How to recover a damaged file using the program? What are corrupted files? Free USB Drive Recovery Software

So, let's consider a standard situation that very often arises for the average user: you accidentally deleted photos, videos, music and documents from the family archive; remembered them six months later; we didn’t panic - we used the Hetman Partition Recovery data recovery tools (or, as a last resort, pc inspector file recovery), and got our pictures back; but one of the most important files is damaged! Now let's try to save him.

Hetman File Repair can successfully recover files graphic formats– digital photographs and pictures even after the logical structure of the object has been disrupted due to a virus attack. The program is easy to use, fast and effective.

If you also have problems with the video, we recommend HD Video Repair Utility- She understand different types files and is made in a language understandable to a simple “user”. The utility is “one-button” - you clicked “open file”, selected an object, waited and you can enjoy watching.

It has no analogues in the matter of deciphering broken office documents. Recovery toolbox for Word. It is noteworthy that the result, i.e., text from the document, is displayed in the program window. This means that the only inconvenience in the free version is the need to copy it to a new sheet each time.

All the applications reviewed made a positive impression. Each is worthy of attention, but a couple of the most interesting, in our opinion, are the following.

All Media Fixer– the program supports various methods for recovering media files, and is a good all-in-one tool for photos, videos and music. Of course, it saves you from the impossibility of opening by simply erasing faulty fragments and normalizing the structure of the object, but almost all analogues work in a similar way.

MP3val– a very small and remote utility. The program edits MP3 metadata and eliminates micro-glitches on audio tracks. After it, even the most capricious player will be able to open files and car stereo, and most importantly, breaks in songs, interruptions with switching to the next track, tags in “Albanian” and other unpleasant things will disappear.

AnyReader created to recover data lost on a scratched disk, faulty flash drive, HDD or network with unstable connection. Unlike standard means OS or file managers, a single error will not interrupt the process. AnyReader will read each sector sequentially until it can save the file with minimal loss of quality.

IsoBuster, in addition to decoding music and movies from CD/DVD, can work with images, which administrators will highly appreciate. Let's look at a banal situation - archive backup copies, packaged in an ISO, was damaged during a system crash, and recovery utility doesn't read it. To correct the situation, you simply need to “treat” the object using the menu in the interface of the IsoBuster program itself. Now the image of the disk, other drives or folders will work.

We tried to take into account all typical situations and provide answers to most of your questions. But if they remain or you do not agree with the editorial opinion, welcome to comment on the post!

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.

Download Registration Screenshots

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

If you recover data using the wizard, then 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 function will be available to you preview, and you will be able to preview the corrected files before saving.

Recovering damaged files using the wizard

To take advantage of the convenient step by step wizard To fix and save damaged files, select “Wizard” from the “File” menu.

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.



We need to restore damaged JPEG file s? Are you looking for a way to recover damaged files? Your files do not open after data recovery or open with the error “file is damaged”? Are JPEG files only available in small size (“preview”)?

Use Hetman Software's programs to correctly recover deleted files, or correct errors in files with Hetman File Repair.

Signs of a damaged JPEG file

JPEG is the most popular and widespread format for images and photographs. And just like the files of others JPEG formats may be damaged as a result of any errors, failures, virus attacks, network errors or software failure and system failure.

Damaged JPEG files may not open in digital image viewing software or may open with obvious damage. Often, when trying to open a damaged JPEG file, it opens in a distorted form or with a message such as: The photo viewer cannot open the image because it is damaged or similar.

This is a problematic situation because in either case your files become unusable. But don’t be upset, such files can be recovered using special programs to fix damaged images.

Methods for recovering damaged files

Before using the software tool, you can also try to recover the file yourself:

  • Click on the file right click mouse and change the file extension from .jpeg to .jpg or vice versa.
  • Try opening the damaged photo using another image viewer; there may be an error in the photo viewer program.
  • Open your JPEG file using one of our image editing tools. Sometimes, this way you can open an image and save it in a different, readable format.
  • We also recommend trying to open the image using a web browser.

If, using none of the presented options, you cannot open a JPEG image or open it without obvious distortion, then you can do this using a program for correcting JPEG files.

To do this, just download, install and run Hetman File Repair. By using of this instrument can fix most image and photo errors easily and safely.

Using trial version program, you can check the effectiveness of the program in your specific case with your images on your computer. You are given the opportunity to preview all restored images. And only if you are satisfied with the results of the free version of the program, you can register it for further use.

Download utilities

File Repair™ 1.1

The program is designed for recover damaged files. The utility corrects errors in digital image files (JPEG, TIFF, PNG, BMP, PSD), compressed archives (ZIP) and photos RAW formats(CR2, CRW, MRW, DNG, NEF, ORF, CAP, MOS, MEF, DCR, DCS, NRW, OB). If your files are damaged by an unsuccessful attempt to recover information, use Hetman Partition Recovery to restore them completely.

  • Price: 999 rub.

Partition Recovery™ 2.8

Data recovery program hard drives, memory cards and USB flash drives. The utility uses an innovative algorithm, which allows you to most often recover deleted files in full. Hetman Partition Recovery recovers files regardless of their type and the reason for the loss of information. The program supports any storage media and recovers both FAT and NTFS partitions.

  • Price: RUB 2,999

Go to the specialists, or
restore it yourself
- that is the question.


Below we describe methods for recovering data from working media that can be mastered in a minimum amount of time, without having any special knowledge in this area.

Data recovery from faulty devices, as well as methods for obtaining information from damaged files, are not discussed in this article.

So …

Something terrible happened:

Quite suddenly "disappeared" logical drive, or the partition with the file system began to be displayed as unformatted, “lost” separate files or directories, when trying to open a file, the application began to generate an error.

Or maybe you just accidentally deleted important files or formatted a partition with the necessary data and installed an operating system on it. Error in choice hard drive, when creating a partition table, is also a fairly common cause of information loss.

Who is guilty?

In the first case, the listed troubles occurred due to errors in the partition table or file system structures. This can happen, for example, after an incorrect shutdown of the device, software or hardware or as a result of viruses. Also, one of the common causes of this type of error is partial failure of the disk surface - the appearance of “bad sectors”. Unfortunately, this phenomenon is now not uncommon, even for new hard drives that have been in use for several weeks or even days.

You can probably guess who is to blame if information is lost due to user error :)

What to do?

If writing to the sectors containing files was not performed, then the data physically remained in its place, but information about its location was lost or distorted. Thus, it is necessary to determine exactly where the sectors containing the necessary information are located and read them in the correct sequence.

In the case when writing to a disk was performed, for example, formatting and then installing operating system, probability of physical destruction necessary information may be quite large. In such situations, the possibility of successful data recovery depends on luck and the ratio of the volumes of lost and recorded information. Let's say, if you accidentally deleted 1GB of accounting databases and then recorded 70GB of interesting films on the same logical partition, the probability of restoring anything is close to zero.

In general, data recovery software first scans the entire media. Based on scan results, based on detected service records, a map of the location of fragments of recovered files is compiled and a directory tree is built. The map contains information about which cluster belongs to which file, the sizes, names and other attributes of the elements of the scanned file system - everything that was found out based on the remains official information. If the information obtained as a result of scanning is not enough, then certain extrapolation methods are used. Then the files and folders that need to be recovered are selected according to the compiled map and transferred to another medium.

My experience says that most often everything that is in principle possible to recover from a working storage medium is obtained using the programs mentioned below. And only in a minority of cases, a highly qualified specialist, working at a lower level, is able to recover information in a larger volume.

Before you attempt data recovery yourself, you should consider the possibility of a physical malfunction of the device. This is especially likely in cases where data has disappeared without visible reasons, or when trying to open files an error message is displayed. And although the programs mentioned below do not themselves perform destructive actions (they do not write anything at all to the partition they are working with), further work with a faulty drive without special equipment can lead to aggravation of the situation, up to the complete impossibility of data recovery. That's why, in case of loss of critical information, I strongly recommend immediately

What to do?

Considerable experience in using various data recovery programs shows that none of them gives best result in all cases of information loss. They use different algorithms, which have their own advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, depending on the nature of the damage, different utilities may show better results on the same file system.

This fact is well known, therefore, in the process of work, specialists use selections of programs from different manufacturers, and in each situation they use the utility that is best suited to the specific case. Or several different programs are used sequentially.

How to do?

Almost all manufacturers offer downloadable demo versions of their products. As a rule, their functionality is limited to the ability to save files found as a result of scanning. For example, they allow you to save files no larger than 64 KB. Therefore, if it is not suitable for solving the task at hand, then try and purchase one that will give a good result.

Many programs have excellent documentation in Russian and with color pictures, so I see no point in providing detailed descriptions of use here. For example, an excellent guide to UFS Explorer is available through the "Guide" button in the control panel. Step by step instructions information on data recovery are posted on the support pages and there are also links to forum sections where you can ask any questions you may have.

Therefore, below I will describe the general sequence of actions and features of use, which are the same for almost any utility.

1) Installation or unpacking downloaded program. Before you begin these steps, make sure you plan to perform them on a different disk or partition from the one where the information was lost.

2) Launch and preliminary scanning, which is performed automatically. Utilities use different algorithms for this, which is why they have different startup times and lists of detected file systems. Some programs can immediately show damaged partitions that are not visible through the operating system, and some will not even show the device from which you plan to recover data. If everything you need is displayed, then proceed. If not, read further about possible options:

  • The device is displayed in the list, but the required partition is not found on it:
  1. If such functionality is supported by the program, then you can use an in-depth version of the initial scan. For example, UFS Explorer has a “Find Partition” function for this purpose.
  2. Run a scan across the entire device at once. Some programs, such as R-studio, allow you to do this by showing possible found partitions with probable file structures in the scan results.
  3. Use another program.
  • The device is not in the list, but is detected by the operating system. In Windows, you can check this by looking at the list of devices Start->Control Panel->Administrative Tools->Computer Management->Disk Management. If the drive was connected after starting the program, restart it or update the list of devices. If it doesn't help, try another program.

    3) Configuring scanning parameters usually performed after selecting a drive or partition and pressing the start button, just before the start of the process itself. Some programs, including R.saver, perform the preliminary setup automatically. The utility may request:

    • Scan limits. If you know where in memory to look for the data you need, adjusting these settings can save time. If you don't know, leave the default values.
    • File system type. Some programs offer to select one type from a list, while prompting the optimal choice, others may offer to exclude file systems from the list that definitely cannot be on the drive.
    • For certain types of file systems, a multilingual program may prompt you for the expected encoding. For example, for Russian-language FAT32 you should select cp866.
    • In addition to the above settings, utilities often offer to select one or more algorithms to be used during the scanning process. They can be divided into three types, depending on the purpose and characteristics of the work:
    1. Recovery deleted files on a working file system. A full scan for most types of file systems is not required in such cases. Used exclusively to recover deleted files. Some programs launch it automatically during the pre-scan process.
    2. File system reconstruction after damage or formatting. The goal is to create a virtual directory tree that reflects the contents of the scanned file system in its original state, without damage. If successful, you can save the necessary data to another partition from there.
    3. Data recovery using signatures, the so-called “draft” recovery or “raw recovery”. A signature is a characteristic sequence of characters by which one can understand that the found piece of data belongs to a file of a certain type. Used in cases where other methods have not helped. The result of the application will be files without names, sorted into folders depending on the type of data they contain.

      Each type of storage medium file system and operating features contribute their own criteria to the selection of the optimal data recovery method. For example, although signature-based recovery is recommended as a last resort, in one of the most common cases of data loss, it can be run immediately and get excellent results. This case is accidental deletion, formatting or damage to the FAT structure of the camera flash drive. File names and folder structure are not important in such cases. In addition, photos are usually written sequentially to an empty flash drive, so the data from each file is stored together as one chain. This creates ideal conditions for using “rough” restoration.

    4) Scan can take from several minutes to several hours or more depending on the characteristics of the drive, how it is connected to the computer and the algorithms used. After the process is completed, the utility will display the contents of the virtual directories with the files found.

    5) Studying the scan result, selecting files to save. Many programs provide a preview function to assess the status of found files. Required files mark or highlight. If during the verification process some of the required data could not be found, it’s time to use signature recovery, if this has not already been done.

    6) Saving files- in essence, this is data recovery itself, since during the scanning process the program simply determines the location of their fragments (see section). Click the corresponding button on the toolbar or select a section in the drop-down menu. Then choose a location to save. Make sure that the folder in which the result will be saved is located on a partition or media other than the one that was scanned. Next, click confirmation and meditate, observing the process of revival of precious data.

    Before closing the program, make sure that everything that is required has been restored correctly, or save the scan result. Otherwise, if you find that you need something else, you'll have to scan again. This can worsen the results in cases where the hard drive surface begins to fail.

    7) Reading errors, programs freezing during scanning hard disk or saving the result may indicate the presence of unreadable sectors. It is likely that the loss of data was caused by their appearance. The more there are, the slower the process will go. To check the assumption, you can use

    In such cases, it is recommended to make a sector-by-sector copy onto a working drive and restore data from it. Remember, working with such a disk worsens its condition. If you are not sure what you are doing and on the disk important information– it’s better to contact a specialized organization. There, when recovering data from “shattered” disks, they use disks specially designed for such work.


    I plan to update and supplement the article as it appears. new information about software and recovery methods. Any questions you may have while reading can be asked at


    I wish you successful data recovery and good mood.


    Version dated January 11, 2011, Nikolay Khozyainov,

    Reprinting and quoting are permitted provided that direct links to the original source are maintained.

    • There are many situations when a user suddenly realizes that the data on his USB drive is damaged or completely missing. What to do in this case? Let's look at how to recover damaged files and data from USB using the command line. We will also list a few free programs Recovering data on a USB drive if recovery from the command line does not give the desired results.

    Recover damaged files and data from USB from the command line

    Damage to the drive can be caused by many factors, such as damage to the file table, power failure, incorrect shutdown of the drive, viruses, and so on. Let's try to recover damaged files from USB without using third-party software as follows: run command line as administrator and enter:

    Chkdsk f:/r

    This will launch the built-in disk error checker or Check Disk Utility to identify and resolve possible file table failures. Here f is the drive letter of our USB, and the parameter /r identifies bad blocks and tries to recover information.
    After that, we use the built-in tool attrib.exe to restore files that may be inaccessible due to the influence of malware. In the same window, run the following command and press Enter:

    Attrib -h -r -s / s /de:\*.*

    Once the verification is complete, you can check if you have access to your data.
    If this doesn't help, then the other option you have is to run some freeware software for data recovery.

    Free USB Drive Recovery Software

    Software that helps you recover data from a USB flash drive. We will look at three programs - Recuva, R2FD Recover and Easeus.

    1) Recuva

    3) EaseUs Free Data Recovery

    EaseUs Free Data Recovery does three simple steps to recover lost data of any user. The program's simple wizard guides you through the entire process of detecting lost files and recovering them from your PC, laptop, hard drive, SSD, USB, memory card or digital camera.

    Select the drive where you want to recover damaged files and click Scan. If found, you will have the opportunity to save them by simply clicking the "Recover" button.

    To avoid data loss, it is highly advisable to save the recovered files to another drive. note that free version allows you to recover data up to 2 GB.