Best ZIP Repair Software Review
- Overall
- Succesful Repair
- Recovery Percentage
- Features
Overview
.zip archives are the most used because can be created by all programs, including free ones. Although, .zip archives aren't the best to reduce file size (see test) and WinZip isn't the best program (see comparison).
These types of archives can be created by many programs and sometimes when we download or receive a file like this, we may encounter some error messages because the file is corrupted, invalid, or damaged:
- "Windows cannot open the folder. The compressed zipped folder is invalid"
- "Cannot open file as archive"
- "One or more files could not be unzipped"
- "The archive is either in unknown format or damaged"
File compression and extractor programs will display these errors and will not be able to extract the files. You need to repair the corrupted archive with a specialized program or with a file compression program that includes a Repair function.
Possible Reasons Why a ZIP Archive Can Give Errors
- an incomplete download from internet
- incomplete or unsuccessful ZIP transfer between devices (USB, external hard drive ..)
- ZIP archive created with errors (computer shut down, incorrect use of compression programs)
Methodology
We created and used for tests different sets of ZIP files:
- an incomplete download of a ZIP file
- computer restarted during creation of a ZIP archive
- first part of a multi-volume archive (you receive error if you don't have the other parts .zip.001, .zip.002 ..)
- a corrupted ZIP protected by password
- we zeroed multiple HEX values of a ZIP file header, on different sections, to simulate file corruption (all programs were able to recover it, so we didn't included this test)
What To Look For?
The most important is the percentage of recovery, then there are features.
Some tools were able to recover only a part of files contained within corrupted ZIP archive. Also, some tools aren't able or doesn't include the option to recover corrupted files found in a corrupted ZIP file (is good to have them, even they are partially damaged).
Regarding features, is nice to have batch processing (fix multiple archives at once), drag&drop and a detailed report with how many and which files have been recovered.
First use the free programs, then try those with full trial (WinRAR, PowerArchiver) because doesn't have any limitation within the trial period and will let you to fix/recover all files, then try the specialized and paid tools.
These Programs Were Not Included
Object Fix Zip - is free and interface looks promising, but failed to repair or fix all corrupted archives.
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