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Spiderwebart
User level: Level 1 (4 points)

Issues With Compressing Files and Folders into ZIP Files

Hello I am currently at a bit of a loss and could really use some assistance. I have a Mac Mini currently running Sequoia 15.7.3 that has some external servers connected to it. It has worked fine till now but I have been trying to compress some files and some folders and have run into errors that say it can't be done right when it was about to finish compressing. Does anyone have any idea why this is? And more importantly, does anyone have any solutions to this issue? Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

Posted on Sep 16, 2026 2:13 PM

3 replies

HWTech
User level: Level 9 (78,350 points)

Sep 17, 2026 7:49 AM in response to Spiderwebart

Are you using the "compress" option in the Finder?


Since you mention "external servers".......are the files/folders with issues located on another networked device?


Do you have any issue compressing a folder stored on your internal SSD?


Does the storage device where these files/folders you are compressing are stored......is there enough Free storage space there to accommodate 2x-3x the size of the items you are compressing? Does your internal SSD? I'm not sure where the work space would be located when using the macOS Finder to compress items.


Are there any non-alphanumeric characters in the file & folder names anywhere in the path for any item being compressed? I know those non-alphanumeric characters can wreak havoc when making a .ZIP file.

MrHoffman
User level: Level 10 (169,253 points)

Sep 16, 2026 8:00 PM in response to Spiderwebart

Post the zip command used and the error messages received.

rkaufmann87
User level: Level 10 (149,622 points)

Sep 16, 2026 7:34 PM in response to Spiderwebart

It is helpful to us when you ask a question that has the details of exactly what you are doing and what you are experiencing. Your post does not tell us what steps you are taking to try to compress the files & folders in question. We cannot guess either, so while we are happy to assist we need a more comprehensive question.

Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256358478