i am totally confused from this point on
2) List the ZIP contents (safe — doesn’t extract anything)
This shows file names and sizes inside the archive:
Add-Type -AssemblyName System.IO.Compression.FileSystem...
it is running the first command you gave me
1) Create the ZIP correctly (PowerShell built‑in)
Paste this single line into your elevated PowerShell prompt:
Compress-Archive -Path "C:\RecoveredBackup*" -DestinationPath "C:\RecoveredBackup\DriveBackup.zip" -CompressionLevel Fastest -Force
Immediately copy irreplaceable files (photos, documents) to a different healthy drive (internal or another external). Use File Explorer or robocopy for a more robust copy that skips bad files:
Example robocopy command (open Windows Terminal as Admin and adjust letters):
robocopy "D:\"...