diff --git a/prepare.py b/prepare.py
index 06bea9165..1513d1beb 100644
--- a/prepare.py
+++ b/prepare.py
@@ -55,11 +55,17 @@
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 def download_single_shard(index):
-    """Download one parquet shard with retries. Returns True on success."""
     filename = f"shard_{index:05d}.parquet"
     filepath = os.path.join(DATA_DIR, filename)
+    
+    # 1. Enhanced integrity check: verify metadata if the file already exists locally
     if os.path.exists(filepath):
-        return True
+        try:
+            pq.read_metadata(filepath) # Semantic validation: ensure Parquet structural integrity
+            return True
+        except Exception:
+            print(f"  Detected corrupted file {filename}, re-downloading...")
+            os.remove(filepath)
 
     url = f"{BASE_URL}/{filename}"
     max_attempts = 5
@@ -67,24 +73,37 @@ def download_single_shard(index):
         try:
             response = requests.get(url, stream=True, timeout=30)
             response.raise_for_status()
+            
+            # Retrieve expected file size from the HTTP Content-Length header
+            expected_size = int(response.headers.get('content-length', 0))
+            
             temp_path = filepath + ".tmp"
             with open(temp_path, "wb") as f:
                 for chunk in response.iter_content(chunk_size=1024 * 1024):
                     if chunk:
                         f.write(chunk)
+            
+            # 2. Physical validation: verify byte count consistency
+            actual_size = os.path.getsize(temp_path)
+            if expected_size > 0 and actual_size < expected_size:
+                raise IOError(f"Size mismatch: expected {expected_size}, got {actual_size}")
+
+            # 3. Semantic validation: confirm the file adheres to the Parquet specification
+            try:
+                pq.read_metadata(temp_path)
+            except Exception as e:
+                raise IOError(f"Invalid Parquet metadata: {e}")
+
             os.rename(temp_path, filepath)
-            print(f"  Downloaded {filename}")
+            print(f"   Downloaded and verified {filename}")
             return True
+            
         except (requests.RequestException, IOError) as e:
-            print(f"  Attempt {attempt}/{max_attempts} failed for {filename}: {e}")
-            for path in [filepath + ".tmp", filepath]:
-                if os.path.exists(path):
-                    try:
-                        os.remove(path)
-                    except OSError:
-                        pass
-            if attempt < max_attempts:
-                time.sleep(2 ** attempt)
+            print(f"   Attempt {attempt}/{max_attempts} failed: {e}")
+            if os.path.exists(temp_path):
+                os.remove(temp_path)
+            time.sleep(2 ** attempt)
+            
     return False
 
 
@@ -121,7 +140,6 @@ def list_parquet_files():
     files = sorted(f for f in os.listdir(DATA_DIR) if f.endswith(".parquet") and not f.endswith(".tmp"))
     return [os.path.join(DATA_DIR, f) for f in files]
 
-
 def text_iterator(max_chars=1_000_000_000, doc_cap=10_000):
     """Yield documents from training split (all shards except pinned val shard)."""
     parquet_paths = [p for p in list_parquet_files() if not p.endswith(VAL_FILENAME)]
@@ -136,6 +154,7 @@ def text_iterator(max_chars=1_000_000_000, doc_cap=10_000):
                 yield doc
                 if nchars >= max_chars:
                     return
+                
 
 
 def train_tokenizer():