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Zip files are corrupted and can't be opened

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Windows 11 & Android

Question or Issue
In May this year, I cleaned up my dropbox. So I zipped some folders and then deleted them.
Now that I need any of the files, I unzip the files, but all documents and pictures are corrupted and I can't open them. There is data inside (it has a size bigger than 0), but I cannot seem to unpack it so that it has meaningfull contents.

As my 30-day restore period is already passed, I cannot restore the deleted folders. Does anyone have an idea how to get my files back?

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Hannah

Hey @MirandaV, thanks for reaching out to the Dropbox Community.

Let's see if we can find out anything that will help us resolve this.

Did you use some kind of third party app to zip your files?

Also, when you zipped them, were they set to "available offline" or to "online-only"?

And approximately when did you zip and delete your files?

Keep me posted.

tiffanywalkEr

If the zip files themselves are corrupted, it's probably best to try a dedicated file recovery tool. But if that doesn't work, your data will unfortunately be lost, as Dropbox can't restore it after the 30-day period.

MirandaV

I used the windows default 'copy to zip' tool. When I zipped them, they were set to 'available offline'.
I zipped them at May 8th and deleted the original files afterwards.
I can see the files inside the zip files when I unpack them, but I cannot open the files (pdf/docx/jpg/png, nothing can be opened)

Megan

Hey @MirandaV, let me jump in here too.

Have you tried opening the zip files on another computer, or maybe using a different software such as 7Zip, Winrar, etc., to see if this changes things?

Also what is the specific error you get? It sounds like this might be linked with how the files were originally zipped or unzipped, and not directly related to Dropbox, but I'm here to help in any way possible.