How to repair corrupted photos（Professional tools）
The result can be a photo that won’t open, displays distorted or incomplete images, or gives an error message when trying to access it.
There are multiple ways to repair corrupted image files, depending on the extent of the corruption and the type of photo file you're dealing with.
Before diving into the repair process, it's essential to understand what causes photo corruption and how to identify it. Corruption happens when the photo file’s structure becomes altered, preventing it from opening correctly. Corruption can occur with any image format, such as JPEG, PNG, GIF, TIFF, and RAW files.
Common Causes of Photo Corruption
System Crashes: If your computer or mobile device crashes while a photo is being written or saved, the file may become partially written, leading to corruption.
File Transfer Failures: Interruptions while transferring photos from one device to another, especially over unstable networks or corrupted USB devices, can result in corrupted files.
Damaged Storage Devices: Physical damage to storage devices like hard drives, SD cards, or USB drives can cause files to become unreadable or corrupted.
Virus or Malware Attacks: Malicious software can infect and alter files on your system, potentially corrupting your photo files.
Faulty or Incompatible Software: Incompatible software or bugs in image editing programs can sometimes corrupt images, especially if the program fails to save the file properly.
Bad Sectors on Hard Drives: If a hard drive or storage device has bad sectors, files stored in these areas may become corrupted or unreadable.
Improper Ejection of External Drives: If you remove a USB drive or SD card without safely ejecting it, you risk damaging the file and corrupting any photos stored on it.
Incomplete Downloads: Sometimes, when downloading images from the internet, network interruptions or incomplete downloads may leave you with corrupted files.
Symptoms of Corrupted Photos
You may experience several symptoms when attempting to open a corrupted photo file. Some of the most common signs of a corrupted photo include:
Error Messages: When trying to open the image file, you might receive an error such as “The file is corrupted and cannot be opened.”
Distorted or Missing Image Data: The image may open with corrupted pixels, missing sections, or incorrect colors.
File Doesn’t Open: The file might refuse to open altogether, leading to an error message from your photo viewer or editor.
Blank Screens: When attempting to open the image, you might see a blank screen or a completely black or white photo instead of the expected image.
File Size Anomalies: If you check the file size and it appears too small (or unusually large), it may indicate that the image has been corrupted.
How to Repair Corrupted Photos
Repairing a corrupted photo can be as simple as using built-in tools in your operating system, or it may require third-party recovery software, depending on the severity of the corruption. Below are various methods and tools you can use to repair corrupted photos.
1. Using Built-in Tools on Windows or macOS
For Windows Users
Windows has a built-in utility called Windows Photo Viewer that can sometimes repair minor corruptions in photo files, particularly when it comes to JPEGs.
Steps to use Windows Photo Viewer:
Right-click on the corrupted image.
Select Open with and choose Windows Photo Viewer.
If the photo doesn’t open, try to use the Repair feature in Microsoft Photos.
While Windows Photo Viewer doesn’t have a dedicated "repair" feature, sometimes the built-in viewer can display images that other software can’t. However, this method is not always successful, especially with heavily corrupted files.
For macOS Users
For Mac users, the Preview app is the default image viewer. While there is no specific repair tool in macOS, you can try opening the corrupted image in Preview, and if it opens, you can save it as a new file to potentially recover it.
Steps for macOS:
Open the corrupted image using Preview.
If the file opens but displays errors, try exporting it as a new format (e.g., from JPG to PNG).
Save the file in a different location and check if it opens without corruption.
Both of these methods are only effective for minor corruption. For more severe cases, using specialized repair tools is recommended.
2. Using Photo Repair Software
When the corruption is too severe for the default tools, specialized third-party software may be required. These tools can analyze the file structure, identify the damaged parts, and attempt to rebuild the image.
Top Photo Repair Software Options:
Panda Repair
Panda Repair offers a powerful and user-friendly solution for restoring corrupted photos that are unreadable, distorted, or damaged due to file corruption. Whether your images were lost during a transfer, affected by a system crash, or simply won’t open properly, Panda Repair helps bring your treasured memories back to life with just a few clicks.
Key Features:
Support for Multiple Formats: Panda Repair works with a wide range of photo file types including JPEG, PNG, TIFF, BMP, and RAW formats from popular camera brands.
Smart Repair Algorithm: It uses advanced algorithms to detect and fix corrupted areas within the image file—restoring color, clarity, structure, and missing data as accurately as possible.
Online Convenience: There’s no need to install heavy software. Panda Repair operates entirely online, making it accessible from any device with internet access.
Preview Function: After repairing, users can preview their recovered photos to ensure they’ve been fully restored before downloading the final versions.
Batch Processing: You can upload and repair multiple corrupted photos at once, saving time and effort when dealing with large collections of damaged files.
How It Works:
Go to the Panda Repair website.
Upload the corrupted photo(s) directly from your device.
Panda Repair automatically scans and fixes any damage found in the files.
Preview the repaired photos and download the restored versions.
JPEG Repair Toolkit
Overview: JPEG Repair Toolkit is a specialized tool designed to fix corrupted JPEG files. It works by repairing damaged headers and other corrupted elements in the JPEG file structure.
Key Features:
Focuses on JPEG file repair.
Allows users to repair image headers and recombine corrupted files.
Recovers thumbnails from corrupted JPEGs.
How to Use:
Install JPEG Repair Toolkit.
Launch the software and select the corrupted JPEG file.
Click Repair, and the program will attempt to fix the file.
Save the repaired photo after the process is complete.
PhotoRec
Overview: PhotoRec is a free and open-source tool designed for file recovery. While primarily used for recovering deleted files, it can also repair damaged or corrupted photos by scanning the storage device and reconstructing the lost or damaged data.
Key Features:
Supports multiple photo formats, including JPEG, PNG, and TIFF.
Recovers data from various storage devices, such as hard drives, SD cards, and USB drives.
How to Use:
Download and install PhotoRec.
Launch the program and select the drive or partition where the corrupted photo is located.
Let PhotoRec scan for recoverable files and attempt to repair the corrupted photo.
Save the recovered file to a different location.
DiskInternals JPEG Repair
Overview: This is another specialized tool for fixing corrupt JPEG files. DiskInternals JPEG Repair can repair corrupted images by reconstructing the file’s internal structure and recovering as much data as possible.
Key Features:
Repairs damaged JPEG files and restores lost image data.
Can recover files from corrupted or formatted storage devices.
Supports batch file processing for repairing multiple images.
How to Use:
Download and install DiskInternals JPEG Repair.
Open the software and select the corrupted JPEG file.
Click Repair and wait for the process to finish.
Save the repaired photo to your desired location.
3. Using Online Photo Repair Tools
If you don’t want to install software, there are several online tools that can help repair corrupted images. These tools typically work in your browser and can handle basic photo repairs.
OnlineFileRepair.com:
A free online tool that can repair images in formats like JPEG, PNG, and GIF.
Upload the corrupted file, and the tool will automatically attempt to fix it.
After the repair, you can download the fixed image.
Fotor Photo Editor:
Fotor allows you to edit and repair corrupted images, offering a variety of editing tools to restore damaged photos.
While it’s not specifically designed for file recovery, you can attempt to repair the image using Fotor’s editing features.
