Why does OneDrive corrupt my ZIP files?

When you encounter "OneDrive ZIP download is corrupted", it might potentially be due to several reasons, including compatibility issues between the operating system and the version of OneDrive, security software interfering with the file transfer process, or a bug within the OneDrive application itself. Those may contribute to the corruption of ZIP files on OneDrive.

[5 ways involved] How to fix OneDrive corrupting ZIP files

Now that we've learned about the reasons why OneDrive downloads zip file corrupt, let's delve into the solutions. Every issue has a method to solve it. Here, we will examine 5 potential fixes for this matter.

Way 1. Check your antivirus

Malicious computer software, including malware and Trojans, poses a significant threat to the integrity of your personal computer, potentially resulting in data breaches and more. Thus, employing an effective antivirus program is crucial.

Nevertheless, if your chosen antivirus software carefully scans each file you download, the process might slow down, leading to potential complications such as corruption in ZIP files. To confirm this possibility, you just need to temporarily stop using antivirus software.

Way 2. Click ZIP file size limitation

OneDrive has certain file size limitations, so you can just upload large files to OneDrive, which are not out of OneDrive file size limitation. OneDrive allows users to upload individual files of up to 250GB in size and download files of the same size. However, when it comes to uploading files within a ZIP folder, the limit is set to 20GB for both uploading and downloading.

So, if you need to upload ZIP files to OneDrive, you can split large files into smaller parts before compressing them. This can be done using various file archiving tools that support file splitting, like WinRAR.

✿ Note: In addition to the capability of uploading a ZIP file to OneDrive, when you download multiple files from OneDrive, the platform automatically creates a ZIP file for your convenience.

Way 3. Repair the corrupted ZIP files using WinRAR app

If you encounter your downloaded OneDrive ZIP files not opening, you can repair those corrupted ZIP files by using WinRAR app, which comes equipped with a built-in repair feature for both ZIP and RAR archives. Follow these simple steps:

1. Launch the WinRAR application on your system by inputting WinRAR in the Search box.

2. Click on the File tab, then select Open.

3. A small window labeled Find Archive will appear. Locate the corrupted ZIP archive in your system directory, choose it and click the Open button.

3. Navigate to the Tools tab, then select Repair archive. Another small window titled Repairing File name.zip will emerge.

4. Click Browse to designate a location for saving the repaired archive. Then check the box Treat the corrupt archive as ZIP and click OK.

5. WinRAR will commence the repair process for the corrupted RAR archive. Once the process is complete, click Close. Then, WinRAR possesses the functionality to repair these ZIP files, regardless of whether they are your own files or encounter the common issue of SharePoint ZIP corrupted.

Way 4. Update OneDrive

If you are using an outdated version of OneDrive, you might encounter compatibility issues between OneDrive and the operating system. Uninstalling and reinstalling the latest OneDrive often proves effective in resolving such issues. To attempt this solution, follow the steps provided below:

1. Right-click on the OneDrive cloud icon on your desktop and select the Quit OneDrive option from the menu located in the Help & Settings bar.

2. Proceed to the Search menu > type Apps & features > locate Microsoft OneDrive from the desktop apps list > click it and choose Uninstall and simply follow the on-screen instructions.

3. Visit the official OneDrive website to download the latest version of the OneDrive software. Follow the provided instructions to install and properly launch OneDrive on your system.

Way 5. Reset OneDrive

To potentially resolve most OneDrive sync-related issues, such as OneDrive corrupting ZIP files, resetting OneDrive could be effective. Resetting OneDrive initiates a comprehensive sync process that often resolves the underlying problem. To reset OneDrive and solve the issue, please follow these steps:

1. Press the Windows key and R, then type the following in the dialog, and press Enter to confirm:

• %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\OneDrive.exe /reset

2. If the OneDrive icon in the taskbar's notification area vanishes and reappears within a few minutes, the reset method has been successfully executed. Now you can restart your OneDrive to check if it works.

Tip: How to save ZIP files to OneDrive with ease

While it is easy to solve OneDrive corrupting ZIP files, it is annoying to solve other unexpected errors of OneDrive every time, like OneDrive not running on Windows, or OneDrive couldn't be installed. If you want to upload your files to OneDrive easily and bypass those unexpected and annoying errors in OneDrive, you are going to need a third-party tool such as CBackup.

It is a free cloud backup and sync service that can help to sync to OneDrive error-free. What makes it the best option? Let's list some useful features for you:

It facilitates the seamless upload of various file types, including photos, videos, documents, and ZIP files, to OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.

It offers cloud to cloud backup to help you backup OneDrive data to Google Drive, Dropbox, FTP/SFTP, and other cloud storage platforms.

It offers you 10GB of free CBackup Cloud storage space when you sign up for a CBackup free account, and it allows you to expand the backup space to 1TB and 5 TB at affordable prices.

It offers a combining cloud feature that can help you merge multiple cloud accounts, like combining OneDrive accounts, to increase your storage space free to store your data.   

Here's a step-by-step guide on how to upload a ZIP file to OneDrive using CBackup:

1. Download and install the CBackup desktop app. Then create a free account and sign in to its desktop app.

2. Navigate to the Storage tab, select OneDrive, and click Authorize Now to let CBackup access to your OneDrive account.

3. Access the Sync tab and choose Sync PC to Public Cloud.

4. Navigate and select the ZIP files on your PC you wish to upload, then designate a specific folder within OneDrive for storage.

5. (Optional) Configure ZIP file auto-sync process under the Scheduler option within Settings.

6. Finally, initiate the upload process of the ZIP file to OneDrive by clicking Start Sync.

Conclusion

There are solutions you can try to solve OneDrive corrupting ZIP files. Once you tried, you may solve the issue for a moment. So, it's much more important to upload those ZIP files to OneDrive in another way.

And that's why CBackup is one of the best options you have for auto syncing your files to OneDrive error-free. It can also backup your files to OneDrive automatically, which can ensure that your important data is restorable in the event of any local data loss, system failure, or accidental deletion.