compression file format to be sent over the internet. This file compression method is advantageous but has its own hitches.

If you are unable to open your ZIP or encounter an error message stating The header is corrupt when you try to access it? Or at times, when you try to open an office document that is compressed in a ZIP archive, you may receive an error message displaying This file is corrupt and cannot be opened? etc.

The above-mentioned error sign clearly indicates that your ZIP file is damaged. However, in order to extract the contents of a corrupt ZIP file, you need to repair it. In this article you will learn the effortless solutions on how to fix the corrupt ZIP file

Fix and open a corrupted ZIP file

• Fix corrupted ZIP file using Remo Repair ZIP
• Repair corrupt ZIP file using WinRAR application

Remo Repair ZIP is a reliable ZIP repair utility which works on a read-only mechanism. The tool only repairs and extracts the ZIP file contents without damaging the source file. The software can repair ZIP files with CRC errors, large invalid winZIP files etc. easily by using the functionalities of this efficient tool.

In addition to these this software fixes ZIP files irrespective of any storage medium on which they are stored. Moreover, it has the ability to support ZIP file repair on all versions of Windows

How to Repair ZIP file using Remo Repair ZIP

1. Download the demo version of Remo Repair ZIP tool.
2. Click on the icon and launch it and now select the corrupt ZIP or ZIPX file using the Browse option.
3. After selecting the damaged file start the repair process by using the Repair option.
4. Once the repair process is completed you will be able to Preview the files
5. Then you need to select Next after previewing and click on the Select Folder to save the repaired file on any location. In order to save the repaired content, you have to purchase the full version of this software.

Repair corrupt ZIP file using WinRAR application

1. Right-click on your corrupted RAR or ZIP file and select Open with WinRAR from the context menu.
2. When WinRAR opens, click the Tools menu and select Repair archive.
3. Click the Browse button to select the destination location where the repaired RAR/ZIP file has to be saved. Leave the archive type as what it was and click OK.
4. After WinRAR has completed repairing the archive, click the Close button.

Why does a ZIP file refuse to open?

• Header Corruption: Header part of a ZIP file contains information like its name, size, date of creation etc. This information is required to access the file’s content. If this header is corrupt then ZIP file cannot be opened.
• Changing File Extension: Changing the file extension of a particular file to some other unsupported file format can cause severe damage to the ZIP file making it inaccessible.
• Incomplete Download: While downloading a ZIP file, if there is an internet connection error or network inconsistency etc. download remains incomplete and your ZIP file gets affected, as a result it refuses to open.
• Sudden Power Failure: When extracting or accessing files from ZIP archive if your system shuts down due to power failure, then your ZIP file will be damaged.
• Virus Threats: Infection of ZIP archive with external threats like viruses or malwares will replicate the file content and corrupt it.

Things to remember

• Use a trusted utility to extract your ZIP file contents
• Try to avoid changing file extension of your ZIP archive to any other unsupported file format

Additional Trait: By utilizing the functionality of Remo Repair tool you can repair damaged files sucessfully.