How can I repair a Word document for free?
You can use the Open and Repair option when opening a word document with a file corruption error. All you need to do is go to Microsoft Word > File > Open > Browse and select the file. However, instead of opening it right away, click on the arrow button next to Open, and select Open and Repair.
Causes of Document Corruption
If Word crashes while you're typing, you will lose your work since the last time you saved, but your saved file will still function. If the program happens to crash or freeze right in the middle of saving your file, however, it can corrupt the file by leaving it partially written.
These can be found via File, Open and clicking the Recover Unsaved Documents button found at the very bottom of the Recent File List. Open Word and select File, Options. In the Options dialog box select Save from the left hand menu.
Signs that your MS Word document is corrupt
A computer becomes unresponsive when you open the document. Document formatting and layout keeps on changing. Unreadable characters appearing all over the document. The document cannot load and gives you an 'Unspecified error' message.
Step 1: Right-click on the Word file you wish to corrupt and navigate to Send to ➜ Compressed (zipped) folder. Step 2: When the compression starts, cancel it before the process ends. Try to open the incomplete compressed file. It won't open as it is an incomplete zip version of the original file.
- Open the Word application, click "File" on the left top menu and click "Open".
- Click "Browse" to find the corrupted DOCX Word file.
- Click the All Files button and select "Recover Text from Any File (*. ...
- Click "Open" and wait for the Word application to re-open and display your Word document content.
- Navigate to File tab > Click Open on the left panel > Click Browse on the right panel.
- On the Microsoft Open window, select the unreadable word files.
- Choose Repair from the drop-down menu.
- Click Open and wait. Your damaged file will open and you had better save it as a new file.
- Use the SFC tool.
- Use the DISM tool.
- Run a SFC scan from Safe Mode.
- Perform a SFC scan before Windows 10 starts.
- Replace the files manually.
- Use the System Restore feature.
- Reset corrupted Windows 10.
File corruption usually happens when there is an issue during the 'save' process. If your computer crashes the file being saved will likely be corrupted. Another cause might be damaged sections of your hard drive or storage media that might have viruses and malware.
- Check Your Recycle Bin. Find the File. ...
- Use the Control Panel. If you can't find the file in the recycling bin, it could still be stored elsewhere on your computer. ...
- Use a Data Recovery Software. ...
- Hire a Data Recovery Service.
How do I recover a Word document from 2022?
- Open the Word document on your computer.
- Click on the File menu in the upper left corner.
- Find Manage Document option under Info.
- Click on Manage Document and choose Recover Unsaved Documents.
- Browse the recent unsaved files.
- Select a file to open.
On the Review tab, select Track Changes. In the Track Changes drop-down list, select one of the following: To track only the changes that you make to the document, select Just Mine. To track changes to the document made by all users, select For Everyone.
There is a chance that the Word file is damaged which is preventing it from opening in its usual way. But the 'Open and Repair' command in Word might be able to repair and recover the Word file. This feature can also Solved – A File Error has occurred in MS Word.
- In Word 2007, click the Office button and select Open.
- In the Open dialog box, click on the corrupt file that you would like to open and then click the small down arrow next to the Open button. This will bring up the Open menu.
- In the Open menu, select "Open and Repair."
In some cases, it is possible to recover and fix the corrupted file, while at other times it may be necessary to delete the file and replace it with an earlier saved version. A corrupted file may occur due to a defect or bug in the software used to create and manipulate the file in question.
A corrupted file may not open at all, or it may appear scrambled and unreadable. This does not always indicate that the core program is corrupted, however – such as might be the case, for example, when a Microsoft Word file will not open, but all other files of the same type remain unaffected.
- Select a text file by clicking the Select file button.
- Enter your email address.
- Click Next.
- Wait for file recovery to be completed.
- Download the recovered Word file.
A data or program file that has been altered accidentally by hardware or software failure or on purpose by an attacker. Because the bits are rearranged, a corrupted file is either unreadable to the hardware or, if readable, indecipherable to the software.
Go to File > Open. Click the Browse button and select the Word file that has the Word found unreadable content error. Expand the All Word Documents drop-down menu and choose Recover Text from Any File. Click the Open button and wait for the damaged file to open.
Go to "File" -> "Options" -> "Advanced" and scroll down until the "General" section is reached. In the "General" section, check the box that says "Confirm file format conversion on open." Exit Word, and reopen the corrupt document again.
How do I manually repair corrupted files in Windows 10?
- First, run the Command Prompt as Administrator by searching for it in the Start Menu by the keyword 'cmd' or 'command prompt. '
- Type the DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth command and hit ENTER. ...
- Now, you have to wait for the repair process to be at 100%.
Instead of fix-it tools, Windows 10 uses troubleshooters to help you solve problems with your PC. To run a troubleshooter: Select Start > Settings > Update & Security > Troubleshoot, or select the Find troubleshooters shortcut at the end of this topic.
- Click Start.
- In the search bar, type CMD .
- Right-click CMD.exe and select Run as Administrator.
- On the User Account Control (UAC) prompt, click Yes.
- In the command prompt window, type SFC /scannow and press Enter .
- System file checker utility checks the integrity of Windows system files and repairs them if required.
One of the most common causes of corruption is that files are being stored or accessed on a fragmented drive. Run a scandisk and defrag to optimize the drive and clear up lost clusters. This may also help with performance as the free harddrive space will now be contiguous.
The 5 Most Common Causes of File Corruption on a Windows PC
Malware attacks and viruses infecting your computer can corrupt your data. Data corruption can also result from improperly saving files. Incorrectly stopping a file relocation process can corrupt whichever file was being moved at that time.