How to extract zip files

How To Extract Files From Corrupted Zip Folders

Plus find out what a CRC error means

The best option for transferring multiple files together has to be through the use of zip file compression. Doing it in this way offers hassle free, lossless file compression when relocating files from one storage area to another.

There are plenty of ‘packing’ programs available that allow zip file compression. Gather a few files together, cram them into a single folder, compress that folder, and you have a zipped folder ready to relocate via email attachment or any another transfer method you choose.

The recipient of the attachment will also need the same or a similar tool to ‘unpack’ the data contained in the zipped folder. All of this can be easily done in just a few clicks.

Unfortunately, it’s possible that a zip folder can become damaged or corrupt. A few reasons for this are:

These are just a few examples. Regardless, you can still extract the files from the ZIP folder so long as you have the right file repair tool.

Having to repair a corrupted or damaged zip folder can be a pain. Most of the zip folder repair tools out there that actually work can be a bit on the expensive side. However, there are a few free tools that will work as well, some of which you may already have downloaded and installed on your computer.

How To Extract Files From Corrupted Zip Folders

As previously mentioned, to extract the corrupted files from a damaged ZIP folder, you’re going to need the right file repair tool. Below, we’ve listed a handful of possible candidates that you should look into if you’re ever facing ZIP folder corruption.

DiskInternals ZIP Repair

DiskInternals has released ZIP Repair as freeware. In only a few clicks you can extract the files from the corrupted ZIP folder and have them placed in a new, undamaged ZIP folder. The user-friendly wizard walkthrough makes extraction a simple task.

To use ZIP Repair:

WinRAR

WinRAR comes with a compressed file repair function built-in. So if you’ve got a corrupted ZIP (or RAR) file problem, give WinRAR a try.

Stellar File Repair Toolkit

Stellar File Repair Toolkit is one of the better options you can choose when in need of a ZIP file extraction tool. The tool isn’t free but does offer a free trial with a 30-day money back guarantee. Stellar Fire is excellent in the repair of Microsoft Office contents such as Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, and Powerpoint presentations, as well as corrupt ZIP archives.

This file repair tool boasts complete corrupt ZIP file repair without damage or loss to its contents regardless of how damaged the archive may be.

Zip2Fix

This particular tool is the easiest to use on our list and ranks up there with DiskInternals ZIP Repair as one of the best. There really isn’t much to Zip2Fix. The easy-to-use interface makes extraction simple in only a few clicks.

Launch the tool, click Open…, select the corrupted ZIP file, and the process is automatic. The tool will begin spitting out all recovered files to the source directory without prompt. No direction necessary.

WinZip Command Prompt

Did you know that you already had access to a tool in Windows that can attempt ZIP file repairs?

Since WinZip became a universal Windows 10 app back in 2016, it has been the first stop, go-to app for ZIP file extraction. Coupled with the Command Prompt, you can use it the repair any invalid ZIP file.

WZZIP will not modify the original ZIP file but instead creates a new ZIP file (or folder) named in Filename_FIXED. The “FIXED” file may still contain corrupt data as the original data will remain untouched.

So long as the archive the data was kept in was the only thing damaged, the data itself will remain uncorrupted. If the zipped data was corrupt in anyway or it prompted a CRC error, then the file corruption will remain.

CRC stands for Cyclic Redundancy Check, which is a calculation that tests the accuracy of all data within a file. A CRC value is calculated and saved within the file so that when the file is extracted, the original data value can be matched up to the current data value to ensure nothing has been damaged. If the extracted value does not match the original value, WinZip will display a CRC Error.

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Zip and unzip files

Zipped (compressed) files take up less storage space and can be transferred to other computers more quickly than uncompressed files. In Windows, you work with zipped files and folders in the same way that you work with uncompressed files and folders. Combine several files into a single zipped folder to more easily share a group of files.

Locate the file or folder that you want to zip.

Press and hold (or right-click) the file or folder, select (or point to) Send to, and then select Compressed (zipped) folder.

A new zipped folder with the same name is created in the same location. To rename it, press and hold (or right-click) the folder, select Rename, and then type the new name.

Locate the zipped folder that you want to unzip (extract) files or folders from.

Do one of the following:

To unzip a single file or folder, open the zipped folder, then drag the file or folder from the zipped folder to a new location.

To unzip all the contents of the zipped folder, press and hold (or right-click) the folder, select Extract All, and then follow the instructions.

To add files or folders to a zipped folder you created earlier, drag them to the zipped folder.

If you add encrypted files to a zipped folder, they’ll be unencrypted when they’re unzipped, which might result in unintentional disclosure of personal or sensitive information. For that reason, we recommend that you avoid zipping encrypted files.

Some types of files, like JPEG images, are already highly compressed. If you zip several JPEG pictures into a folder, the total size of the folder will be about the same as the original collection of pictures.

Opening ZIP Files

The ZIP format offers the possibility to group several files or entire directory trees in a container file to save space. All common operating systems make compression functions available for archiving files that you no longer need using native tools. However, special compression programs offer a more extensive range of functions.

A detailed guide on how to create ZIP files can be found in our general article about ZIP files. Read our step-by step tutorial below and learn how to extract zipped files – both with your operating system’s standard programs and with the most popular applications by other software manufacturers.

Unpacking ZIP Files with Windows Standard Programs

Follow these steps to unpack ZIP files using the tools that Windows 10 provides:

Step 1: Select the ZIP file you want to extract and right-click on the selected file.

Step 2: Click on “Extract all. ” in the shortcut menu that opens.

Windows File Explorer shortcut menu

Step 3: Select the destination folder where you want to save the contents of the ZIP file and click “Extract”.

Selecting the save destination

How to Open ZIP Files with macOS Standard Programs

Follow these steps to unpack a ZIP file using the standard macOS archive program.

Step 1: Select the ZIP file you want to open and right-click on the selected file.

Step 2: Click on “Open With” in the shortcut menu and select “Archive Utility (default)”. Alternatively, with macOS a double-click on a ZIP file is sufficient to unzip it with the default program.

macOS Finder shortcut menu

The unpacked content is automatically stored in the same folder as the ZIP file.

Unpacking Compressed Files with ZIP Programs

Special compression programs provide more options for zipping and unzipping files. Some of the most popular applications for Microsoft Windows include WinZip,WinRAR, and 7-Zip.

WinZip

Follow these steps to open a ZIP file using WinZip:

Step 1: Download the program WinZip from the website of the Canadian software manufacturer Coral as a trial version or paid full version: https://www.winzip.com/win/en/.

Step 2: Install WinZip on your system and agree to integrate the program into the Windows File Explorer shortcut menu.

Step 3: Right-click on the ZIP file you want to extract and select “WinZip”.

Step 4: Choose one of three options for unpacking ZIP folders:

The WinZip program can be integrated directly into Windows Explorer’s shortcut menu.

WinRAR

Follow these steps to unpack a ZIP file using WinRAR:

Step 1: Download the proprietary archive program WinRAR from the provider’s website: https://www.rarlab.com/.

Step 2: Install WinRAR on your system and agree to integrate the program into the Windows File Explorer’s shortcut menu.

Step 3: Right-click on the ZIP file you want to open and select one of four options:

If necessary, you can integrate WinRAR directly into the Windows File Explorer shortcut menu and set the application as the default program for ZIP files and other archive formats.

The free software 7-Zip scores well not only with its extensive range of functions, but also since it’s free to use. To extract a ZIP file with 7-Zip:

Step 1: Download 7-Zip from https://www.7-zip.org/.

Step 2: Install the software on your system. The ZIP program is automatically integrated into the Windows shortcut menu.

Step 3: Right-click on the ZIP file you want to open and select 7-Zip from the Windows File Explorer shortcut menu.

Step 4: Select one of the following options to open the ZIP file with 7-Zip:

7-Zip can also be integrated directly into the Windows File Explorer shortcut menu after installation.

We offer you a detailed comparison of the most popular ZIP programs in our article on WinZip alternatives.

9 excellent FTP programs / FTP clients for Windows & Mac

Are you familiar with the file transfer protocol also known as FTP? Those who answered this question negatively are advised to learn more about FTP by reading this guide. FTP immensely eases the task of transferring data over the internet. FTP servers are an especially wise choice when faced with the job of transferring large volumes of data. Transferring files to servers for exchange requires a.

Create a ZIP File: compress your files

Encrypting ZIP Files: How to Password Protect Your ZIP Files

The ZIP format enables you to combine multiple files or entire directory trees in a compressed container file. This not only saves hard drive space when archiving; ZIP files can also be password protected, if required, to safeguard archived content from third-party access. We show you how to do this.

CRC errors: explanation, causes, and possible solutions

Cyclic redundancy checking (CRC) plays a crucial role in ensuring that the transmission and storage of files happen smoothly. If, however, this process encounters problems, the results can be horrendous, especially when trying to extract and retrieve important data. In this article, you will learn what causes a CRC error, what a CRC error is, and how best to fix it.

7z file: how do you open a 7z file?

Unzip files online

How do I unzip files?

How do I save all files into a folder?

Click on «Save All». If the button is disabled, it means your browser does not support this feature or it is not enabled.

In Chrome, you can enable it by toggling following setting:

How do I open password protected zip file?

How do I unzip my Dropbox files?

To save files to Dropbox, click on «Dropbox» dropdown under the «Save» or «Save All» buttons. You will need to authorise Dropbox for ezyZip the first time you do it.

Files will be saved into /Apps/ezyZip folder.

What operating system and browser does ezyZip support?

ezyZip supports any OS that can run a modern browser. We have tested it to work with Windows, MacOS, Linux (e.g. Ubuntu, Mint, Debian), Android, ChromeOS (Chromebook), iOS (iPhone, iPad & iPod Touch).

Ensure you are using the latest version of one of the popular browsers or their variants. (e.g. Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera).

Please let us know via the feedback form if you have any issues.

What is ezyZip?

ezyZip is a free zip and unzip online file compression tool that lets you zip files into an archive. It also supports unzip, allowing you to uncompress archived zip, zipx, 7z, rar, cab, tar, txz, tbz2, bz2, iso, lzh, deb, and tgz files. This includes password encrypted archive files!

Unlike other zip and unzip online utilities, ezyZip DOES NOT have file size restrictions or require you to upload / download files to a server. It runs locally as a browser app, thus making it much quicker than other similar zip and unzip online tools. This also ensures your privacy will be protected as no file data will leave your browser.

How to: Compress and extract files

The System.IO.Compression namespace contains the following classes for compressing and decompressing files and streams. You also can use these types to read and modify the contents of a compressed file:

The following examples show some of the operations you can perform with compressed files. These examples require the following NuGet packages to be added to your project:

The following example shows how to create and extract a compressed .zip file by using the ZipFile class. The example compresses the contents of a folder into a new .zip file, and then extracts the file to a new folder.

To run the sample, create a start folder in your program folder and populate it with files to zip.

Example 2: Extract specific file extensions

The following example iterates through the contents of an existing .zip file and extracts files with a .txt extension. It uses the ZipArchive class to access the .zip file, and the ZipArchiveEntry class to inspect the individual entries. The extension method ExtractToFile for the ZipArchiveEntry object is available in the System.IO.Compression.ZipFileExtensions class.

To run the sample, place a .zip file called result.zip in your program folder. When prompted, provide a folder name to extract to.

When unzipping files, you must look for malicious file paths, which can escape from the directory you unzip into. This is known as a path traversal attack. The following example demonstrates how to check for malicious file paths and provides a safe way to unzip.

The following example uses the ZipArchive class to access an existing .zip file, and adds a file to it. The new file gets compressed when you add it to the existing .zip file.

You can also use the GZipStream and DeflateStream classes to compress and decompress data. They use the same compression algorithm. You can decompress GZipStream objects that are written to a .gz file by using many common tools. The following example shows how to compress and decompress a directory of files by using the GZipStream class: