In this article, you will learn how to recover corrupted photos safely and repair them after recovery.
Imagine you click a photo from your digital wedding album and nothing happens. If this is the case, the image might be corrupted. The situation becomes more frustrating when you lose photos due to accidental deletion, power failure, hardware issues, or other factors.
Whether your photo is corrupted, lost, or both, you can still recover and fix it. This is what this article is all about. First, it helps you understand what exactly photo corruption is and why you experience this situation. Moreover, it presents various methods to recover corrupted photos and an efficient corrupted photo repair utility to fix them instantly.
Part 1. Understanding Photo Corruption | Why It Happens!
When the photo’s data is incomplete or damaged, it goes under corruption. Photo corruption may happen for various reasons, including but not limited to faulty storage, software crashes, interrupted file transfers, and malware infections.
It is not necessary for the whole image to be scrambled; it will be unreadable even if a few pieces of it are missing. The potential signs of corruption are as follows.
- Only part of your photo loads
- The photo has strange colors, or it is pixelated or distorted
- Picture showing error or can’t open
- The file size is abnormally small or zero bytes
Part 2. Recover Corrupted Photos with Easy Fixes
Before using a corrupted photo recovery tool, let’s look at some easy fixes you should try first, such as renaming the photo, opening it in different viewers, and using online image converters.
1. Rename the Photo
If your JPG photo is corrupted, nothing is quicker than renaming the file to fix the corruption. While renaming the image, preserve the file extension. Once your photo is renamed, open the one with the newer name. To rename your photo, follow the steps below.
Step 1: Right-click the photo.
Step 2: Choose Rename.
Step 3: Enter the new name and press Enter.
2. Open a Photo in a Different Viewer
If you try to open the image in the Photos App and notice that you can’t access it, opening it in different photo viewers may work. For example, you can try Microsoft Paint on Windows and Preview on a Mac computer. To open your photo in a different viewer, follow the steps below.
Step 1: Right-click the photo.
Step 2: Hover your cursor over Open with.
Step 3: Now, choose any of the photo viewers you want to open your photo in.
3. Change the Photo Format
Changing the format of images can sometimes help you recover corrupted photos. If only the file header of your picture is corrupted, changing its extension may work. You can use an online image converter to convert your JPG image into PNG, or any other format that works.
Almost all online image converters work similarly. You upload your corrupted photo, choose the output format, and download the photo in the new format.
Part 3. How to Recover Corrupted Photos with Recovery Software?
You are now familiar with the easy fixes to recover corrupted images. If they don’t work for you, try a reliable corrupted data recovery tool like Wondershare Recoverit. Whether you can’t access your photos due to corruption, accidental deletion, hardware failure, or power issues, this tool will help you recover corrupted photos like a pro.
What Makes Recoverit Stand Out?
- It supports all major photo formats, including standard and raw formats.
- This tool recovers deleted or lost photos and can repair minor corruption issues.
- It enables you to preview files before recovery.
- Recoverit is 100% safe and secure to use.
- The user-friendly interface makes it easy to use for users of all skill levels.
Steps to Restore Corrupted Photos Using Recoverit
Visit the official website, download the free data recovery software, and install it on your computer. Once done, follow the steps outlined below.
Step 1: Open Recoverit, go to the Hard Drives and Locations tab, and choose the drive where your photos were lost or deleted.
Step 2: Click Start, and Recoverit will start searching for your lost images. Wait for a while until the scanning is completed. The bottom of the window allows you to monitor the real-time scanning progress.
Step 3: Click the Preview button to preview scanned photos to verify they are the ones you wish to get back.
Step 4: If the tool previews the correct photo, hit the Recover button and save it to your device in a new location.
Part 4. How to Repair Corrupted Photos After Recovery?
You have now recovered the corrupted photos. Want to repair them? If so, try a highly reliable corrupted photo repair tool like Wondershare Repairit. Regardless of how your photos were corrupted, this JPEG repair software can help you fix the issue instantly, as it supports all scenarios and all photo formats. Here is how you can repair images with this utility.
Step 1: Download Repairit from its official website and install it on your device.
Step 2: Launch the software, enter the More Types Repair tab, and click Photo Repair.
Step 3: Hit the +Add button to load the corrupted photo you want to repair.
Step 4: Tap on the Repair button to start the photo repair process. Repairit will scan your photo for various issues, such as wrong coloring, pixilation, and grey images.
Step 5: Click Preview to look at the results. If they are satisfactory, hit Save to save the repaired photo on your computer.
If you’re unsatisfied with the standard photo repair process, you can use the advanced repair mode to fix all the issues in your picture.
Part 5. Pro Tips to Keep Your Photos Safe
Want to keep your photos away from getting corrupted or lost? If so, the tips below will help you get over the line.
- Follow the 3-2-1 rule to back up your photos.
- Organize your photos systematically.
- Transfer photos safely using a reliable card reader and properly ejecting it.
- Enable the auto-sync feature of cloud services.
- Use a credible photo recovery and repair tool in case of any mishap.
Last Words
As you know, photo corruption and deletion are two common issues. The situation becomes more frustrating when both happen simultaneously. If you want to recover corrupted photos, try opening them in different viewers, changing their extension, and converting them into other formats. If nothing works, try Recoverit to get back your corrupted photos in no time.
FAQs
Can I fix a photo if it is corrupted but not lost?
Yes, you can use advanced photo repair tools, like Repairit, to fix the corruption issue. If your photo is both corrupted and deleted, try recovering it first and then repairing it.
How do I know if my photo is really corrupted?
If your image is working on some applications but not on others, it is an indication of its corruption. Similarly, if the file size is unusually small or 0 bytes, it may be corrupted. Moreover, if your photo throws an error or you can’t open it, it must be corrupted.
Can I recover and repair a corrupted photo on my phone?
Most advanced photo recovery and repair tools support Windows and Mac for advanced functionalities. However, some basic utilities may let you recover and repair pictures on your mobile phone.