Home-Windows-How to recover damaged files from a USB drive. Is there a program for damaged files? Recovering unwanted changes

How to recover damaged files from a USB drive. Is there a program for damaged files? Recovering unwanted changes

The reasons for the appearance of damaged files on a PC are a computer emergency shutdown and a virus attack. If such problems occur, the user loses access to office documents, pictures and installers. If images and installers can be re-uploaded, where can I find information that no one else has? How to recover damaged files as quickly as possible?

Utilities for “resuscitation” of information will help solve the problem. There are many free programs available. If the user remembers which HDD the deleted object was stored on, then he should refrain from installing the application on this particular hard drive.

Please note that it will not be possible to restore damaged files that disappeared long before installing the program. The faster the user discovers the loss of a document, the higher the likelihood of recovering the data. When actively rewriting information onto HDDs and SD cards, you should not count on success.

Recuva

This is the most popular utility for recovering missing files. The Russian-language interface of the application is clear even to a novice user. The program allows you to run SD cards and USB drives. The computer owner can recover data lost as a result of unintentionally deleting a document to the trash, hardware failure, or other error. The utility is intended for use in all versions of Windows OS.

The program works with FAT and NTFS file systems. Among the features of the application, it should be noted that there is a search function by name. The user can download the regular or portable version of the utility. To restore damaged Windows files without clogging up the registry with entries, just copy the standalone application to a USB drive and run the program.

Computer owners can customize the functionality. Setting the parameters will simplify the work of people who have minimal skills in using such utilities and want to speed up the search for documents.

Pandora Recovery

Using this free Russian-language program, you can recover damaged Windows 7 files. Features of the utility include the option to preview documents and images. This function is used when rewriting information to the same hard drive. The key advantages of the application include the ability to recover important data after deleting it from a damaged file system and re-formatting the HDD. The program will allow you to recreate disappeared objects whose MFT records were used by the system twice.

The user can find the desired document using special filters or select a file from the table. The utility recovers not only text notes and pictures, but also compressed archives. The application allows you to analyze the possibility of recreating unintentionally deleted records, taking into account the system-reused clusters in which they were entered.

PC Inspector File Recovery

The above utilities are designed to work with various electronic storage media. The PC Inspector program restores objects exclusively from the HDD, including after it has been formatted. The application can resuscitate data from damaged boot sectors and file tables. The utility is used to work with different types of HDD.

The program allows you to exchange information with network drives, i.e. perform recovery of damaged files from their clusters and save the received data there. Using the Special Recovery function, unique to applications of this type, you can recreate deleted objects that have no active links in the directory. The utility works with different types of files and documents.

Transcend RecoveRx

This is a free Russian-language application for recovering information from USB drives and hard drives. The interface is clear even to novice users. Transcend RecoveRx is the simplest and most effective solution for recovering files from a damaged hard drive, SD card and other optical media. The utility confidently copes with HDDs and USB drives that were previously formatted. To start the recovery process, just specify the storage medium and select the file from the list.

Disk Drill

This is a popular application for Mac OS X. Most recently, the creators released a free version of the program for Windows. The English-language utility has a simple interface. There is no need to download additional modules when installing the software.

The user can create an image of an electronic storage medium, which will subsequently be used for data recovery. These steps will help prevent damage to files on the physical drive.

Word Repair Free

Another free application for Windows. The utility allows you to perform The program does not require installation.

To start the recovery process, you need to download and open the application. Then you should go to the Repair section, click on the Open link and select the damaged file. After scanning and analysis, the utility will show objects that can be restored. To save the document to disk, click the Save button.

PhotoRec

This is a powerful utility to repair damaged JPG files. In 2016, a program update was released. The developers have added a graphical interface. Now even novice users can use the application.

The kit includes the TestDisk utility, which allows you to recover lost partitions on your disk. PhotoRec can restore over 200 images. The application is compatible with almost any device.

HD Video Repair Utility

There are special utilities for damaged videos. Among such programs, the HD Video Repair Utility application stands out. The utility does not require installation.

The user needs to open the application and click on the choose movie link. Then you need to select the damaged file and click on the Scan button. An error message appears. To fix the problem, you need to click on the choose reference movie link, select a normal video clip and click on the Scan button. In this way, you can “teach” the program to recognize damaged files.

The repaired video will be moved to a new Repaired folder. To reanimate the original data, the user needs 60-90 seconds to download the program and 10 minutes to recreate the records in the system.

CD Recovery Toolbox

Unlike other utilities listed above, this application is designed to recover information from DVDs and CDs. The program searches for files and folders that cannot be found in any other way. The free utility can recover data even from a scratched or unreadable disk. It is worth paying attention to the fact that the files themselves should not be damaged. Otherwise, the user will not be able to restore the necessary documents.

Excel is a program that is included in the Microsoft Office package and is needed to create, edit and view documents. The main purpose of Excel is to work with graphs, charts and tables, but other objects can also be recycled. There is a version of the program for a desktop computer, as well as for mobile devices and an online analogue. As you work, you can create multi-page documents (Excel workbooks), which are saved as a separate file in one of the popular extensions or remain in cloud storage if you use OneDrive.

First of all, you need to set up automatic saving of all changes in the document

All Microsoft Office programs have a function to automatically save changes. This is necessary in order not to lose progress in the document if the user forgets to click “Save”, a power failure occurs, or the computer breaks down. This way, if a problem occurs, you can go back to an older version without having to restore everything manually. In addition, you can recover data from a damaged or unsaved document using third-party methods:

  • Online services;
  • Downloadable programs.

Unfortunately, it is not always possible to restore data if you forget to save changes or a failure occurs. Therefore, it is best to prevent information loss.

The easiest way to do this is to set a smaller autosave interval:

  1. Click "File";
  2. Select the "Options" link;
  3. Open the “Save” tab;
  4. In the “Saving Documents” area, make sure that the “Auto-save every” option is activated;
  5. Set a short interval so that the computer has a better chance of saving data from loss in case you forget to save it or there are system failures;
  6. Click OK.

Another option that will help you avoid losing data is to use Excel OneDrive. This is a Microsoft platform that organizes cloud storage of information. When working in OneDrive, the user will not only not lose data if he forgets to save it or a failure occurs, but he will also not lose the document itself on the electronic computer. The service periodically saves progress in the background, and they are located on a virtual disk. You can use OneDrive spreadsheets or sync your Excel with it.

The third way is to use the “Change History” function. In order to access the list of versions, you must enable this feature in advance:

  1. Click on the “Review” tab;
  2. In the Tracking group, select Corrections.

If the command is not available, you need to disable file protection. In “Review” - “Protect”, click “Limit editing”, then disable protection (if a password is set on the file, you will have to enter it).

Data recovery using Excel functions

The 2010 version of Excel has new features. It has become easier to restore information if it was not saved or a failure occurred. New features include the appearance of tools for undoing changes that were made accidentally, synchronization with online storage, the ability to use Excel on mobile devices, and so on.

Recovering an unsaved file

Before you try to recover data from an unsaved document, make sure that it was created. It is impossible to restore a file that was not included in the system - such a table will have to be created again manually. To prevent cancellation of creation, periodically click the “Save” button or set the automatic function.

Before closing the Excel spreadsheet, a notification will appear asking you to save changes to the document. If the file has already been created, you can restore the data even after clicking “Don’t save.” This also happens when a program, computer, or power supply malfunctions. A copy of the most recent version of the document will be available for recovery. In order to return to it, you need to find a backup copy:

  1. Open the Excel workbook that is having problems;
  2. Click “File”, go to “Information”;
  3. Launch the “Recover Unsaved Books” function.

After you click on the last button, the program itself will display on the monitor a list of document versions that you can access. You can view the contents of each and decide which one you need - usually this is the most recent one. This feature can be accessed more easily by clicking “File,” then selecting “Recent.”

Remember that the storage period for the draft version of the file is 4 days - then they are simply deleted. Therefore, restoration should be performed as quickly as possible after you discover the loss of changes. Drafts also disappear if you later edit the file, saving progress, the program believes that they are no longer needed.

Typically, when you run a document that has not been saved, Excel displays a window where you can select one of the latest versions of the draft. Choose the copy that contains the most data and is also the most current. If you were unable to return them partially or completely, then you will never be able to return them - you will have to fill out the table again.

Recovering unwanted changes

If you have entered data that is not needed in the table and want to restore the previous version, try:

  • Press Ctrl + “Z” one or more times. This combination undoes the last action and can restore the table to look like it did some time ago. The function will not work if the document was closed and opened - then the information from the buffer is deleted.
  • Find previous versions of a document using a feature that became available in Excel 2010 and later. Click “File” - “Information”, then use “File History” if the option is enabled. Most likely, you will be able to return the archived version.
  • Find copies of the document itself in the state it was in before the change. There may be an equivalent on your portable device, in your downloads folder, or other location.

Recovering a file that was damaged before saving

If an application, file, computer, or power source fails while working with an Excel spreadsheet, it may become corrupted. For example, the document will stop opening or will show incorrect data. To restore it you need:

  1. Open Excel, follow the path “File” - “Open” - “Open and Restore”;
  2. Select one of the versions, as is done in the case of unsaved changes;
  3. Apply it and save your progress.

It is possible that during this option some information that was added most recently will be lost.

Recovering a replaced file

If a file has been replaced with another, it is usually impossible to return its contents. You can prevent the situation by backing up - for example, using “File History”, which is available in Windows 7 and higher.

You can also try the Ctrl + “Z” key combination - it may work if the computer has not been restarted. Then the original file will return to its place, and the new version will be deleted. Use this option more carefully, as sometimes both versions of the document may be needed. In this case, give them different names.

Data recovery using online services

In some cases, the functionality of Excel itself is not enough to return the file to its previous form. Then you can use free and paid programs on the World Wide Web - you don’t need to download them. With their help, you can restore more complex document defects.

Situations arise when a document has been saved, but does not open or does so incorrectly. This means that the information contained in it has been damaged, but Excel displays it incompletely or incorrectly. These types of files can be recovered by uploading them to Office Recovery, a partially free online program from Microsoft that analyzes and, if possible, returns the document to working condition. To do this:

  1. Open your internet browser;
  2. Go to the official Office Recovery service page (online.officerecovery.com/ru/);
  3. Click on “Select file” and download the damaged Excel workbook;
  4. Next, click “Secure Boot and Recovery” - the service itself will determine the document format, type of problem and solution;
  5. Download the final file (you can do this for free by writing a recommendation about the service).

This method does not allow you to recover all problems with documents. For example, it is powerless in the case when the data in the Excel workbook was completely rewritten and then saved.

An alternative option would be to recycle Online Recovery from Munsoft. The services have similar functionality, but the second one does not have the ability to work for free. To use it, go to onlinerecovery.munsoft.com/ru, download the required document by clicking on “Select”, and then perform the recovery. You will be redirected to a screen where you can purchase paid access.

Data recovery using downloadable programs

There are several ways to recover a damaged Excel document or recover data from it. This is done using various downloadable programs. All of them have wider functionality than online services. In addition, there are completely free utilities.

Using Recuva

Recuva is a completely free program that has good functionality for recovering deleted, lost or damaged data. Most often it is used by users who were unable to achieve the desired result using Excel options. Its capabilities and advantages include data recovery from formatted and damaged media, deleted messages in email services and music in digital players, folder structures and unsaved Microsoft Office documents. The free version of Recuva is enough to return damaged or lost files. More advanced options do not affect recovery in any way.

Algorithm of actions:

  1. Launch the program, select the file type (“Documents” for an Excel workbook);
  2. Specify the file location path - the more precise it is, the easier it will be to find the document in the list;
  3. Click “Next”, then “Start” - a menu will appear in which you need to select a file;
  4. Recover it by saving it to a different location.

Also, in some cases, saving in a different format is more efficient.

Using Repair Excel Free

This is a free and effective application for working with many extensions. The program supports Excel documents and can repair damaged workbooks. It is very easy to recycle:

  1. Open Excel and click “File” - “Open”;
  2. Select the damaged document;
  3. In the same window, click “Open and repair” in the drop-down menu.

Usually this program returns all data even from a damaged document.

Using ExcelFIX

The most popular and powerful, but at the same time expensive utility for working with lost and defective Excel files. It solves problems with documents that cannot be opened on a PC - it restores all kinds of book objects of any format. The demo version of Excel FIX allows you to view the recovered file, but does not allow you to download it.

Bottom line

Most Excel users find themselves in a situation where they need to recover an unsaved or damaged document. There are several ways to do this, which vary in complexity and functionality. It is recommended to first try to restore the document through Excel, and then move on to third-party programs, including paid ones.

Read, how to avoid file damage or fix already damaged ones. What are the causes of file corruption and how to protect them from it. On modern computers with sufficient security measures, file corruption is relatively rare. But sometimes it happens and a difficult moment comes for you. Is it possible to save a damaged file?

Let's look at the common causes of file corruption, how you can prevent it, and what to do if it has already happened.

Content:

What causes file corruption?


Most often, files can become damaged when saving them to disk. This can happen in different ways. The most common case is when the application encounters an error when saving or creating a file. When saving a document, the office application may encounter an error at the wrong time. When the file is compressed, a problem may arise when creating an archive. Your backup tool may fail when creating a backup. The browser (or any other download application) may also have problems writing the downloaded file to disk.

More often than not, these apps will notice the error and report it, giving you a chance to try again. But sometimes, unfortunately, you don't even realize there's an error until you try to open the file later.

There are, of course, other reasons why files can become corrupted.

When you turn off your computer, you are prompted to properly close any files that were open (or at least given the chance to do so). When this doesn't happen—for example, in the event of a power outage or a crash while shutting down the computer—the program has no way to close all files correctly. This can damage any files that are currently open, including not only your documents, but even operating system files.

Hard drive problems can also cause file corruption. The presence of bad physical sectors on the disk, mechanical damage, or signs of resource exhaustion can cause file corruption. Sometimes small errors such as cluster-shared files or lost clusters can be the culprit behind file corruption.

And, of course, malware and viruses can corrupt files. Often the fact of a computer infection is discovered when most of the information is corrupted or destroyed. Although this incident is more intentional than accidental.


First of all, the first thing you can do to protect your files is to back up all your data on an ongoing basis. But note that cloud storage and other types of file synchronization may not be enough to get the job done. If you have a corrupt file on your local drive that is then synced to the cloud storage, it will be replaced with the bad file and you won't have a good copy. If you rely on cloud storage, then at least make sure you have the ability to find previous versions of files (like Dropbox, for example).

It's always better to use the right backup solutions such as File history(on Windows), Time Machine (on macOS), or Backblaze, which allow you to restore multiple previous versions of files.

Next, be sure to make sure your computer is protected from viruses and malware. This includes not only a good antivirus application, but also common sense when viewing suspicious information and downloading.

Finally, you should consider purchasing an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) to protect your computer from a power outage or power failure. A UPS acts as a backup battery that provides power to your computer when power is lost. They typically take up little space and give you anywhere from a few minutes to an hour or more of backup time, depending on the battery power. This is quite enough to save information and shut down the computer correctly. Having a good UPS will help protect your files from crash damage and prevent hardware problems that crash damage can cause.

What can you do when a file is damaged?


If you have a corrupted file, your best bet is to replace that file with a good one. Download it again if you downloaded it previously, or download it from a saved backup copy.

In case of damaged system files (from an unexpected power outage, incorrect update or malware), you can always try the application built into the standard Windows set - System File Checker. It scans your system for corrupted system files and then replaces them with the originals.

Before you do this, it is best to try to correct the cause of the problem. In the case of viruses, you must first make sure that you remove all malicious programs from your computer. And if you are sure that the problem with the update was caused by the presence of viruses, then you can complete the installation of the update correctly.

If your damaged file is a document you created, then unfortunately your options are limited. Some applications (such as those included with Microsoft Office) automatically save multiple versions of your document, allowing you to open a previous version if the current version is corrupted.

If you don't have the option to open the previous version, you can restore the file, or at least recover the text from it. The standard Microsoft Office applications offer built-in tools for recovering lost and damaged documents, as do some other programs. Even if you cannot recover all the text from a document, but only part of it, you will still save a lot of time by recreating the entire document from scratch.

There are also several applications that claim to be able to repair various types of damaged files. Some of them are free, and some are paid. But the truth is, not all of them work well. And some of the programs we tested were too bloated with accompanying applications or, even worse, infected with viruses. Given this, we recommend simply not using them.

If you need to recover damaged JPEG, TIFF, PNG or BMP files, use the program

If files are damaged, there is no need to delete them immediately, especially if they are valuable and there are no backup copies. First of all, you need to restart your PC and reopen the file. In this case, it is advisable to defragment the disk. If it does not open, then you need to check whether the object extension is set correctly. There are often cases when this is where the problem lies (especially for novice users). If the methods described above did not help, you can try to recover damaged files using software.

Recovering graphic files

One of the most popular programs for recovering damaged graphic files is RS File Repair. With the help of the wizard built into the program, even a beginner can handle it. The application is designed to recover files in JPEG (JPG, JPE, JFIF), TIFF, TIF, PNG formats. RS File Repair can work on all file systems and versions of Windows.

Recovering MsOffice Files

If you cannot recover documents using standard MsOffice tools, the small Easy Office Recovery program can come to the rescue. It quite successfully recovers damaged and deleted MsOffice documents: from MsOffice 95 to the latest versions. There is support for XLS, XLSX, DOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX, PST formats. The wizard built into the program will make it quite easy to navigate it and complete the task.

Archive recovery

As you know, archives are used to transfer a large number of files on the Internet and reduce the amount of stored information. All this together increases the popularity of their use, but at the same time, archives are highly susceptible to damage. To restore them, you can use the tools of the WinRar program itself. If you launch such an archive, a window appears in it that informs you that “The archive is damaged or has an unknown format.”

To fix the archive, you need to open the WinRar program, use it to find it and select it. Then click the “Fix” button in the top menu. In the window that appears, select the directory to save and the file type, then click OK. All that remains is to wait for the process to complete.

In conclusion, it must be emphasized that the best way to ensure the safety of important files is to create backup copies and save them on external media or on the network.

Sources:

  • Restoring a damaged book

As a result of various events, you may find that files, which you previously used without hindrance, do not open. The operating system displays strange errors, familiar programs refuse to open documents or photos, and you realize that files damaged. However, it is too early to remove them. There are various recovery utilities available.

You will need

  • - computer;
  • - Internet;
  • - browser;
  • - Advanced Word Repair and Undelete Plus programs.

Instructions

You can use the popular Advanced Word Repair utility to restore doc files. Launch the program by double-clicking on the start shortcut on the desktop. If there is no shortcut, you can find it in the program folder. Specify the necessary settings - location, their type and other parameters.

After the program has finished running, open the folder with the recovered files and check their functionality. If files still do not launch, or instead of document symbols (if your documents were damaged) you see only a page, then the recovery was unsuccessful.

Try working with other programs. Don't despair - sooner or later you will find exactly the one that will help you. Developers have probably already encountered similar problems, and a solution in the form of a utility has long been invented, you just need to find it.

You can also use the Undelete Plus software. Download from the official website undeleteplus.com. As soon as you launch the program, a window will appear in which select the disk from which you want to recover files. You can also select all local drives, but this will take longer.

Excel spreadsheet files may be corrupted. This can happen for completely different reasons: a sudden power cut during operation, improper saving of a document, computer viruses, etc. Of course, it is very unpleasant to lose information recorded in Excel books. Fortunately, there are effective options for its restoration. Let's find out exactly how you can recover damaged files.

There are several ways to recover a damaged Excel workbook (file). The specific method you choose depends on the level of data loss.

Method 1: Copy sheets

If an Excel workbook is damaged, but nevertheless still opens, then the fastest and most convenient recovery method is the one described below.


This creates a new workbook with an intact structure that will contain data from the problematic file.

Method 2: Reformatting

This method is also only suitable if the damaged book is opened.

  1. Open the workbook in Excel. Go to the tab "File".

  2. In the left part of the window that opens, click on the item "Save as...".

  3. The save window opens. Select any directory where the book will be saved. However, you can leave the location that the program indicates by default. The main thing in this step is that in the parameter "File type" you need to select an item "Web page". Be sure to check that the save switch is in position "The whole book", not "Selected: Sheet". After the choice is made, click on the button "Save".

  4. Close Excel.
  5. Find the saved file in the format html in the directory where we saved it before. Right-click on it and select the item in the context menu "Open with". If there is an item in the additional menu list "Microsoft Excel", then we move along it.

    Otherwise, click on the item “Select program...”.

  6. The program selection window opens. Again, if in the list of programs you find "Microsoft Excel" select this item and click on the button "OK".

    Otherwise, click on the button "Review…".

  7. An Explorer window opens in the installed programs directory. You should go through the following address template:

    C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OfficeNo.

    In this template, instead of the symbol «№» you need to substitute the number of your Microsoft Office package.

    In the window that opens, select the Excel file. Click on the button "Open".

  8. Returning to the window for selecting a program to open a document, select the position "Microsoft Excel" and press the button "OK".

  9. After the document is open, go to the tab again "File". Select an item "Save as...".

  10. In the window that opens, set the directory where the updated book will be stored. In the field "File type" install one of the Excel formats, depending on what extension the damaged source has:
    • Excel workbook (xlsx);
    • Excel 97-2003 workbook (xls);
    • Excel workbook with macro support, etc.

Thus, we will reformat the damaged file using the format html and save the information in a new book.

Using the same algorithm, you can use not only html, but also xml And SYLK.

Attention! This method is not always able to save all data without loss. This is especially true for files with complex formulas and tables.

Method 3: Recovering a book that won't open

If you cannot open a book in the standard way, then there is a separate option for restoring such a file.


After this, the data will be opened in a new file, in which the word “[recovered]” will be added to the original name.

Method 4: recovery in particularly difficult cases

In addition, there are cases when none of the above methods helped restore the file. This means that the structure of the book is severely damaged or something is preventing recovery. You can try to restore by taking additional steps. If the previous step does not help, then move on to the next one:

  • Exit Excel completely and restart the program;
  • Restart your computer;
  • Delete the contents of the Temp folder, which is located in the “Windows” directory on the system disk, and then restart the PC;
  • Check your computer for viruses and, if found, eliminate them;
  • Copy the damaged file to another directory, and from there try to restore it using one of the methods described above;
  • Try opening the damaged workbook in a newer version of Excel if you do not have the latest version installed. New versions of the program have more options for repairing damage.

As you can see, damage to an Excel workbook is not a reason to despair. There are a number of options with which you can recover your data. Some of them work even if the file does not open at all. The main thing is not to give up and if you fail, try to correct the situation using another option.



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