How do I fix 0 bytes on a hard drive?

There are many ways through which you can fix files reading 0 bytes on a hard drive. Some of the best tools used in fixing 0 bytes on any hard drive are: Using Command prompt in fixing the issue or restore 0-byte files by changing the file extension. A faster option, however, is to make use of the Recoverit Data Recovery software.

How to recover 0 bytes Word document?

You can recover 0 bytes document with the use of the Recoverit File Recovery with these simple steps. Launch the Recoverit File Recovery software and select the hard drive having the 0 bytes files, scan for the zero bytes files, preview, and recover your files.

Files Become 0 Bytes? Top 3 Ways to Restore Zero Byte Files

Q: Why does my file say zero bytes?

When a file says 0 bytes it simply means there is no data being stored in the file and the length of the file will also become zero. The files no longer contain contents that can be written or read. It also means that something has gone wrong with the file system or storage device. 0 bytes files cannot be opened and need to be restored.

Amy Dennis

Apr 23, 2023 • Filed to: Recover Files • Proven solutions

Why does my file say 0 bytes?

I just saved my Word document. After a while, I wanted to open it but found it zero bytes. Why does my file say zero bytes? How do I recover a 0 byte in Word? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

What Do 0 Bytes Mean?
Why Files Become 0 Bytes?
Solution 1. Fix and Recover Zero Byte Files in CMD
Solution 2. Change File Extensions for Restoring 0 Byte Files
Solution 3. Restore Zero Byte Files with Recoverit

What Do 0 Bytes Mean?

What do zero bytes mean? Zero bytes simply refer to no space and data left. If a hard disk shows 0 bytes, it means the hard drive becomes RAW and has zero space to store more data. When you right-click the hard drive and open the Properties, it shows you that there are 0 bytes of used space, free space, and capacity. You can't write and add data in the internal or external hard drive. Sometimes, you might receive an error message reading "Access Denied Error".

What does it mean when a file is 0 bytes? A zero-byte file means that there is no data being stored in the file and the length of the file also becomes zero. In other words, the file contains no content that can be written and read. When a file becomes 0 bytes, it usually means that something goes wrong with the file system or storage device. 0 bytes files cannot be opened. If they are very important, you have to restore zero-byte files in some safe ways.

Why Files Become 0 Bytes?

A zero bytes file can be caused by many different reasons, which can fall into 2 main situations.

Situation 1: Hard Drive Shows 0 Bytes

Hard drives run the risk of corruption and can lose data for several different reasons. This can cause your important files to become 0-byte files. If you ever encounter such an issue then it is evident that your hard drive has either become corrupt or has lost some of the data in your files.

Hard drive 0-byte file is caused primarily because of hard drive corruption. Several factors can result in the corruption of the hard drive. The following are some of those factors.

Malicious software infection and virus attack
Formation of bad sectors on the hard drive
Unexpected computer system crash
Interruption when resizing the hard drive partitions
Improper shutdown or sudden power outage of the PC
Improper removal of the external hard drive, without safe permission

Situation 2: Files Are Corrupted

If a file itself is corrupted, it shows you zero-length or zero bytes. Many factors can result in zero-length files.

The interruption when transferring, downloading and uploading files
Save a file or document with empty content
The interruption when creating the program files
The index table in the file system is corrupted
The computer can't handle the files with extremely long names

Note: Index table is used to indicate the specific storage location of a file or folder. If it is corrupted, the computer can't decode the specific location information of a file, which can bring about zero bytes files.

Whatever causes zero-byte files, there is no need to worry. There are 4 recovery methods available which you can use to recover zero-length files in Windows 10/8/7.

Solution 1. Fix and Recover Zero Byte Files in CMD

You can make use of CMD for restoring 0-byte files if your important files suddenly start showing a file size of 0 bytes. Follow these steps to fix and recover a 0-byte file.

Open the Run dialog box by pressing Win and R keys together. Now, open the Command Prompt by typing cmd in the Run dialog box and pressing Enter.
At the Command Prompt, type "chkdsk /f e:", where e is the name of the storage device or partition of the hard drive that holds the 0-byte file. Press Enter.
Wait for CMD to resolve the 0-byte file errors in storage devices or partitions of a hard drive. After your 0-byte files are fixed and restored, you will be able to use them again.

restore zero byte files using CMD

Solution 2. Change File Extensions for Restoring 0 Byte Files

Sometimes, you can recover 0 bytes Word files after changing the names and extensions. Of course, the method is also true of other types of files, like Excel, Notepad, etc. Follow the below steps to do the job.

Confirm the hard drive, pen drive, or SD card where the 0 bytes files are stored.
Choose the Properties option after right-clicking on the storage device or partition of the hard drive.
Go to the "Tools" menu and click "Check now" or "Check" under "Error-checking".
In the pop-up window, select "Automatically fix file system errors" and press the Start button.
Press the Cancel button after clicking the Close button. Wait for a while until the scanning process ends.
Open the storage device or partition of the hard drive. Type "FOUND.000" in the address field and then press Enter.
Change the name and the extension of the repaired file keeping the format of the file the same as that of the 0-byte file. Do remember to save the file in a separate hard drive partition.
Open and check the content of the file you have just saved and back it up somewhere safe. Your 0-byte file is now fixed and can be reused again.
Format your hard drive or storage device to resume storing files on it.

change file extensions to recover 0 byte files

Solution 3. Restore Zero Byte Files with Recoverit

Using the recovery methods mentioned above, you should be able to fix and restore 0-byte files easily. However, if these methods don’t provide you the desired results, you will need to utilize powerful hard drive file recovery software to perform this task. Ordinary data recovery software won’t be able to get this job done. Recoverit Data Recovery is among the few software programs that can help you recover deleted, lost, formatted, or zero-byte files without encountering any problems.

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Video: How to Recover Files in Windows?

Recoverit Data Recovery is a desktop data rescue software program, that can help you recover files deleted or lost on any device. Let's watch the 1-minute video and learn how it works.

Guide: How to Recover Zero-Byte or Zero-Length Files

Here is a guide that has been formulated to provide you the chance to see how the Recoverit file recovery can be used to recover 0-byte files.

Step 1 Select a hard drive with 0-byte files

Launch Recoverit File Recovery. Select the specific hard disk drive to search partition in which the 0-byte file is present. Click the "Start" button to process.

select a hard disk showing 0 bytes files

Step 2 Scan for zero-length files

To help you recover the desired files, Recoverit needs to scan the hard disk drive you select to dig out all the lost and RAW files. Wait a few minutes and get the scanning results.

scan for 0 bytes files

Step 3 Preview and recover zero-byte files

Finally, you can preview the RAW files with a size of less than 30 MB. Then, select one or more zero bytes files from the resulting menu and click "Recover" to get them all back.

You need to save the recovered RAW or 0-byte files in another safe hard drive or removable storage, in case of the data overwriting and thus permanent loss.

0 byte file recovery

Encountering the issue of 0-byte files in Windows 10/8/7 can be quite frustrating for the users. It might mean the corruption of the hard drive. If you are facing such a problem, you don’t have to worry that much. You can recover 0-byte files using several different data recovery methods. If these manual methods don’t work, using a third-party recovery tool like Recoverit recovery is a good option. Recoverit Data Recovery can help you recover files from hard drive easily and smoothly.

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