Open a document after a file corruption error (2023)

FAQs

How do I fix a corrupt Word document that won't open? ›

Step 1: Repair document

In Word, select File on the Ribbon, and then select Open. In the Open dialog box, click once to highlight your Word document. Select the arrow on the Open button, and then select Open and Repair.

A corrupted file is always unusable and inoperable. When facing this issue, you can first try to repair them or try to run a virus detection program. However, if they do not work, you can try a third-party file recovery tool - Recoverit Data Recovery program to help recover corrupted files in Windows.

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.

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.

Sometimes a file can be damaged in such a way that Word, Excel, or PowerPoint can't open it normally. But all is not lost. The Open and Repair command might be able to recover your file.

If the PDF still doesn't work after updating Acrobat Reader, go to Help > Repair installation. Restore previous version. Another method to repairing a damaged PDF is restoring it to a previous version. Head to the location where the PDF is saved, right click on the file and select Restore previous versions.

Right-click the Command Prompt and choose "Run as administrator". Step 2. Type: sfc /scannow and hit "Enter". This command aims to find and repair corrupt Windows system files.

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. Note the AutoRecover files location.

How can I open a corrupt Word document online? ›

The files have been corrupted or damaged before recovery. The files have been encrypted due to virus or malware infection. New data has overwritten the files. The storage device has some problems, such as bad sectors, physical damage, etc.

One symptom of a corrupt file system is that the system cannot locate, read, or write data located in the particular file system. To fix a damaged file system, you must diagnose the problem and then repair it.

Yes, you can fix a corrupted hard drive by formatting it with a new file system. Logical hard drive corruption is often caused by a damaged or corrupted file system. Formatting the partition will correct this.

Have you encountered one or more corrupted files on your computer? If so, your computer may be infected with malware. File corruption is a common symptom of a malware infection. Whether it's a virus, trojan, ransomware or any other malware, it may corrupt some of your computer's files.

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.

In the Start menu search bar, search for command prompt and select Run as administrator. Then, type chkdsk x: /f /r and press Enter. Remember to replace x with your drive letter. Windows will now scan the drive and look for any bad sectors, directory errors, lost clusters, and recover data if necessary.

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.

How do I recover a PDF that won't open? ›

Unsupported file type: This is the most common reason you cannot open PDF. Occasionally some files may erroneously have the default application set to Adobe Reader. This problem is usually an inadvertent human error. Outdated Acrobat or Adobe Reader: An outdated Adobe Reader or Acrobat program will throw this error.

Any problems caused by third-party software, system file corruption, system settings changes, or malware should be fixed by resetting your PC. Windows reset will put the software back into the same condition as it was when you started it for the very first time (such as when you purchased the PC).

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. Open the Word application and click on the 'File' menu.

Follow these steps to fix the issue: Open Windows File Explorer, navigate to the folder that contains the file, then right-click the file. Select Open With. Select Microsoft Word from the list of options.

With data recovery software such as Disk Drill, you can retrieve all lost files and a significant portion of formatted data from your crashed hard drive.

The temporary file that is created when Word performs an automatic save is stored in the Temp folder, unless there is not a valid Temp folder. In this case, Word saves the temporary file in the same folder where it saves the document.

How do I convert PDF to Word without corruption? ›

Step 1 Download and install Adobe Acrobat on your computer from the official website of Adobe. Step 2 Open a PDF file in Adobe Acrobat that you want to convert into Word without changing the format. Step 3 From the menu click on File and Export. Step 4 Now choose "Microsoft Word Document" as the text format.

Open a blank file in OpenOffice. Go to the "Insert -> File" menu and insert your corrupted file. (For spreadsheet, Calc or ODS documents, instead use the "Insert -> Sheet from File" menu option.) Browse to that location and see if your file is there.

Step 1: Open MS Word and click on the "Files" menu. Step 2: Go to the "Open" option and then click on the "Browse" tab. Step 3: Scroll and select the corrupted file you have identified. Step 4: Next, click on the drop-down tab and select the "Open and Repair" option.

Open Windows File Explorer, navigate to the folder that contains the file, then right-click the file. Select Open With. Select Microsoft Word from the list of options.

Low disk space on your system. A corrupt DOC or DOCX file is being loaded. You don't have permission to open the document. The file is blocked or protected.

Select the text that you want to return to its default formatting. In Word: On the Edit menu, click Clear and then select Clear Formatting.

How do you fix this file is infected with a virus? ›

Disconnect your computer from the internet. Scan it using anti-malware software. (Optional) Reinstall your operating system and format your drives. Restore lost files from a backup or using data recovery software.

A macro virus is a type of computer virus that could be stored in macros within a Microsoft 365 file (such as a document, presentation, workbook, or template), or within any ActiveX control, COM add-in, or Microsoft 365 add-in.