How to Recover Corrupted Video Files | Full Video Repair Guide

Eleanor Reed

Aug 23, 2023 • Filed to: Photo/Video/Audio Solutions • Proven solutions

What is the best multimedia you prefer to use in daily life?

Videos are widely used for almost all purposes. Capturing once in a lifetime moment, recording online lectures, recording instructions for some task; you can imagine any sphere of life and you will find videography to be an important part of it!

Now, what if any of your important videos get corrupted? It might sound like nothing less than a nightmare! Right?

Well, if you are hopeless about your corrupted video and are looking for means to recover it, this article is for you!

Part 1: How Videos Files Get Corrupted

You are well aware of the importance of videos in your life. You might also encounter some technical issues while handling your videos. For, instance, you sit down to go through some special moments that you captured back in time and hit a dead end while trying to play them! Are you ever faced with two real-life scenarios?

Situation 1: After transferring videos from my digital camera to the PC, I discovered that the videos were not playing properly at all. Some videos had audio-video sync problems while others had jerky video playback. Is it possible to recover these corrupted videos?

Situation 2: I was excited to recover my wedding videos back after my camcorder shutdown improperly. However, to my surprise, the recovered MP4 video files are not accessible. Is there a way to recover my broken videos?

Well, gone are the times when you could do nothing about these situations. Today, you can find solutions to any technical issue on the vast horizons of technology. Before discovering the solution to recover corrupt videos, it is important to first know the reasons that are responsible for corrupting your data.

These are the possible reasons that can make your videos corrupt:

In this section, you will find ways of getting your corrupt data back. Also, benefit yourself from the reasons that cause this issue so that you do not face this problem in the first place.

Now, here you go with some solutions with explained causes that persist commonly to every user of video media.

Part 2: Ultimate Way to Recover Corrupt Video Files Instantly

You are spoiled for choice when it comes to selecting the video repair tools. Nevertheless, many of these tools promise that they can repair video files when in reality some of them don’t. Most of them can bring other problems, such as non-synced audio and video.

Wondershare Repairit Video Repair is the best tool you can find on the market. It’s a powerful software that guides you on how to recover a corrupt video file instantly. This corrupt video file fixer repairs videos from different devices, like memory cards, SD cards, computer hard drives, digital cameras, action cameras, etc.

It’s always essential to have a video repair tool that can recover different video formats. The good part about Wondershare Repairit is that it supports a wide range of video formats, like MOV, M2TS, MP4, MKV, 3GP, MTS, FLV, and AVI. Besides this, you can use this video repair tool to recover damaged MP4 due to memory card error, file transfer error, interrupted system shutdown, virus attack, and many other causes.

Want to know the best part about how to recover damaged video files using Wondershare Repairit? It supports various corruption scenarios, such as video file header corruption, video file system corruption, corruption on the video slider, corruption on the sound section of the video files, etc.

How to Recover Corrupt Videos Files

To recover broken mp4 video files, you have to use Wondershare Repairit. This is the only way you can continue enjoying watching your videos. Even better, making use of Wondershare Repairit is easy. All you have to do is to take the following steps.

Step 1: Download and Install the Wondershare Repairit Video Repair

Next, launch the software to enter the home page. Then you can click the "Add" button or "Add video and start repairing" area to add corrupt videos.

Step 2: Repair Video in Quick Repair Mode

After adding corrupt video, just click the "Repair" button to start repairing video quickly. In this mode, it can repair different video error messages.

Step 3: Preview the Corrupted Video Files

When the Quick Repair mode completes the repairing process, you can preview the repaired video file. Click OK to save the video file to any location of your choice. But, if the recovery process wasn’t satisfactory, consider proceeding to step 4.

Step 4: Add the Sample Video to Repair Severely Corrupted HD Video Files

Wondershare Repairit has the Advanced Repair mode which uses the Sample Video. You can use it if the Quick Repair option failed to repair the video files. Select the Sample Video which will be used as a reference when repairing the severely corrupted video files.

The Advanced Repair option will start repairing the corrupt video file after it completes scanning the Sample Video. You can now preview the recovered video. Finally, save the repaired corrupt video to any location.

Tips for Smooth Corrupt Videos Recovery

The repairing process must be absolute. Otherwise, even after the recovery process, you won’t have a perfect video. Therefore, to ensure that you have a smooth corrupt video recovery, you have to understand the capabilities of the Wondershare Repairit Video Repair tool and what you need to do while using it.

Video Tutorial on How to Repair Corrupted Videos?

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Part 3. Specific Ways to Recover Corrupt Videos

Corrupted videos are every person’s nightmare. While you can recover such videos, you need to know their causes, signs, and solutions. Here you can get the main causes and corresponding video file repair solutions.

Cause 1: Error During Recording, Playback, or Transfer

Corruption in videos usually happens while the files are reading or writing. In a camera, this process occurs when you are shooting, playback, or transferring the video files from your device to backup storage. Therefore, if you find out that there is an error message such as error code 0xc00d36c4 while playing your videos, there is a high potential that your video file is corrupt.

Fortunately, a large number of ways are available to get this issue solved.

How to Fix Video Handling Errors?

You might come across an error code 0xc00d36c4 while playing a video. Well, this code is nothing but an indication that your file is corrupt.

Step1: Make a copy of your MP4 file that is corrupt. Rename it in ".AVI".

Step 2: Go to the VLC media player and choose the tools menu. Click on preferences.

Step 3: Choose input/ codecs.

Step 4: Now, click on the Always fix option in the 'Damaged or AVI file' drop-down menu and click on the Save button.

How to Record Videos Without Corruption?

Prevention is always better than cure! In the technical world, this phrase is even more applicable. There are various ways to get your corrupted data back but it is wise to prevent any such scenario beforehand and retain the authenticity of your data.

The wisest thing you can do to protect your video files is to take proper care while recording. Make sure to follow these points while you are recording a video.

Cause 2: Improper Formatting

If you don’t properly format your SD card or memory card, it can cause corruption in your videos. Here’s why it can corrupt your videos. All cameras and other recording devices use a specific video file and media features to properly identify and store video files. Therefore, if the SD card is not formatted correctly, there is a chance of getting corrupt videos. You can know that formatting was the cause of corruption when you lose your video files. Your screen might appear blank without showing any video playing.

You might come across an error message 'The card is not formatted'. Well, a possible reason behind this is improperly ejecting the memory card. Due to this, your data gets inaccessible for the card and you are left with only one option and that is formatting. You may encounter a blank screen.

Also, using a memory card that is not formatted can end up in this situation. So, you need to format your storage device before using it. Now, some hard drives are pre-formatted for this purpose.

First of all, you need to know whether or not your hard drive is formatted. If not, then you need to follow a simple procedure to format your device. This will avoid any unwanted scenario while or after transferring your data to that device.

Step 1. Plug the hard drive into the device. Wait for the system to recognize the hard drive.

Step 2. Go to my computer and right-click on the icon of your hard drive. Choose the format option from the drop-down menu. Select a quick format.

Step 3. Click on Start option to start the process.

The formatting process will begin. A notification will pop up when the process gets completed. Once the formatting is done, your storage device is ready to store video files without any risk of corruption.

Cause 3: Errors During Video Transfer

This error is commonly called 'video transfer error'. Even if you have properly transferred your memory card from your camera, likely, your video is not safe yet. In the video transfer process, there are a lot of opportunities for getting data compromised. For instance, you can have an error message that simply says the application for opening video files on your device can’t open the video file.

How to Transfer Videos without Corruption?

It is always wise to take necessary preventive measures so that your video does not go corrupt while transferring. Here are a few measures that you should take to transfer videos without corruption.

We recommend you to use a very promising tool, Wondershare Repairit, to get back your corrupted video. This tool helps you recover your data from almost all platforms, it can be Memory Cards, SD cards, hard drives or cameras, etc.

This tool can support a wide range of formats. The best part is that it repairs videos that get corrupt due to any possible reason!

Cause 4: Interrupted System Shutdown

Corruption to video files can occur when the power cuts off while shooting, saving, or playback with almost depleted batteries. Because each video has headers and footers, there is a chance that some of the data will not be written. Perhaps, the data on the memory card or SD card will be corrupted. Worse still, the video will simply not play as the entire data might not be readable. If there is no sound in your videos, just know that you have corrupted videos. Wondershare Repairit Video Repair can repair unplayable video files.

A possible reason behind this is, there are headers and footers in each video. So, there are favorable chances that the whole data is not written due to the power cut. Some parts of it may not get written which eventually corrupts the video.

So, ensure that there is no power cut and your device does not run on a dying battery.

Step 1: Right-click on Command Prompt App and select Run as administrator. A command window will appear.

Step 2: Type "powercfg -h off" and press Enter.

Step 3: Once again press enter and exit from the window. Your desktop will appear and the problem is fixed.

Cause 5: Physical Damage

Physical damage can cause corruption in video files. A dropped camera can result in immediate damage to the video file. You might be asking yourself how to recover broken video files from those video files. Well, if you drop your camera, there are bound to be some loose wiring or bad connections. This can cause some sort of video degradation or corruption.

Heat is also unavoidable when you are out shooting a video on a sunny day. But, the heat causes several problems, such as an unexpected camera shutdown. As with other factors that cause improper system shutdown, this opens your video file up to video corruption.

Errors in the movement of the video, flickering in videos, video playback interruption, and many more are signs of corruption in your video file.

Part 4: Regular Tricks Against Video Corruption

It’s always great to be aware of the usual tricks you can use to prevent video corruption. Now, the significant thing is to ensure that you avoid doing the following things while recording or playing the videos:

Hopefully, this article was of great help. With the advancement in technology, there remains no issue that cannot be dealt with. You can find different solutions to any of your technical issues. Repairing your corrupt videos is no big deal! But we recommend to avoid any such scenario beforehand and retain the authenticity of your data. Make sure to take necessary precautions so that you do not end up in such situations.

Once it happens, you can use Wondershare Repairit to recover your corrupted video file. This will also prevent you from using unreliable video repair tools which can only escalate the video problems.