Forum zip files

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bitfogav
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Forum zip files

Post by bitfogav » Sat Aug 01, 2020 12:08 pm

Is anyone else having any issues with the zip files contained in forum posts?

I have tried to download a few zip files from the forum posts for example the links below, but when I try to unzip them I get a message saying the zip is invalid!..

https://sfcompiler.co.uk/phpBB3/viewtop ... 421#p10421
https://sfcompiler.co.uk/phpBB3/viewtop ... oth#p10671

I have tested it on win 10 and another PC with win 7, but both give me the same message..
Can anyone else confirm this so I know if the issue is my end? :roll: :roll:

Jerry Messina
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Re: Forum zip files

Post by Jerry Messina » Sat Aug 01, 2020 3:22 pm

I see the same issue... when I go to unzip the file I get "data error" so it's not just you.

From the few I've looked at, it only seems to be zip files that are in the forum posts and not ones from the wiki.

bitfogav
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Re: Forum zip files

Post by bitfogav » Sat Aug 01, 2020 3:44 pm

Yes same here the wiki ones work no problem.. I have tried to repair them but no success.. Thank you for confirming the issue Jerry.

Hopefully its just a glitch?, It would be a disappointment to lose the data on this forum..

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David Barker
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Re: Forum zip files

Post by David Barker » Sun Aug 02, 2020 8:20 am

I do not know what has happened.

phpBB stores attachments under a directory called "files". It seems that a number of these files have become corrupted. My rolling backup only goes back to May 2020. When I try and restore from then, the files are still damaged. I have no idea what has caused this.

I have tried uploading a new *.zip file and downloading. It seems to work fine. Could anyone else verify this? In addition, not all *.zip attachments are damaged. However, it has also impacted on some images as well.

At this point I do not know how to move this forward. If anyone has any suggestions?

bitfogav
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Re: Forum zip files

Post by bitfogav » Sun Aug 02, 2020 10:45 am

From what I can tell any zip file I have downloaded and tested from before and up to 2018 are corrupted. :cry: But zip files from late 2019 early 2020 seem to work with no problems at all.. did something change around 2018?.

Is it possible an update around this time to phpBB caused the issue?, I read a lot on support forums for phpBB that mention about using Filezilla and the fact that Filezilla default settings cause file issues.. Which then corrupts any restore/backup.. But I don't know if you are using any FTP system.

I'm sorry David I don't have much experience with websites or forums. So I don't exactly know where we can go from here.
Is there any website host support that maybe able to help or have an old backup on there system?..

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David Barker
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Re: Forum zip files

Post by David Barker » Sun Aug 02, 2020 11:13 am

The change over to phpBB3 happened much earlier. I think 2014. Certainly your idea of a FTP transfer that incorrectly auto detected ASCII rather than binary would fit *but* I haven't touched the files directory at all using any kind of FTP process.

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Re: Forum zip files

Post by Jerry Messina » Sun Aug 02, 2020 12:07 pm

I've tried a few repair tools, but so far none of them have produced anything remotely usable.

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David Barker
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Re: Forum zip files

Post by David Barker » Sun Aug 02, 2020 12:28 pm

I think it's something along the lines of what bitfogav was saying. Maybe it was to do with the move to phpBB3 - I really don't know. Assuming for a moment it is. And the files are stored as ascii and not binary, you may have a very small chance of converting ascii to binary with some utility *providing* you don't run into CRLF issues (that is, the binary file did not have a CRLF pattern). Failing that, I think it likely the files are lost...

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