if you catch one of these messages, here are some ways to fix the problem.
How to Fix Corrupted Files
Corrupt file errors can be unpredictable and can happen when least expected.
A corrupt file can be repaired only about half the time.
Patrick Lindenberg / Unsplash
Perform a check disk on the hard drive.
Running this tool scans the hard drive and attempts to recover bad sectors.
After the sectors are repaired, reopen your file again to see if it’s no longer corrupted.
Use the CHKDSK command.
This is the command version of the tool we looked at above.
It’s worth a try if the check disk tool failed.
Use the SFC /scannow command.
This command aims to find and repair corrupt Windows system files.
Change the file format.
For example, open a corrupted Word document with a PDF app to launch a file-conversion utility.
Often, a file conversion alone repairs a corrupt file.
Use file repair software.
If you’re desperate to fix the file and recover your information, try a file repair utility.
There are both free and paid tools, such asHetman,Repair Toolbox, orFileRepair.
TryDigital Video Repairfor corrupt video files,Zip Repairfor corrupt ZIP files, orOfficeFIXto repair Microsoft Office files.
Usebackup softwareto keep your important files backed up at all times.
This way, if a file is corrupted, you could recover it from the backup.
Another message that you’ll see is, “Word found unreadable content in [filename].
Do you want to recover the contents of this document?”
There are a number of reasons files can get corrupted.
One common reason is that the sector on the hard disk where the file is stored had physical damage.
A sector with physical damage is known as a bad sector.
Viruses that erroneously mark hard drive sectors as bad can also lead to files getting corrupted.
FAQ
Acorrupted filecould be a symptom of a virus, but it isnt a virus itself.
To determine whether a virus might be causing the problem, run one of the best antivirus software programs.
