"gzip: stdin: invalid compressed data--format violated "

I've seen this before, albeit not with Linux: -

AIX - Fun with the tar command

This is what I was doing: -

tar xvzf /mnt/hgfs/Software/DB2V10/Product/DB2_ESE_10_Linux_x86-64.tar.gz

and this is what I saw: -

ese/db2/linuxamd64/FILES/
ese/db2/linuxamd64/FILES/BASE_CLIENT_R_10.1.0.0_linuxamd64_x86_64.tar.gz
ese/db2/linuxamd64/FILES/BASE_CLIENT_NR_10.1.0.0_linuxamd64_x86_64.tar.gz
ese/db2/linuxamd64/FILES/DB2_PRODUCT_MESSAGES_EN_10.1.0.0_linuxamd64_x86_64.tar.gz
ese/db2/linuxamd64/FILES/BASE_CLIENT_10.1.0.0_linuxamd64_x86_64.tar.gz

ese/db2/linuxamd64/FILES/BASE_CLIENT_10.1.0.0_linuxamd64_x86_64.tar.gz

gzip: stdin: invalid compressed data--format violated
tar: Unexpected EOF in archive
tar: Unexpected EOF in archive
tar: Error is not recoverable: exiting now

I'd already set up my ulimits but - and this is important - had not rebooted OR restarted my shell.

I needed to reboot anyway ( in order to disable SELinux ).

Once done .... it still didn't work :-(

I tried various combinations, none of which worked.

I then tried the same .TAR.GZ file on my Mac, which .... threw: -

x ese/db2/linuxamd64/FILES/BASE_CLIENT_10.1.0.0_linuxamd64_x86_64.tar.gz: gzip decompression failed
tar: Error exit delayed from previous errors.

proving that the problem was NOT with the ulimits, but may be with the common item - the archive.

Given that this archive had worked ~24 hours ago and given that the external USB drive from whence I was unpacking the file had been accidentally ejected from the Mac a wee while previously, I put two and two together, and ran the Mac's Disk Utility against the drive to repair files/permissions etc.

Once done, the process was smoother than a smooth thing in smooth land .....