A File Won't Open: Document Recovery, Backup Drives and Remote IT Support Services
You double-click a document you worked on yesterday, and a pop-up tells you that the file is corrupt or that it cannot be opened. Perhaps the document appears as a screen full of meaningless symbols. Or maybe the picture folder you have been keeping for ten years is now filled with icons that don’t do anything at all. The fear is genuine since files contain information, photos, and even money. The bright side is that a corrupt file can usually be recovered, and a number of easy steps taken right away will go a long way. This article describes the nature of file corruption, where else you might find a copy, when recovery software helps, and how to create a backup so that this issue is no longer as intimidating. What Data File Corruption Really Means A file is an extensive sequence of small chunks stored on the drive. It requires reading these chunks in a certain order, much like following a recipe. Data file corruption is when some chunks are either not correct, are missing, or are in i...