[Corrupt File Repair] How to Fix Corrupted Files in Windows

File corruption occurs unexpectedly from time to time, and it is not specific to a particular file format. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, photo, video, or other media files may be damaged due to various reasons, showing the following error messages when you try to open them:

• 😨The file is corrupted and cannot be opened in Excel/Word
• ❌The file cannot be opened because there are problems with the contents
• 🔒Cannot open the file because the extension is not valid
• 📃The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable 

If you happen to meet any of these file-corrupted messages, try the 7 solutions in this article to repair damaged files in Windows 10.

Apply to: Repair Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, and Windows 7, including 32-bit and 64-bit versions from File history.

Corrupt File Repair: How to Fix Damaged Files in Windows 10

Fix 1. Corrupted File Repair Software - EaseUS Fixo 

The most effective solution for corrupted file repair is by using file repair tools in Windows. A robust data repair tool, EaseUS Fixo, enables you to repair and restore lost/existing corrupted photos, videos, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or other files under all data corruption scenarios.

Being an efficient file repair tool, EaseUS Fixo is competent to:

• Repair corrupted Excel files after recovery
• Repair damaged photo files
• Fix multiple files at the same time
• Fix damaged MP4 files on Windows and Mac
• Repair damaged files from PCs, laptops, external devices, etc.

Before you are going to fix corrupted files in Windows 10, watch this video first. It provides you with more details on corrupted file recovery.

Now, download and use the EaseUS file repair tool to fix corrupted files in Windows 10, 8, and 7 with a few clicks.

Step 1. Download and launch Fixo on your PC or laptop. Choose "File Repair" to repair corrupted Office documents, including Word, Excel, PDF, and others. Click "Add Files" to select corrupted documents.

Step 2. To repair multiple files at once, click the "Repair All" button. If you want to repair a single document, move your pointer to the target file and choose "Repair". You can also preview the documents by clicking the eye icon.

Step 3. Click "Save" to save a selected document. Select "Save All" to save all the repaired files. Choose "View Repaired" to locate the repaired folder.

Many Windows 10/11 users have proved the efficacy of the tool. If you are interested in resolving the file repair, share it on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms!

If you don't plan to install any third-party file repair software locally, you can try the fixes below to see if you can fix your corrupted file.

Fix 2. Use a Check Disk Tool on the Hard Drive to Fix the Corruption

If file system errors on your hard drive cause the file damage, you can scan your disk to repair corrupted files.

Step 1. Open "File Explorer" > right-click the HDD/SSD you want to scan > choose "Properties".

Step 2. Under the "Tools" tab > click the "Check" button under the Error-checking section.

Step 3. Next, you can choose to "Scan drive" if you want or "Repair drive" if errors were found.

Step 4. Wait while Error Checking scans the selected hard drive for errors. If errors are found, you may be asked to restart your computer. If no errors are found, you can close any open windows and continue using your computer normally.

Fix 3. Use the CHKDSK/SFC Command to Fix Your Repaired Files

If you need to repair an external hard drive or the HDD's file system has corrupted, you can't access the files saved on it. In this case, you can use the CHKDSK utility to fix the affected disk to recover corrupted files.

Step 1. Click the Search box, and type CMD. Right-click the Command Prompt and choose "Run as administrator".

Step 2. Type the following command E: /f /r /x, hit the Enter. Here, you can replace E with your drive letter. 

After the fix, you may view your recovered files if a bad sector or system file corruption causes the damage. If not, move to the following solutions. 

You can also run the SFC command line tools after using CHKDSK. SFC is short for System File Checker tool. This command prompt scans all corrupted system files. It attempts to repair the system file by copying a cached copy of each corrupted file from the system32\dllcache folder.

Step 1. Click the Search box and type CMD. Right-click the elevated Command Prompt and choose "Run as administrator".

Step 2. Type sfc /scannow and hit "Enter".

This command prompt aims to find and repair corrupted system files.

Fix 4. Run Command Prompt CHKDSK Alternative- DISM Tool

You can employ the DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) tool. The good news is that you don't need sophisticated programming knowledge to use this application.

You may also rapidly ascertain the presence of any corrupted files in your local Windows 10 image files by using various command options on the DISM tool. To learn, adhere to the instructions below;

Step 1. Perform a search using the "Command Prompt," then right-click on the top results that appear. After that, choose "Run as Administrator."

Step 2. Enter after typing the following commands to fix the Windows 10 image;

DISM/Online/Cleanup-Image/RestoreHealth

Fix 5. Change the File Format to Recover Corrupted Files

Opening a corrupted Excel or fixing Word document, but only to find there is no data. You can try to repair corrupted Excel or Word by saving it as another format.

Step 1. Repair docx or Excel file and go to "Save As".

Step 2. Select "Web Page" from the possible file formats. Ensure the whole Excel file is selected, and then click "Save".

Step 3. Find the saved file, and right-click on it, select "Open with" > "Microsoft Office files".

Step 4. If the file can be opened usually, go to "Save As" and choose an Excel format .xls or .xlsx. Then, the corrupted Excel file will be recovered.

Fix 6. Use an Online File Repair Tool

You still have the chance to repair damaged files with an online file repair tool. This kind of file repair approach is easy to operate. Generally, you just need to upload the damaged file, perform the repair, and then download fixed documents.

However, this type of software has the following disadvantages in common:

Therefore, think twice before fixing corrupted files with an online tool if you want to try OnlineFile.Repair is a nice one. If you're looking for the best corrupted PDF file repair tools, visit the linked page.

Fix 7. Resort to File Recovery Service to Prevent Further Data Loss

Do not become nervous if the methods are unable to achieve corrupt file repair. You can restore your damaged files with the use of data recovery services. You can also speak with a data recovery specialist from EaseUS to get started. You can get your data back and resume working with expert help.

What Causes File Corruption or Preventive Measures

There are various reasons why files become corrupted. These include:

• Power outages, computer crashes, or bugs in the operating system may lead to files being corrupted
• If the hard drive or the storage device has some bad sectors.
• The presence of malware and viruses on your storage device
• A Bad update or unexpected computer shutdown
• Files are stored in memory in a cluster

Knowing these causes, we can effectively avoid files getting corrupted or damaged in these aspects.

To Sum Up: When the Files Are Corrupted, How to Fix Them

There are six methods in all to help you repair corrupted files in Windows 10. If you don't want to use any extra tools, you can try the built-in Windows utilities for free, such as the disk check tool, CHKDSK, or system file checker - SFC /scannow command prompt to fix damaged files from previous versions of file history.

If these methods aren't feasible or you want to resort to professional EaseUS Fixo, the EaseUS file repair tool is a great option. Integrated with advanced file repair technology, it can repair any data file quickly and effectively.

FAQs About How to Fix Corrupted Files in Windows 10 

Here are a few questions related to how to repair corrupted files. You can find the methods here if you have any problems. 

1. What is a corrupted file?

Corrupted data are files that suddenly become inaccessible or unreadable. A file gets corrupted for several reasons, like virus infection, power outage, hard drive problems, etc. When you try to open a damaged file, you will see an error that says something like, "The file is corrupt and cannot be opened" or "The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable".

2. How can I repair corrupted Word files?

EaseUS Fixo Document Repair tool can repair damaged Word documents, corrupted videos, or crashed JPEG/JPG during the preview process. If your Word document becomes corrupted by a virus attack, hard drive error, or OS crash, this method can repair your Word file effectively.

Step 1. Launch EaseUS Fixo, and then scan the missing or damaged Word files.

Step 2. Find the damaged files through the filter, file path, search, etc. This program will automatically repair corrupted and damaged files.

Step 3. Click Recover to save the repaired Word files to a safe location.

3. How can I recover corrupted files for free?

You can use EaseUS free data recovery software and file repair tool to recover corrupted data up to 2GB in simple steps: scan > preview and repair > restore.

4. How can I repair corrupted JPEG files?

Try EaseUS file repair tool to fix corrupted JPEG or JPG pictures caused by bad sectors on the corrupted hard disk, operating system bugs, system file damage, etc.. It can recover thumbnails of severely damaged JPEG files from PCs, laptops, external hard drives, SD cards, USB flash drives, and other storage devices. It can:

• Repair corrupted Excel/Word file after recovery
• Repair damaged photo files
• Fix multiple files at the same time
• Fix damaged MP4 files on Windows and Mac
• Repair damaged files from PCs, laptops, external devices, etc.