Corrupt file errors occur when you double-click the file to open it, or when you attempt to open it from within an application. If you encounter one of these messages, here are some ways to fix the problem.

How to Fix Corrupted Files

Corrupt file errors can occur unexpectedly. Typically, you can only repair a corrupt file about half the time. Try these fixes to see if they resolve your corrupt file error.

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. Use the SFC /scannow command. This command aims to find and repair corrupt Windows system files.

4. Change the file format. Use a free file converter app, or open the file with any application that automatically converts from other file formats. 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.

5. 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 as Hetman, Repair Toolbox, or FileRepair. Try Digital Video Repair for corrupt video files, Zip Repair for corrupt ZIP files, or OfficeFIX to repair Microsoft Office files.

How to Protect Files From Corruption

File corruption can occur on any file type for various reasons. It’s crucial to regularly back up your files. Use backup software to ensure your important files are always backed up. This way, if a file becomes corrupted, you can recover it from the backup.

Causes of Corrupted Files

Corrupted files can occur with any file type, whether Word, Excel, PDF, image files, or Windows system files. When this happens, you might see an error like, “The file is corrupt and cannot be opened,” or “The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable.” Another common message is “Word found unreadable content in [filename]. Do you want to recover the contents of this document?”

Files can become corrupted for several reasons. A frequent cause is physical damage to the hard disk sector storing the file, known as a bad sector.

In some instances, multiple files are assigned to the same space in memory, resulting in a corrupted file error. Files are stored in memory clusters, and a bug in the operating system or a computer crash may cause two files to be allocated to the same cluster.

Additionally, viruses that incorrectly mark hard drive sectors as bad can lead to file corruption.