In this guide, we will see how to repair or recover a video file that has been damaged or corrupted on Windows 10
Sometimes, due to virus infections or transfer errors, users’ files, especially video files, can be damaged. For example, in a scenario where a video is corrupted and not playing, especially when it comes to precious memories of birthdays, weddings, dating, the consequences become a big deal and can be very frustrating.
Become irritable when videos cannot be played. If you are a professional or one who loves to capture memories, losing your precious records due to corruption can be a professional or personal loss.
Therefore, it is very important to repair these damaged MP4, AVI, MKV, and MOV video files using a quality video repair tool.
How to repair damaged or corrupted video in Windows 10
The first thing to know before identifying damage and looking for a solution is what kind of video file we have in front of us. The most common video formats are the ones you can read below- MOV, MP4, M4V, AVI, XVID, DIVX.
Symptoms of the damage are not always the same, but there are some very obvious ones. In some cases, you may encounter error messages that expressly state “the file you are trying to play is damaged”. However, sometimes it’s not so obvious that we should worry if we detect some of these symptoms:
- The error codes “0xC00D1199” or “0xc00d36c4” are displayed
- Video does not play audio
- The screen is completely black
- Problems with synchronization between audio and image
- Video flickers
- Constantly crashes
If the video file shows any of the symptoms mentioned above, it is very likely that it has actually been damaged or corrupted. Among the different causes of why these types of files can be damaged are the following:
- Compression problems: at times, when you use third-party tools to edit videos, you too can reduce its size by removing the data, which can lead to corruption
- Corrupted header file: Sometimes in MP4 files the header file, the one containing the information needed to run it, gets damaged. This can be due to several factors such as severe virus attacks, interruptions during file transfer, and sudden computer shutdown.
- Power failure while recording: This could also damage the header file, as this is the last written in the file. A sudden power shutdown could perform a bad header write and damage the file.
- Files downloaded from unsafe Internet sources or resources
- The SD memory card used in the device to store the file may not work properly. This could be due to some errors made during its use that prevent its normal operation. Therefore, in many cases, this could cause damage to the video saved in it.
Memory card errors can occur for various reasons including being used for multiple devices and continual insertion and ejection.
It can cause damage to a card even when it is removed from the device while data is still being written to it. It can also happen if we rename, delete, or transfer files to the card while they are open on a computer or other device.
Programs to repair damaged video files
To try to repair the video we will have to use dedicated tools. If you do a quick Google search you will see that there are many tools that promise to fix your video, but not all of them are reliable or easy to use and many of them are paid for as well.
Here we show you some of the most reliable and simple options you can use for this business.
VLC Media Player
The open-source VLC media player offers a feature to automatically repair damaged files. To activate it, open the player:
- Click the Tools tab
- Select Preferences
- Click on Input / Codecs
- Access files
- In the drop-down menu of ” Damaged or incomplete AVI file” choose the option “Always repair”
Kernel video repair
Kernel Video Repair is a paid tool, but it’s worth it, as it has a very intuitive interface and is very easy to use. The kernel offers different tools for video repair depending on the format. It supports MP4, MOV, MPEG, MJPEG, MTS, M4V, AVI, AVCHD, WEBM, ASF, WMV, FLV, DIVX, 3G2, TS, 3GP, and F4V.
Its price is around 25 euros (US $ 29) and is compatible with all versions of Windows (10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP, 2000, 98, NT, 95).
Wondershare video repair
This tool is available for Mac and Windows operating systems. As with the kernel, this file recovery software has a very simple interface, so its application does not require advanced knowledge. According to the manufacturer himself, this software has a high repair success rate.
On their website they constantly say that it is “free”, but that only refers to its download. To get the user license we have to pay $ 49.95.
Remo Repair MOV
This tool is dedicated solely to repairing MOV files. It is available for Windows and Mac. Like the rest of the ones we have presented, it is extremely simple to use.
It offers a free trial version that allows you to use it, preview how your video files will look once they are repaired, but you won’t be able to restore them, and of course, download them without paying. Once purchased you can use it indefinitely.
