You know me all too well now. I terribly hate wasting time, especially when things don’t work out the way they should. For example, I would kill anyone after I download a movie from the Internet and the only thing I see is a terrible message warning me that the file is corrupted and cannot be played. Who knows where I downloaded it from! Besides, I’m not going to reload it! In such situations, the only thing to do is to roll up your sleeves and try to repair the corrupt video. If the question interests you too, continue reading my guide dedicated to the subject to find out immediately how to do it.
In fact, with this tutorial of mine today, I decided to take the topic head on and analyze how to recover damaged video files . To do this, I’ll advance it straight away, you need to use some special programs, available for both Windows and Mac (as well as for Linux), but eventually there are also online services and ad hoc apps for smartphones and tablets. Before you can think of who knows what, I would like to make you aware right away that these are extremely simple resources to be used even by those who, a bit like you, do not consider themselves a great expert in terms of new technologies. .
Then? May I know what are you still standing there? Position yourself comfortably and immediately start focusing on the following. In the end, you will see, not only will you be able to repair your corrupt videos, but you can also tell yourself very happy and satisfied with what you will have below, not to mention that if necessary you will also be able to provide any explanations on what to do to all your friends interesting to the topic. Happy reading and … good “work”!
Index
- Program to recover corrupt video files
- DivFix ++ (Windows / macOS / Linux)
- Video Repair (Windows / macOS)
- Other solutions to recover corrupt video files
- How to recover damaged video files online
- How to recover damaged video files from DVD
- App to recover damaged video files
- DiskDigger (Android)
- Other solutions to recover damaged video files
Program to recover corrupt video files
Are you interested in which program to recover corrupt video files you can rely on? I’ll settle you immediately! Below, in fact, you will find those that in my opinion represent the best software in the category that you can evaluate to use. They work on Windows and macOS (as well as on Linux). Try them now, you won’t regret it!
DivFix ++ (Windows / macOS / Linux)
The first of the useful resources to recover damaged video files that I want to tell you about is DivFix ++ . It is a free program, of an open source nature and usable on Windows and macOS (as well as on Linux), which allows you to repair AVI files that are corrupt, all in an incredibly simple and very intuitive way.
To download it on your computer, go to its website , click on the Download DivFix ++ link at the bottom and, in the new page that opens, click on the Download button .
When the download is complete, if you are using Windows , extract the ZIP archive obtained in any location on your PC , start the EXE file contained within it and, in the window you see appear on the desktop, click on the Run button .
If, on the other hand, you are using macOS , open the DMG package obtained and drag the program icon into the Applications folder , then right-click on it, select the Open item from the menu that appears and then press the Open button in the window that is shown to you on the desktop, in such a way as to circumvent the limitations imposed by Apple on non-certified developers (an operation that must be carried out only at the first start).
Now that, regardless of the operating system used, you see the program window on the screen, click on the Add Files button at the bottom to select the damaged movie, then remove the index contained within the video file by deselecting the option Keep Original File and Cut Out Bad Parts and pressing the Strip Index button located in the lower part of the window.
At this point, there is nothing left to do but recreate the video by removing any damaged parts to have a smooth movie, without interruptions. To do this, click on the Fix button and wait patiently for the program to do its job.
At the end of the procedure, you will be notified of this and you can also view the report of the operation through the Log Windows section on the right. Et voila !
Video Repair (Windows / macOS)
Another great software that you can decide to rely on to recover damaged video files is Video Repair. It is a program available for both Windows and macOS, which, as the name implies, allows you to repair, through a completely automated procedure, corrupt videos in MOV, MP4, 3GP and M4V formats that use one of the following Codec formats: AVC1, MP4V, MPG2 / XDVC / XD5D / XD5E, JPG, ICOD, DVC / DVPP / DVHP AND APCH / APCN / APCS / APCO / AP4H. It is very easy to use and is practically infallible (or almost). The only thing that needs to be taken into account is that to exploit it you need to have two videos made with the same video camera. It is paid (it has prices starting from 29 euros), but it can be downloaded and used in a free demo version that allows you to repair 50% of the total size of the video.
To download the program on your computer, go to its website and click on the yellow link that you find in the Download section . Once the download is complete, extract the resulting compressed archive to any location on your computer .
Subsequently, if you are using Windows , double-click on the gs.exe file contained within it.
If you are using macOS , move the file named gs in the Applications folder of your computer, right-click on it, select the Open item from the menu that appears and click on the Open button in the window that is shown on the screen, in order to go around the limitations desired by Apple towards non-certified developers (an operation that must be carried out only at the first start). If in doing this you see an error message appear, first right-click on the mac_start.command file always present in the compressed archive, select Open with and then click on Terminal (default) .
At this point, regardless of the operating system used, select the English language for the interface from the window that appears on the screen (unfortunately Italian is not available) and click the OK button twice in a row. Now that you see the main window of Video Repair, click on the Choose movie button at the top and select the damaged video file on your computer that you want to repair.
Then use the Choose reference movie button to choose an undamaged video file (therefore perfectly readable by the various multimedia players) produced with the same video camera. To conclude and, therefore, to start the repair procedure, press the Scan button at the bottom. Depending on the size of the file, it may take several minutes to complete the operation.
The recovered video will be saved in the Repaired subfolder present in the same path where the program in question is located. If at the end of the procedure the folder remains empty, it means that it was not possible in any way to repair the video submitted to the process.
I would also like to point out, if you are interested in this, that before starting the recovery you can click on the Options button in the left-hand side of the program window and adjust all the parameters relating to the recovery procedure and the final file, for example the overall percentage of videos to be analyzed, the format of the final file, etc.
Other solutions to recover corrupt video files
None of the tools to recover damaged video files that I have already proposed has convinced you in a particular way and, therefore, would you like to understand what other useful solutions you have from yours? Then contact the ones you find in the list below. I sincerely hope they can be useful to you.
- Stellar Repair for Video( Windows / macOS ) – this is a software for Windows and macOS that is capable of recovering over 17 video file formats, including MP4, MOV, AVI, MKV, restoring both images and sounds. It has a nice user interface and is also able to act on multiple elements simultaneously. It is paid (it has prices starting from 59.99 euros), but it is also available in a free demo version that provides a preview of the repaired files up to 20% of the total video size.
- EaseUS Data Recovery( Windows / macOS ) – is a program available for both Windows and macOS, which is very simple to use and allows you to recover not only videos, but also images, documents and various other types of files from hard disk external and internal, USB sticks, SD cards and any other type of media. It’s free, but it allows you to restore up to 2GB of data. To get around this limitation, you need to switch to the paid version (which has costs starting from 66.69 euros / month).
- Digital Video Repair( Windows ) – free software available only for Microsoft operating systems, which is very useful for repairing videos in MP4, MOV and AVI format damaged by viruses as well as those corrupted by system errors and / or crashes . It is extremely simple and intuitive to use, the repair procedure is fully automatic and the results are almost always guaranteed. In short, what more do you want?
How to recover damaged video files online
You don’t want or can’t download and install new programs on your computer and then would you like to understand if it is possible to recover corrupted video files online ? The answer is yes. You must know, in fact, that there are Web services specifically used for this purpose, as in the case of VideoRepair .
It is a solution that allows you to act on files in MP4 and MOV format with a maximum size of 4 GB, all directly from the browser window. It does not require registration and users’ privacy is protected, as files are transferred with a 2048-bit encrypted connection and removed 3 hours after uploading to the company’s servers. You can try it for free, but to proceed with the complete repair of the files you need to purchase the appropriate operating keys (with prices starting from $ 19.95).
So, to recover corrupt MP4 or MOW video files with VideoRepair, connect to the home page of the service and click on the Only 2 Easy Steps – Get Started> button , then click on the Select a Working Video File button and select an uncorrupted recorded video file with the same device used for the corrupt video, then press the Select a Corrupted Video File button that is lower and select the video you intend to act on.
Then wait for the video upload to be started and completed, then if the repair is possible press the button to proceed and download the final file by clicking on the appropriate button.
How to recover damaged video files from DVD
Are you unable to play videos present on your diskettes because they are corrupt and, consequently, would you like to understand what are the tools you possibly have from yours to be able to recover damaged video files from DVD ? If this is the case, I am happy to inform you that even in this case there are specific solutions. To learn more, I refer you to reading my guides dedicated specifically to how to read damaged DVDs and how to open damaged CDs .
App to recover damaged video files
As anticipated at the beginning, there are also apps to recover damaged video files , intended for Android and iOS / iPadOS devices . If you want to know more, keep reading: you will find everything explained in detail below.
DiskDigger (Android)
If you have a smartphone or tablet Android and you want to recover damaged video files, I suggest strongly advised to refer to DiskDigger . This is an app specialized in recovering videos and photos that have been deleted from the internal or external memory of the device, but which can also be useful for carrying out the operation covered by this guide. It is available in a free basic version that allows you to recover only the videos in MP4 and in a paid version (which costs 3.37 euros) that allows you to also intervene on all other file formats. Note, then, that it needs root to work properly (without the latter the app is able to access only limited portions of the device’s memory and therefore can find fewer files).
To download and install the app on your device, access the relevant section of the Play Store and press the Install button (if you are using a device on which Google services are missing, you can download the app from alternative stores ). Then, start the app by touching its icon that has been added to the home screen and / or drawer.
Now that you see the DiskDigger screen, grant the application the required permissions , select the drive from which you want to recover the corrupt videos, check the box next to MP4 and press the OK button to start searching for the files to recover.
Once the scanning process is complete, select the thumbnails of the detected videos you want to recover, press the Recover button located at the bottom and choose whether to save the videos to a folder on the phone, to one of the supported cloud storage services or to an FTP server , by selecting the folder icon , the cloud icon or the arrow icon respectively .
Other solutions to recover damaged video files
If you are looking for other solutions to be able to recover damaged video files on Android or in any case if you have an iPhone or an iPad and, therefore, need ad hoc resources, you can try to contact the apps and software that I have included in the list below. .
- Undeleter( Android ) – this is another specific app for Android, which allows you to recover all kinds of files, so not only videos, but also photos, documents, etc. It is free, but to save the recovered data you need to make in-app purchases (at a cost of 3.19 euros). Even then, you are prompted for root (without it you can only scan the app cache).
- Wondershare dr.fone( Windows / macOS ) – free program for Windows and macOS operating systems which, after connecting the smartphone or tablet to the computer, allows you to view and retrieve the data of interest from the device’s memory, not only intervening on the videos , but also on photos, audio, contacts etc. It is free, but it only allows you to view the recoverable data from the device memory, while to recover them you need to buy the full version of the program (which has prices starting from 39.99 euros). I told you about it in detail in my guides on how to recover deleted Android photos and how to recover deleted iPhone photos (the directions are also valid for videos).
- Disk Drill( Windows / macOS ) – program that works on both Windows PC and Mac that allows you to recover data deleted from the hard disk of the computer, but also from smartphones and tablets connected to it, whether it is Android or iPhone and iPad, as well as from various other storage drives. It’s free, but only restores 500MB of data. To remove this limitation, it is necessary to purchase its Pro version (at a cost of 94.00 euros). For more information, read my guide on data recovery .
