If you’ve encountered the frustrating “install failed: a file corruption has occurred” error with the Epic Games Launcher, you are not alone. This error typically occurs when attempting to download popular Epic Games titles like Fortnite, Rocket League, Borderlands, and others. These games are built on Unreal Engine, which shares common issues across many of the most downloaded Epic games. If you’re having trouble with this error, let’s walk through some of the solutions that might help resolve the issue.
1. Understanding the Download Process
Unlike traditional downloads where a single large file is transferred, Epic Games Launcher (and Steam) download games in chunks. This is done to save on storage and reduce the overall space required for installation. For example, if you were downloading a large game like Fortnite, the launcher will download these chunks, extract them, and then install the game. This process, however, comes with its challenges, particularly related to file corruption during the extraction of these chunks.
One important aspect that could lead to this corruption is encryption. Many of these game files are encrypted, and proper synchronization between the game files and the server is crucial for a successful download. This brings us to the first potential solution: checking your system time and date.
2. Check Your Time and Date Settings
Since encryption relies on synchronization, it is essential that your system time and time zone are correct. An incorrect time or time zone could lead to corrupted downloads. To fix this:
Ensure that your system’s time zone and the date are properly set to your location.
Try adjusting the time zone by one hour either forward or backward and attempt downloading the game again.
3. Check Your Hard Drive Health
Another potential cause of file corruption is a failing hard drive. If your drive is physically compromised, the download process can fail. To check the health of your drive, you can use CrystalDiskInfo (for health status) or Mark utilities to assess its condition.
If the drive reports as having a “bad” status, immediately back up your files to prevent data loss, and replace the drive if necessary.
If the drive is healthy, proceed by running the Check Disk Utility in Windows to detect and fix any file system errors.
To run Check Disk, open the Command Prompt as an administrator and type:
chkdsk D: /f
Replace D: with the drive you want to check. If the drive is currently in use, the system will prompt you to run the scan at the next restart.
4. Check the File System
Many users store games on external drives. However, external drives—especially USB thumb drives—can have limitations that cause errors like this one. By default, Windows formats these drives in FAT32, which cannot handle files larger than 4GB. This can lead to corruption when downloading large game chunks.
To resolve this, ensure that the external drive is using NTFS or exFAT file systems, which can handle larger file sizes. To reformat a drive, follow these steps:
Right-click on the drive in Windows Explorer.
Select Format.
Choose NTFS (or exFAT) and click Start. Note that reformatting will erase all data on the drive, so be sure to back up important files before doing this.
5. Bad RAM and Corruption
A less obvious but significant culprit for file corruption during installation could be faulty RAM. If the downloaded chunks are being extracted and stored into bad or unstable RAM, they may become corrupted. This can be particularly problematic if you notice that the total download size keeps increasing, and the game download starts and fails repeatedly.
Here are a few steps to check and stabilize your RAM:
Overclocking Issues: If your RAM is overclocked, it could be unstable. You can use HWInfo64 to check the RAM speed and make sure it is running at default speeds.
To disable overclocking, enter the BIOS settings and set the RAM to its default speed.
Once done, try downloading the game again. If it works, you can re-enable your RAM’s overclocked settings.
6. Additional Solutions to Consider
If none of the above works, here are a few extra steps:
Reinstall Epic Games Launcher: Uninstalling and reinstalling the Epic Games Launcher can sometimes fix any underlying issues.
Clear Web Cache: Clearing the web cache in the Epic Games Launcher may resolve download issues.
Check Network Settings: Sometimes issues like a VPN, network firewall, or proxy settings may affect downloads. Try disabling any VPN or proxy settings to see if that resolves the issue.
7. Final Thoughts
While this issue can be frustrating, a combination of time zone settings, disk health, file system issues, and faulty RAM can all contribute to the “file corruption” error in the Epic Games Launcher. If you’ve already tried official solutions and common troubleshooting steps, the advice above should help pinpoint and fix the issue.
Remember, understanding how your system handles downloads and the storage of game files is key. Also, troubleshooting basic computer issues like file systems, hard drive health, and RAM stability will go a long way in resolving this error. By following these steps, you’ll be on your way to getting back into your favorite games without interruption.