Archiving is a great opportunity to reduce the amount of raw data. Such actions can be useful when placing files on the Internet or writing them to external media. However, sometimes users encounter problems opening archives.
One of the possible reasons is damage to the archive during its creation or copying. For example, when downloading from the Internet or saving from a CD, an error might occur, as a result of which some changes occurred to the archive. If you have access to the original file, try copying it over again.
If you do not have access to the original, use the function called "Repair archive" (or "Fix"). It is used in popular programs such as WinRar and WinZip. However, practice shows that such actions do not help in all cases.
Another reason may lie in the damage of the medium on which the archive is stored, for example, a floppy disk or a CD. If the archive file is located on your computer's hard drive, the problem may be related to corrupted sectors used to store the file. Open "My Computer", right-click on the desired local drive and select "Properties". Open the "Service" tab, click on "Run Check", check the box next to "Automatically fix system errors" and click the "Run" button.
Another common reason is trying to open the archive with the wrong program with which it was created. Some archivers may use some functionality that is not supported by another application. To open such an archive, it is advisable to try to find out what program was used to create it, and use it.
Finally, the fourth possible reason is the use of an old version of the archiver. For example, if the archive was created using one of the latest releases of the program, and an attempt to open it is carried out using an outdated version, then there is a high probability that it will never be opened. In this case, it is recommended to update the used archiver.
