diff --git a/shp-exporter/src/main/java/com/kamco/makesample/service/GeoServerRegistrationService.java b/shp-exporter/src/main/java/com/kamco/makesample/service/GeoServerRegistrationService.java
index 62bebd0..16da0f7 100644
--- a/shp-exporter/src/main/java/com/kamco/makesample/service/GeoServerRegistrationService.java
+++ b/shp-exporter/src/main/java/com/kamco/makesample/service/GeoServerRegistrationService.java
@@ -169,6 +169,7 @@ public class GeoServerRegistrationService {
    * @param layerName GeoServer layer name
    */
   public void registerShapefileByPath(String absoluteFilePath, String layerName) {
+    String shpFilePath = null; // Declare outside try block for error handling
     try {
       log.info("Starting shapefile registration to GeoServer (file path reference)");
       log.info("Input file path: {}", absoluteFilePath);
@@ -202,7 +203,7 @@ public class GeoServerRegistrationService {
       log.info("File size: {} MB", file.length() / 1024 / 1024);
 
       // Convert .zip path to .shp path if needed
-      String shpFilePath = absoluteFilePath;
+      shpFilePath = absoluteFilePath;
       if (lowerPath.endsWith(".zip")) {
         shpFilePath = absoluteFilePath.substring(0, absoluteFilePath.length() - 4) + ".shp";
         File shpFile = new File(shpFilePath);
@@ -215,6 +216,41 @@ public class GeoServerRegistrationService {
         log.info("Converted ZIP path to SHP path: {}", shpFilePath);
       }
 
+      // Verify all shapefile components exist and are readable
+      File shpFile = new File(shpFilePath);
+      String basePathWithoutExt = shpFilePath.substring(0, shpFilePath.length() - 4);
+      String[] requiredExtensions = {".shp", ".shx", ".dbf"};
+      String[] optionalExtensions = {".prj", ".cpg", ".qpj"};
+
+      log.info("=== Shapefile Component Verification ===");
+      for (String ext : requiredExtensions) {
+        File component = new File(basePathWithoutExt + ext);
+        if (!component.exists()) {
+          throw new IllegalArgumentException(
+              "Required shapefile component not found: " + component.getAbsolutePath());
+        }
+        if (!component.canRead()) {
+          throw new IllegalArgumentException(
+              "Cannot read shapefile component (permission denied): "
+                  + component.getAbsolutePath());
+        }
+        log.info("  ✓ {} exists ({} bytes, readable: {})", ext, component.length(), true);
+      }
+
+      for (String ext : optionalExtensions) {
+        File component = new File(basePathWithoutExt + ext);
+        if (component.exists()) {
+          log.info(
+              "  ✓ {} exists ({} bytes, readable: {})",
+              ext,
+              component.length(),
+              component.canRead());
+        } else {
+          log.info("  ⚠ {} not found (optional)", ext);
+        }
+      }
+      log.info("=== End Verification ===");
+
       // Check if layer exists and handle overwrite
       if (properties.isOverwriteExisting() && layerExists(layerName)) {
         log.info("Layer '{}' already exists. Deleting...", layerName);
@@ -258,21 +294,55 @@ public class GeoServerRegistrationService {
           e.getStatusCode(),
           e.getResponseBodyAsString());
 
-      if (e.getStatusCode() == HttpStatus.INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR) {
+      if (e.getStatusCode() == HttpStatus.BAD_REQUEST) {
         log.error("");
         log.error("========================================");
-        log.error("ERROR: GeoServer cannot access the file path");
+        log.error("ERROR: GeoServer returned 400 Bad Request - Cannot locate file");
+        log.error("");
+        if (shpFilePath != null) {
+          log.error("File URL sent to GeoServer: file://{}", shpFilePath);
+        } else {
+          log.error("File URL: (path not yet determined)");
+        }
         log.error("");
         log.error("Possible causes:");
-        log.error("  1. File path is not accessible from GeoServer server");
-        log.error("  2. GeoServer user lacks read permissions");
-        log.error("  3. File path format is incorrect (must be absolute path)");
+        log.error("  1. PATH MISMATCH: GeoServer sees a different path than application server");
+        if (shpFilePath != null) {
+          log.error("     - Application path: {}", shpFilePath);
+        } else {
+          log.error("     - Application path: {}", absoluteFilePath);
+        }
+        log.error("     - GeoServer may see: different mount point or drive letter");
         log.error("");
-        log.error("Solutions:");
-        log.error("  1. Verify GeoServer has file system access to the .shp file");
-        log.error("  2. Check file permissions (chmod 644 or similar)");
-        log.error("  3. Ensure path is absolute and correctly formatted");
-        log.error("  4. Ensure all shapefile components (.shp, .shx, .dbf, .prj) exist");
+        log.error("  2. GEOSERVER SECURITY: External file access may be disabled");
+        log.error("     - Check GeoServer global settings for 'Enable external entities'");
+        log.error("     - Check data security settings");
+        log.error("");
+        log.error("  3. FILE ACCESS: GeoServer process cannot read the file");
+        log.error("     - Check file permissions from GeoServer server perspective");
+        log.error("     - GeoServer user (tomcat/geoserver) needs read access");
+        log.error("");
+        log.error("  4. MISSING COMPONENTS: Required shapefile files missing");
+        log.error("     - All files (.shp, .shx, .dbf, .prj) must exist");
+        log.error("");
+        log.error("Verification steps:");
+        log.error("  1. SSH to GeoServer server");
+        if (shpFilePath != null) {
+          log.error("  2. Run: ls -la {}", shpFilePath);
+        } else {
+          log.error("  2. Run: ls -la <shapefile-path>");
+        }
+        log.error("  3. Verify path matches and files are readable by GeoServer user");
+        log.error("  4. Check GeoServer logs for more details");
+        log.error("========================================");
+        log.error("");
+      } else if (e.getStatusCode() == HttpStatus.INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR) {
+        log.error("");
+        log.error("========================================");
+        log.error("ERROR: GeoServer internal error (500)");
+        log.error("");
+        log.error("This usually indicates a shapefile format issue or corruption.");
+        log.error("Check GeoServer logs for detailed error information.");
         log.error("========================================");
         log.error("");
       }