You may receive an error message such as Windows cannot open the folder. The Compressed (zipped) folder is invalid when a ZIP-file is corrupt. Causes may vary, but most of the times it’s a ZIP file downloaded from the internet. The download may not have completed successfully.
The error happens in all Windows versions (Windows 10, Windows 8/8.1, Windows 7) since basic ZIP functionality was added.
See more: How to Fix ZIP file won’t open/extract on Windows 10
How to fix Windows cannot open the compressed ZIP folder
There are several methods to fix the error, but the success rate depends on the cause of the issue. Here are the solutions:
Method 1. ZIP-file is huge
If your ZIP-file is too large, you may need to use a third-party tool such as WinZIP. This tool is freeware and can handle most archived files.
Method 2. ZIP-file is corrupted
If your ZIP-file is corrupted or contains inconsistencies, you may need to repair the file. Here are the steps:
1. First, re-download the ZIP-file from the internet.
Note: Make sure you have sufficient free disk space on your drive.
2. If the issue still persists, you may need to repair the file using Object Fix Zip.
Object FIX ZIP is a program for repairing Zip archive files. It can reconstruct a specified Zip file by creating a new Zip archive while recovering the contents of the faulty Zip file where possible.
1. Download and install Object FIX ZIP on your computer.
2. Open Object FIX ZIP and go to the folder of the corrupted archive.
3. Choose the ZIP or RAR file. Click the Next button to continue.
4. Select what the program should do:
– Test ZIP file data integrity.
– Fix/Repaird archive – try to create a new good ZIP file.
– Extract ZIP file contents.
Click the Next button to continue.
5. Please wait until repairing is finished, then click Next to view the results.
After repairing, close Object FIX ZIP and then browse to the folder where you saved the repaired archive file. Try to open and extract.
Method 3. The Compressed (zipped) folder is invalid because it contains malware or viruses
A ZIP-file from the internet may very well contain malware, viruses, ransomware or whatsoever. Your antivirus program (such as Windows Defender, Bitdefender, e.g.) will detect this as soon as you double click the compressed file. Then it don’t allow you to access the file.
Hope something helps you.