Corrupted files don’t happen too often on modern computers with good security measures in place. But when they vì chưng, it can be a nightmare. Let’s take a look at the common causes of corrupted files, how you can help prsự kiện them, & what you can vì chưng when it happens.
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Why Do Files Become Corrupted?
Usually, files become corrupted when being written khổng lồ a disk. This can happen in various ways, the most comtháng of which is when an ứng dụng suffers an error while saving or creating a tệp tin. An office app might suffer a glitch at the wrong time while saving a document. A compression tiện ích may experience problems while creating an archive sầu. Your backup phầm mềm may have sầu problems when writing out your backup. Your browser (or other tải về app) may even have sầu problems writing a downloaded file lớn disk.
Often, these apps will notice the error và let you know that something went wrong, giving you the chance to lớn try again. Sometimes, though, you’ll have sầu no idea that something went wrong until you try lớn open the tệp tin later.
There are, of course, other reasons that files can become corrupt, as well.
When you shut down your computer, it is supposed to close out any files it has open properly (or give sầu you the chance to vì so). When this doesn’t happen—lượt thích, say, if you thảm bại power or if your computer crashes—it doesn’t have the chance to lớn cthua kém files the right way. This can lead to the corruption of any files that were currently open, including not just your documents, but even operating system files.
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Problems with your hard disk can also lead to lớn corrupted files. Sometimes, lượt thích in the case of a bad physical sector on the drive sầu, your corrupted tệp tin may be part of a much larger problem. Sometimes, smaller errors—lượt thích a cross-linked tệp tin or lost cluster—are the culprit in your file corruption problems và are not necessarily indicative sầu of a failing hard disk.
And finally, of course, malware và viruses can also cause corruption, though in that case, it’s more intentional than accidental.
How lớn Protect Against Corrupted Files
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First và foremost, the single best thing you can vì lớn protect yourself against corrupted files is make sure you’re backing your computer up regularly. And note that cloud storage & other tệp tin syncing options may not be enough to get the job done. If you have sầu a corrupt tệp tin on your local disk that then gets synced to lớn your cloud storage, you don’t really have a good backup of that tệp tin. If you vì rely on cloud storage, at least make sure that you have the option lớn reGọi previous versions of files (lượt thích in Dropbox).
It’s always best lớn use a true backup solution lượt thích File History (on Windows), Time Machine (on macOS), or BackbLaser, all of which allow you lớn restore multiple previous versions of files.
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Next up on the prevention checkmenu, make sure that your computer is protected from viruses và malware. This includes not only running a good antivirus ứng dụng, but using common sense when browsing and downloading.
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And finally, you might want to consider investing in an uninterruptable power supply (UPS) khổng lồ help protect your computer from sudden shutdowns when you chiến bại power. A UPS works as a battery backup that provides you a buffer against power loss. Typically, they can supply your computer with anywhere from a few minutes to an hour or more of power, giving you ample time to shut your computer down properly. Having a good UPS can not only help prevent corrupted files from a bad shutdown, but the hardware problems they can cause, as well.
What Can You Do When a File Is Corrupted?
If you have sầu a corrupted file, your best bet is lớn try grabbing that tệp tin from the source again. Download it again, if that’s where you got it, or have sầu someone resend the tệp tin to lớn you.
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In the case of corrupted system files (from an unexpected shutdown, bad update, or malware), you can always try something lượt thích Windows’ built in System File Checker. It scans your system for corrupted system files, và then replaces them with originals.
Before you bởi vì that, though, it’s best to try fixing the cause of the problem. In the event of malware, you should first make sure you’ve removed that malware from your computer. If you suspect a bad update caused the problem, you might be able to lớn roll that update baông chồng.
If your corrupted file is a document that you’ve created, unfortunately, your options are limited. Some apps (like those included with Microsoft Office) autosave multiple versions of your document, letting you open a previous version if the current version becomes corrupt.
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If you don’t have sầu the luxury of opening a previous version, you may be able to lớn repair the file or, at the least, recover the text from it. Again, Microsoft Office apps offer built-in tools for recovering lost or corrupted documents, as vày some other programs. Even if you can only recover the text from a document, you can save sầu a lot of time when recreating the tệp tin.
There are also a number of apps out there that clayên ổn they can recover different types of corrupt files. Some are không tính tiền and some are paid, but the truth is, most don’t work very well. And a few that we tested were bloated with companion apps or, worse, malware. Given that, we recommkết thúc just not using them.