How to recover a damaged or unsaved Excel document and prevent data loss. How to fix corrupt WMV files? How to recover damaged files using the wizard

Damage to important data on flash cards is not a rare occurrence and at the same time extremely unpleasant. We are accustomed to thinking that flash cards are a more reliable means of storing files than a computer or laptop, because they are more likely to break down and lose documents due to viruses and any other malware. However, flash cards are not protected against file loss; fortunately, they can be recovered.

Before you learn how to recover files from a damaged flash drive, you should first understand what causes the damage. Prevention is better than cure, moreover, this knowledge will help you learn more about how to repair a damaged flash drive.

Reasons for failure and loss of files from a flash drive:

These reasons are the most common, but in addition to them there are others, less common, such as wear of a flash drive. Repeated cycles of writing and reading, downloading and deleting can damage the flash drive. One way or another, you don’t have to worry about this, since it’s extremely difficult to use the drive until it wears out. There are more serious factors that worsen the condition of flash drives, these are increased temperature and humidity.

Recover accidentally deleted or damaged files

Unlike deleting documents from the computer desktop, when deleting documents from flash cards, they do not go into the trash, but are deleted permanently. You can recover such files using a special USB data recovery program.

Important! Remember that such software only recovers deleted files that have not yet been overwritten.

To understand this, you need to know how a flash drive works. When you delete a file, it is not erased from the drive itself, but remains on it, but when you download new files, they take the place of the previous ones. Therefore, if you accidentally deleted an important file, try not to use the flash card temporarily to avoid overwriting.

The same method is also suitable for recovering data lost after a quick format or after an unsuccessful copy. Like deletion, it does not erase data, but only makes it possible to overwrite it. Again - the sooner you start recovering, the more data you will be able to recover.

Recovering Files Using EaseUS

Step 1. Download and install the selected program; working with EaseUS will be considered as an example.

Note! Many of the programs presented above work on the same principle, so if you familiarize yourself with one of them, you will most likely cope with the others.

Step 2. Select a location to start searching for data. Launch EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, select the location where your data was stored before deletion - on the flash card, and start scanning.

Step 3. To start scanning, click on the orange “Scan” button.

Step 4. View and recover lost files. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard allows you to preview files before recovery. Click the "Recover" button to restore the file, or "Cancel" to cancel the process and close the preview window.

Note! After previewing and filtering your files, you can target the monitored files and click the Recover button to get all your files back.

Recovering files damaged by viruses

Damage to files on a flash drive can be caused by worms or Trojans. One of the common actions of malware is to hide files and folders, turning them into small shortcuts that cannot be opened.

To recover files you will need:

• Windows PC;
• an infected removable storage medium, i.e. a USB drive;
• antivirus and/or malware removal software;
• file search program;

Step 1. Check whether your files are hidden or not. First, open the command line application via search in the Start menu.

Then enter this command "attrib -h -r -s /s /d f: *. *" same as shown in the screenshot.

Enter the command attrib -h -r -s - s - d f- in the “Command Line” field, press “Enter”

Important! This command assumes that "f:" is the name of your flash drive. Remember to replace "f" if the drive letter you want is different.

Now press Enter and check if the files and folders are visible on your drive. If yes, then the problem is solved, if not, then go to the second step.

Step 2. Scan and remove malware.

Launch your security software. McAfee 2018 AntiVirus, Kaspersky or any other antivirus installed on your computer will work well. Open the program and perform a thorough check of your PC's hard drive and flash drive.

Now check the items on your device, see if the shortcuts have disappeared. If yes, that's great. Otherwise, it is possible that a virus or malware has deleted your files. Go to Step 3.

Step 3. Data recovery and disk formatting. First of all, you will have to format the flash drive, that is, “delete” all files. There's nothing wrong with that. After formatting, you can restore them in the same way as with accidental formatting, which was discussed above.

Video - How to recover damaged files

Are you looking for a program to recover damaged files? After recovering deleted data, the necessary files do not open or open with an error message? Don't know how to restore the structure of damaged photos?

Recover damaged files with the program

Use RS File Repair to recover damaged data. The program will quickly correct errors in the file structure and restore them to their original form. The step-by-step recovery wizard and MS Windows Explorer-style interface make working with the utility easy and straightforward, not requiring special skills. Thanks to this, each user will be able to quickly find and restore the necessary files even after serious damage.

With RS File Repair you can "fix" files in two ways.

If you restore data using the wizard, you will be able to work with several files at once, even if they are in different folders. The program will repair the damage and save the files to the folder of your choice.

If you do not use the wizard when restoring damaged files, then the preview function will be available to you, and you will be able to preview the corrected files before saving.

Recovering damaged files using the wizard

In each new wizard window, you will find detailed step-by-step instructions that will help you easily recover damaged files. If you want to start working with the wizard every time you start the program, use the “Display the wizard when starting the program” option.

In the "Select Files" window, you need to indicate the damaged files that you would like to fix and save. Here you can add any number of files from different folders to the list of recoverable ones, remove files from the list, or completely clear the list. You can also choose how to display the list of selected files (“Icons”, “List”, “Table”) and use file sorting.

Then select the type of analysis for the recovered data. In most cases, it will be enough to use the “Analysis” function, which allows you to quickly eliminate damage to the logical structure of files.

The second type of data processing – “Research” – is used if it is necessary to analyze the file structure in more detail. This takes much more time, but allows you to recover even severely damaged data by preserving the maximum amount of information from the original files.

In the next window, the wizard will prompt you to select the path to save the recovered data (the folder in which it will be saved), and also determine some more principles for saving the corrected files on the selected media.

Recover damaged files with preview

If you decide “manually”, without using a wizard, select the folder in which the files you need are located on the left side of the main program window. The entire contents of the directory will be displayed on the right, and you can select the files you need in it.

If the file is damaged, the program will not be able to display its contents. To restore its structure, use the menu “File” - “Analysis” or “File” - “Research” of the main menu of the program. After completing these functions, the files will be available for preview.

So, you've rolled up your sleeves and are ready to take on the task of recovering damaged files yourself. The method you use depends entirely on the type of file that is damaged. Without wasting much time on the introductory part, let's dive straight into the details regarding corrupted file recovery.

First, let's try to understand the general steps that you can take to fix corrupted files.

General steps to recover damaged files.

Try restarting your computer and opening the file again. If this worked, then the next thing to do is to defragment the partition or the entire hard drive. To do this, select “My Computer”, right-click on the disk, select “Properties”, select the “Service” tab and then “Defragment”. This system utility is used in all versions of Windows.

Another step you can do is to copy the file to another location and try opening it from there. You can also check if the file extension is correct.

You can try to rename the file extension to some other format, for example. TXT and try opening the file in Notepad.

How to recover damaged system files?

The answer will depend on the type of operating system you are using. However, let me try to explain the procedure through which you can fix corrupted Windows system files in XP operating system. The procedure is quite simple. All you need to fix corrupted files in Windows XP is to insert the original Windows XP disc that you used to install the operating system on your computer. Run the disc and wait for the computer to recognize it, you will see the CD/DVD install icon in My Computer. Once you see that the drive is ready to go, simply go to the Start menu and select Run. In the dialog box that appears, enter the command SFC /SCANNOW.

SFC is a system file checker utility that checks the integrity of system files and repairs them if system files are damaged or missing.

You can perform the same action through the command line in Windows 7, to do this, click the Start menu - All Programs - Accessories, find the “Command Prompt” item, right-click on it and select “Run as administrator” from the drop-down list. If you are prompted to enter or confirm a password, then enter the password and click “Allow.” Next, in the command line, write sfc /scannow and press Enter.

I hope this simple procedure will help you solve the problem. Now, let's move on to the topic of recovering damaged files for some common formats.

How to recover a damaged Excel file?

To begin with, here is a method that allows you to recover damaged Excel files without using any third-party software. Microsoft Excel has several built-in tools for fixing corrupted files. Open Microsoft Excel and try to open the file you want to fix using "open and repair". To do this, go to the File menu, select the "Open" command and select the file. Click on the arrow next to the “Open” button and select the “open and restore” option from the drop-down list.

If you cannot open the file in Excel at all, then you can change the file extension and try opening the file in another software.

How to recover damaged PowerPoint files?

There are a few simple steps you can take to fix a corrupted PowerPoint presentation file. Just open a new file and click on the button in the "Insert" menu. Here you will get the option to insert "Slides from files". Find the corrupted file using this option and select the corrupted file. Once you are done, you can simply import the slides from the corrupted file into a new file and save it. In case this option does not work, Select the "Insert" option to insert individual slides.

Now let's take a look at the methods to recover damaged media files. Let's take the WMV file type as an example.

How to fix corrupt WMV files?

The best way to fix damaged WMV files is to use special file repair and recovery programs. You can also try "Windows Media File Editor" which comes with the Windows Media Encoder package. You can also try special software such as "All Media Fixer" to help fix corrupt WMV files. This third party software can be used for many other multimedia file formats such as WMV, ASF, MP3, MP4, etc.

At the end of the article, I would like to remind you that backing up all your computer data is the best way to recover lost and damaged files. There are many excellent and also free backup programs. They will allow you to automatically create a backup copy of your data. Here I suggest reading the article ""recovering all the data on your computer.

If a file on your computer does not open due to a system error, do not rush to delete it, especially if the information recorded in it is very important to you. Try one of the methods described in this article. If none of them helps you, try contacting any computer repair service center - specialists will definitely provide you with the proper assistance. In the meantime, try to recover the file yourself.

How to recover a damaged file using programs

• You can choose any file recovery program; sometimes even antivirus programs have such software. In this article, the RS File Repair utility will be taken as an example, you can download it from the link with the name of the utility on the official website, please note that the program is not free, if you need free software, then look at programs such as MunSoft Data Recovery and R.save, the plus is that they have the same principle of operation, and this article will become instructions for them too.

• Find in the list of recovery programs exactly the one that returns damaged files, click “download”.

• After the download is complete, double-click on the saved file and proceed with the installation. Select the program language and click “Ok”.

• Read the recommendations on the screen, close other active applications so that nothing interferes with the installation process. Click “Next”.

• Read the license agreement and click “I Accept”.

• Select the program installation directory. If you have two drives, then do not install programs on drive C if possible.

• The installation is almost complete, all you have to do is click on the “Install” button.

• Once the damaged file recovery program is installed, uncheck the “Show ReadMe file” box and leave it on “Run RS File Repair”.

• All your work in the open program will be contained in this small window called Recovery Wizard.

• Find the small folder icon and click on it to select damaged files.

• Select the folder where the file is located, click on it and click “Open”.

• Select “Forward” to continue the recovery.

• There are two recovery methods available to you; to put it simply, these are the “Deep” and “Superficial” methods. Of course, it is better to give your preference to the first option, but it will take a little longer.

• Specify the path to save your recovered file by clicking on the word “Browse”. Don't forget to uncheck the “Overwrite files with the same name” checkbox, otherwise this option will erase all files that have the same name. It's better to save everything you currently have in that directory.

• In the example, the desktop is selected. Click “Ok” and then “Forward”.

• After a few minutes, you will see the recovered file on the desktop of your computer, or in another folder you selected earlier. If the file occupied a large amount of memory, then you will have to wait a little longer.

How to recover damaged files online

The option of installing special software is suitable for those users who have to perform this procedure often, or with a large number of lost files. When you need to recover several small documents or photos, there is no need to install programs, since there are many online services to choose from. For example: utility from munsoft, online recovery

• Once the recovery is complete, download your file. Please note: if you do not trust the service you are using, turn on your web antivirus.

Now you know how easy it is to restore your damaged file in two ways to choose from. If none of the steps help you, contact a specialist: the document may have undergone major changes.

Access to files on a flash drive (USB drive) may be disrupted for several reasons.

• careless removal;
• incorrect removal of the drive from the computer;
• physical damage;
• viral infection;
• resource exhaustion.

All reasons except the last one are the result of inattentiveness or carelessness of users. Most of them, in particular, simply pull the flash drive out of the computer connector, ignoring the recommended safe removal procedure. In this case, the built-in microprogram (firmware) may be damaged. A resource exhaustion is due to the fact that the number of write/delete cycles on any medium is not infinite and, if it has reached the limit, then restoration is impossible, and you have to buy a new device.

Recovery methods

How to recover damaged files from a flash drive? In most cases, this can be done completely or partially.

Usually, when files appear to be deleted, they remain in their place, and the path to them becomes inaccessible.

This situation persists until new entries are made to the flash drive, which can erase the previous information. Therefore, new recording attempts must be excluded. Formatting the USB drive will make the problem even worse.

If you have problems opening it on a flash drive, first of all you need to restart your computer. If there is no effect, you need to sequentially resort to the following methods to recover data:

• In-system disk troubleshooter;
• eliminating the consequences of a virus attack;
• specialized programs.

In-system tool

Windows' ability to check and automatically correct simple disk faults can also be used for a USB drive. To do this, you need to perform the following steps sequentially:

Eliminating the consequences of a virus attack

For reliable system operation, some important system files are assigned the “Hidden” attribute. Thus, they become invisible and protected from careless user actions.

In some cases, viruses that have entered the system do the same with files on a USB drive, hiding them in the same way as system ones. To check you will need to do the following:

If, after opening the flash drive icon in the Computer window, translucent icons of previously invisible files become visible, then you should get rid of viruses. If after this the restoration does not occur and the icons do not take their normal appearance, then you need to manually remove the “Hidden” attribute. To do this, on the same icon:

Recuva program

If previous manipulations were unsuccessful, then you will have to resort to the help of specialized programs. As an example, consider from the company Piriform (known for its widespread CCleaner program). The sequence of actions after installation is as follows:

1. Launch the program;
2. In the window that appears, to restore damaged data in dialog mode, it is recommended to click “Next”; For experienced users, there is a “Do not open the wizard at startup” mode;
   
3. In the next window you need to select the type of files to be restored;
   
   
4. Then click “Browse” and specify the flash drive as the location;
   
   
5. In the next window, before clicking “Start”, it is recommended to check the “Enable in-depth analysis” checkbox: in this case, recovery will take more time, but the results will be better.
   
   
6. When finished, the scan results will be displayed in color. In most cases, media information is recovered better than others. A green circle indicates that the file can be fully recovered, and a red circle indicates that it is hopeless. A file marked with a yellow icon can be partially recovered. For text documents this is an acceptable option.
7. After this, all you have to do is check the boxes next to the files, specify the recording location (any location except a flash drive!) and click “Recover.”

Photos are often stored on a flash drive. If they could not be restored completely, you can try opening them in the standard built-in Paint program, and then resaving them. Experience shows that this simple program is less critical to damaged images. And to view partially defective video data, it is best to use the VLC player for a similar reason.