A Complete Guide on How to Open and Repair Corrupt Word

“Hey everyone, I could use your expertise! I've got this Word document packed with confidential details, but it seems to have hit a snag with a corruption warning. Any suggestions on how to open and repair Word easily? Your help would be greatly appreciated!”

Opening and repairing Word files can be essential when faced with unexpected file corruption issues, especially if these Word documents contain important information for assignments, reports, business files, and more.

You are on the right article if you are looking for different ways to open and repair Word documents easily. Let's explore six reliable techniques to help you regain access to your Word documents.

Part 1: How to Open and Repair Word in 6 Ways

In this part, we will discuss how to open and repair words without any confusion. All you need to do is listen and follow the ways and steps that are provided below:

Way #1: Open and Repair Word with Software

Repairit File Repair is a handy tool to open and repair Word files. It can handle problems that might have damaged your documents, like errors, viruses, or sudden shutdowns. What you will like about this tool, it's easy to use, even if you're not great with computers.

Wondershare Repairit - File Repair

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• Repair damaged files with all levels of corruption, including blank files, files not opening, unrecognizable format, unreadable content, files layout changed, etc.

• Perfectly repair corrupted word .docx files without modifying the original file.

• Provide an easy fix option for text, images, font, hyperlinks, header, footer, etc.

• Support Office 365, MS Word 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, and earlier versions.

• Support Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista, Windows Server 2003/2008/2012/2016/2019/2022, and macOS 10.10~macOS 14.

• Except Word, Repairit also supports all formats of PDF, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, ZIP, and Adobe files.

Repairit works fast, so you won't have to wait long to get your files back. It can deal with different versions of Word like 2019, 2016, 2013, 2007, and earlier versions. Plus, you can check your fixed files before saving them. And don't worry about your data - Repairit keeps it safe on Windows and Mac devices. If you need help, the support team is available anytime.

Here's how Repairit File Repair opens and repairs Word files faster:

Step 1: The first thing to do is download Repairit on your desktop. After that, click on "File Repair."

Step 2: Select "Add" to upload your damaged Word files. With Repairit, you can upload multiple damaged documents at once.

Step 3: Select "Repair" to initiate the process of repairing. You can see as Repairit works on your Word files and fixes any problems.

Step 4: You can preview the repaired Word files before saving them. Click on the "Preview" button next to any file's icon to check the results.

If the result is okay with you click on the "Save" button to export the repaired Word files to your desired location on your Windows PC.

Way #2: Copy the Word to a New Word Document

If your document has section breaks, just copy the plain text between them, excluding the breaks themselves.

Step 1: Open Microsoft Word, click on "File," select "New," choose "Blank document," and click "Create" to start a new document.

Step 2: In Microsoft Word, click on "File," select "Open," browse for the damaged document, and then click "Open" to load it into Word.

Step 3: After opening the damaged document, select all its contents, copy them, and paste them into a new blank document.

Way #3: Open the Word in Draft Mode

If you didn’t know, using the Draft Mode feature of Ms Word can help you open your Word file. Here’s how to do it:

Step 1: Open Microsoft Word and look for the "View" tab and select "Draft."

Step 2: Click on "File," then "Options," and choose "Advanced."

Step 3: In the "Show document content" section, check the boxes next to "Use the draft font in Draft and Outline views." Then, scroll down to the "General" section.

Step 4: In the "General" section, uncheck the "Update automatic Image names at open" box. To save the modifications and exit Word, click "OK".

Step 5: Restart Microsoft Word and open the damaged document as usual.

Way #4: Open the Word in a New File

This approach involves creating a new Word file and addressing any unreadable content detected by Word. Here's how to open Word in a new file:

Step 1: Open Word and navigate to the "File" menu. Choose "New" from the menu options. After that, select "Blank document" and click "Create" to create a new document.

Step 2: Go to the "Insert" tab. Click "Object" and select "Text from File".

Step 3: In the "Insert File" dialog box, locate and choose the damaged document.

Step 4: Click "Insert" to add the content of the damaged document to the new document.

Way #5: Try the Open and Repair Feature

Using the open and repair method in fixing your Word is easy to try. Follow the steps below to do this:

Step 1: Navigate to the "File" tab on the Ribbon within Word, then click "Open." After that, go to PC and click “Documents” to locate your Word file.

Step 2: Locate where your damaged Word file and select the arrow down beside “Open”, then choose "Open and Repair" to initiate the repair process.

Way #6: Open the Word from Any File

Avoid using the double-click method to open the File, as it may hinder correct opening in Word. The best way is to utilize the available Word features for this purpose. Follow these steps:

Step 1: Launch Word and access "File," then proceed to "Open" and select "Browse."

Step 2: Locate the troublesome Word document in its file location, then opt for "Recover Text from Any File" from the dropdown menu. Lastly, click on "Open.”

Part 2: What Causes a Word Document Become Corrupted?

Word documents can get messed up for different reasons. If your computer crashes suddenly or the power goes out, it can mess up the Word file. Other times, there might be problems with the Word program, like bugs or using an old version.

Viruses or bad software can also make files go wonky. If there's something wrong with the hard drive or USB stick where the file is saved, that can cause issues, too. Big files can also cause problems because they're too much for the computer to handle. And if you're getting the file from the internet or a network, bad connections can mess it up, too.

Part 3: What You Need to Do to Avoid Word Corruption?

Conclusion

Knowing how to open and repair Word documents is important for getting work done and keeping your files safe. You can solve issues by learning about the six methods we discussed. Also, by being careful and taking steps to prevent Word problems in the future, you can keep your files safe from harm.