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Don't fret brother, your data is not lost. In this article, I will share with you some software or tools for data recovery. The ZIP file format is used by essentially everyone online, as this is considered by many to be the most common and convenient way to store and send multiple data or files. That being the case, there's a good chance you'll eventually come across one that has been corrupted in your computer device. This shouldn't look new to you that just only a single corrupt bit in one file, out of dozens inside the ZIP, could prevent your file archiver from opening or extracting its contents.
What Could Be The Cause?
Many things can cause a file to be corrupted. Corrupt files can sometimes result from a variety of issues, including malware, an incomplete download or transfer, such as during a drop in your connection, bad drive sectors or any other sudden interruption like a power failure or an improper shut down while working with the ZIP file.
A corrupt ZIP file may open for you anyway, but some of the original files might be missing and attempting to open damaged ZIPs typically causes Windows to prompt with the following error:
"Windows cannot open the folder. The Compressed (zipped) Folder 'C:\Users\TechSpot\Desktop\Wallpaper Collection Corrupt.zip' is invalid"
Your chance of recovering data from a file archive will vary, depending on the tool you use, the contents of your ZIP and the degree to which it has been corrupted.
Tools Or Software For Data Recovery
Some users are familiar with the below software or tools.
WinRAR: it provides a built-in repair tool for damaged ZIP files. To recover your data froma corrupt or damaged ZIP file, open the file, then go to Tools > Repair archive. WinRAR managed to recover eight out of the twelve files from my damaged archive. However, the software is only free for 40 days, after which you are to buy a license to continue using the software and it will cost you about $30.
WinZip and 7-Zip: these two softwares or tools do not seem to have integrated repair tools, but the softwares do offer good information pages about corrupt ZIP files.
More tools to recover data from corrupt ZIP files
DiskInternals Zip Repair - It is free to download this tool. At least, I managed to recover 4 out of the 5 original files. It's dedicated to repairing zip files. This makes it have less clutter to navigate than WinRAR, and it launches with a wizard-style prompt, instead of you having to go through any menu.
Zip2Fix - Tied for first place recommendation. Its spartan interface has even less clicks involved than DiskInternals. You can recover data by just opening the corrupt ZIP file and the software automatically begins its process and outputs any recovered files to the source directory without asking or prompting about anything. It worked as well as DiskInternals, recovering 5 of the 6 files (and again, that's one better than WinRAR, if you ask me).
DataNumen Archive Repair (formerly Advanced Archive Repair) claimed to have recovered eight of the nine files with 100% accuracy but again the freeware version doesn't provide access to the files.
Instead, they are locked behind a $49.95 license fee for DataNumen Zip Repair or as much as $200+ for DataNumen Archive Repair, which supports additional file types such as Unix TAR and Windows CAB archives.
That been said, its interface seems less polished than DiskInternals or Zip2Fix, which are free and had the same success rate.
Yodot ZIP Repair is another good software that has a click-heavy interface, compared to DiskInternals Zip Repair and locks your files behind a $30-$200 paywall after recovering them. That makes it not free.
Same with the Aryson Zip Repair Software ($24) Zip Recovery Toolbox ($27+).
More Points To Note:
The one other reason that you may not be able to open a ZIP file is because of a forgotten password. It's worth mentioning that although ZIP Recovery Toolbox and some of the other utilities mentioned above will process password-protected files, they'll still require you to provide the password to complete the recovery.
Don't worry, if you've forgotten your password, there are also software designed specifically for that issue.
iSeePassword is an example that comes to mind as a software we've tested previously on recovering Windows passwords and for about $30 the software company offers a tool that supports archive, office, as well as many other types of files.
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