How To Repair Corrupted Word Files

Have you ever received an error message when trying to open a Microsoft Word document? Was it an important file for work or school? Whatever the case may be, it is very frustrating to not be able to open a file for no reason. However, this post will show you how to repair such files for FREE!

Repair MyWord is a free program that will recover corrupt Microsoft Word files. It will recover Microsoft Word 6.0, Word 95, 97, 2000, XP, and 2003 files. Repair MyWord is an small executable file that requires no installation, which makes it a great utility to keep on a flash drive. Repair MyWord is available for nearly all versions of Windows. It has also been tested in Linux using Wine.

How do I repair my corrupt Word document?

1) Download Repair MyWord; download links can be found at the top and bottom of the page.

2) Once you have downloaded the software, open Repair MyWord by clicking on the downloaded file. Again, this requires no installation. After opening the software, you should see a window that looks like the following:



3) At this point you are ready to begin repairing your corrupted file. Click “Repair/Open” and select the file you wish to repair. It appears to only allow you to open .doc files even though it shows all files in the directories.

4) Once you have opened the file you wish to repair, it should appear in the blank part of the window. You will not be able to edit the file’s contents at this point. However, to repair it click “Save”. This will save the file as rich-text format (.rtf).

I have tested Repair MyWord on several .doc files (Word 6.0, Word 95, Word 97, 2000, XP, and 2003) and it has repaired them without fail. However, you should know that the way it repairs your file is by saving it as rich-text format. Therefore, formatting of any kind will be erased. This means any graphics, tables, numbering/bullets and text formatting will be lost during the “repair.” Basically you are left with a plain text version of your document. I know this stinks especially if you have a file with lots of graphics, but at least the file is recovered and you don’t have to completely recreate it.

TIP: If you open multiple documents at once it will automatically save them in a batch. This keeps you from having to open the documents and save them one at a time.

GetData, the makers of Repair MyWord, have several other programs available which will recover everything from databases to emails to iPod songs. Some of these programs only offer a free trial unless you purchase them, while others are free to download. The free programs are Repair MyWord, X3F Repair, CRW Repair and Mass Renamer.

GetData even offers a free Sudoku game for download.

To browse all of GetData’s products, take a look at the download page.

(By) Michael & Eric are two college students who are balancing classes, work, and their personal lives. In their free time they enjoy relaxing and working on their blog www.wlmtips.com

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