A document that says it’s corrupt, a photo that shows half an image, a video that won’t play, a database that won’t mount — corruption feels final, but it usually isn’t. The underlying data is often mostly intact; it’s the structure the program relies on that’s damaged, and that can frequently be repaired or the good data extracted. The first question, though, is whether it’s the file that’s corrupt or the drive that’s failing — and we work that out first. We repair and recover corrupt files for people across the UK.
One corrupt file is a repair job. Many corrupt files, or a slow drive, means the disk is failing — and that’s urgent.
Most files aren’t just a lump of data — they have an internal structure: a header that says what the file is, an index of where things are, and the content itself, often compressed or encoded. Corruption means part of that structure has been damaged, so the program that opens the file trips over the broken part and refuses to load it — even though much of the real content underneath may be perfectly fine. That’s why a corrupt photo can show half an image before it fails, or a corrupt video plays for a few seconds and stops: you’re seeing the intact part before the damage.
Corruption usually has a cause worth identifying: a write interrupted by a power cut or a device unplugged mid-save; a failing drive with bad sectors damaging files as it deteriorates; a bad transfer over a flaky connection; or malware. Because the content is often largely intact, repairing the structure — or extracting the good data around the damage — frequently recovers the file, in full or in usable part.
This is the distinction that changes everything, so it’s worth pausing on. If one file, or a handful, won’t open while everything else is fine, it’s almost certainly file corruption — a repair job. But if lots of files are corrupting, new corruption keeps appearing, the drive is slow, freezing, or making noise, or you’re seeing read errors, then the drive itself is failing and actively damaging files as it goes. That’s a very different, and more urgent, situation.
It matters because the right response is opposite. A single corrupt file can wait while you decide what to do. A failing drive should be switched off and imaged immediately, before more files are damaged — running it, or repeatedly trying to open files, only accelerates the loss. If there’s any sign the drive is the problem, treat it as a failing drive first: stop using it, and let us image it before recovering anything.
We work with corruption across the file types people most depend on. Documents — Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF — repaired to open again or their text and data extracted. Photos, including camera RAW formats, where a damaged header or partial data can often be rebuilt into a viewable image. Video — MP4, MOV and others — which is one of the more repairable types, since a broken or missing index can frequently be rebuilt from a healthy reference file so the footage plays again. Archives such as ZIP and Outlook PST files, databases (see database recovery), and more. Where a file can’t be fully repaired, we extract as much usable content as the damage allows — and tell you honestly what that amounts to.
If the drive might be failing, stop using it — don’t keep opening files or copying data off a drive that’s throwing errors, as every access can corrupt more. Don’t run CHKDSK or ‘repair’ tools on a failing drive; they write to the disk and can make things worse. Keep the original corrupt files — don’t delete them or overwrite them with a failed ‘fixed’ version, and work on copies. And be cautious with random ‘file repair’ downloads, many of which do nothing useful and some of which are malware. If the files matter, keep the originals safe and let them be assessed.
We start by checking the health of the drive the files are on — because if the disk is failing, that comes first: we image it with the appropriate drive recovery before touching the files, so no further corruption can occur. With good copies of the files in hand, we analyse the corruption at the byte level, identify the intact content and the damaged structure, and either repair the structure so the file opens normally or extract the recoverable data around the damage — rebuilding indexes, reconstructing headers, or salvaging text, images or footage directly. Everything is done on copies, so the originals are never altered, and we can try several approaches without risk.
It starts with a free diagnostic: we establish whether it’s file corruption or a failing drive, assess what can be repaired or extracted, and give you a fixed written quote before any chargeable work. On most jobs it’s no fix, no fee, and pricing is per case. It’s all done by post, drop-off, or from files you send us securely, so you don’t need to be nearby — we help people right across the UK and Ireland.
Often, yes. Corruption usually means the file’s structure is damaged while much of the actual content is intact, so we can frequently repair the structure so it opens again, or extract the recoverable text, data or image around the damage. How complete the result is depends on where the damage falls, and we’ll tell you honestly what’s recoverable before you commit.
A useful test: if just one or a few files won’t open and everything else is fine, it’s almost certainly file corruption. If lots of files are corrupting, new corruption keeps appearing, or the drive is slow, freezing or noisy, the drive itself is likely failing and damaging files as it goes. The second case is urgent — stop using the drive and have it imaged before more is lost.
Frequently, yes — video is one of the more repairable types. A recording interrupted mid-write, or a file with a damaged or missing index, often still contains the footage; we can rebuild the structure, commonly using a healthy reference clip from the same device, so the video plays again. Keep the original file and, if it came from a card, don’t reuse the card.
A file corrupted during transfer usually means the copy was interrupted or the connection dropped bytes — or the source or destination drive is failing. If you still have the original, re-copying carefully may be all that’s needed. If both copies are corrupt, or the drive is suspect, we can repair the file or extract its data — and check whether a failing drive is the underlying cause.
Be careful. Many advertised ‘repair’ tools do little of use, and some are malware. If you do try one, work on a copy and keep the original untouched. For anything important — and especially if the drive itself might be failing — it’s safer to keep the original safe and have it assessed properly rather than risk a bad tool making things worse.
No. Our lab is in Belfast, but corrupt-file recovery is often done from files you send us securely, or from the drive by post or drop-off, so we work with clients right across the UK and Ireland. Your location makes no difference to the service, diagnostic or pricing.
Hold on to the corrupt files, stop using the drive if it might be failing, and get in touch. We’ll work out whether it’s the file or the drive, assess what can be repaired, and give you a fixed quote before any chargeable work — no fix, no fee on most jobs.