How to recover and restore corrupted video files

Look for a clean copy first

Cloud services keep versions. Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive all have version history, so right-click the file and look for “Manage versions” or “Version history.” iCloud Photos and Google Photos often keep the original upload even if the local copy is broken.

On Windows, right-click the folder → Properties → Previous Versions, if File History is on. On Mac, Time Machine. And don’t forget the source: if the clip went from camera to laptop, the card may still have it.

Ask whoever sent it. A video that broke in a WhatsApp or email transfer is usually fine on the sender’s phone.

Restore from the card

If the camera’s card still has the file, copy it again with a card reader rather than over USB from the camera, and compare file sizes. A copy that was interrupted is the most common cause of a “corrupted” video, and recopying fixes it for free. If the file was deleted from the card, see recover an MP4 file.

No clean copy? Repair what you have

Then it’s a repair job: how to repair corrupted video files, step by step. Most interrupted recordings can be fully restored with an index rebuild.

Or open it in FixCorruptVideo. You see a free 15-second preview before paying.

Avoiding the next one

Use a card reader, wait for copies to finish, eject properly, keep the camera charged, and replace cards that start throwing errors. For screen recording, record to MKV and convert later. We wrote more on how video files get corrupted.

Recovering corrupted videos, not just deleted ones

A corrupted video file isn’t lost. It is still on your drive, just unreadable. Recovering it means getting from an unreadable file to a playable one, and often from a file system that has damaged entries to a clean copy on another drive.

There are three layers where things can go wrong, and recovery may involve all three: the storage device (bad sectors, failing hardware), the file system (wrong file sizes, lost directory entries, RAW partitions), and the file itself (missing index, damaged frames). Work from the bottom up: secure the device, then the file system, then the file.

Layer 1: Secure the storage device

If the drive or card is physically healthy, make a sector-by-sector image before doing anything else. If it shows signs of failure, such as clicking, disconnecting, or very slow reads, use a tool designed for failing media. GNU ddrescue copies good sectors first and retries bad ones later, so you get the most data with the least stress on the device.

ddrescue -n /dev/sdX card.img card.map does a fast first pass; running it again without -n retries the difficult areas. The map file remembers progress, so you can stop and resume.

With an image in hand, the original device can be set aside. All further recovery happens on the image.

Layer 2: Repair the file system view

When a card shows as RAW, asks to be formatted, or lists files with sizes of zero, the file system is damaged. The videos may be perfectly intact underneath.

TestDisk can often rebuild the partition table or boot sector, making the card readable again. Work on the image, not the card. If TestDisk can list the files, copy them off to another drive.

When the file system can’t be fixed, use a file carver such as PhotoRec. It finds videos by their content and copies them out, without needing the file system at all. Expect generic file names and some files with missing endings.

Avoid running chkdsk /f or macOS First Aid on the original card. They are designed to make the file system consistent, not to save your data, and they can discard file fragments they don’t understand.

Layer 3: Repair the video files

Once you have copies of the videos on a safe drive, check each one. Files that play are recovered. Files that don’t need repair.

The most common problem at this stage is a missing index, especially for MP4 and MOV files from cameras that were interrupted or for files recovered by carving. An index rebuild fixes this losslessly. MKV and MTS files are more forgiving and often play up to the point of damage after a simple remux.

Files with damaged frames, typical of failing cards, can be salvaged by cutting out the damaged moments or by re-encoding so the decoder conceals them.

Our repair page handles this stage: it detects the format, tries a lossless remux, then rebuilds the index natively or from a reference clip. You get a free 15-second preview of every result and can unlock the full file for $9/month or $29/year.

Recovering corrupted videos from cloud services

If a video in Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, or iCloud won’t play, first check version history. All four keep previous versions of files for a period. A corrupted sync may have replaced a good version, which you can restore.

If the cloud copy is corrupted and no good version exists, download it and repair it like any local file. Check that the download completed: cloud downloads sometimes stop silently and leave a partial file.

Shared albums and messaging apps store compressed copies, not originals. Recovering from them gives you lower quality, but a working video.

Recovering corrupted videos from CCTV and dashcams

Security DVRs and NVRs often store video in proprietary formats on internal drives. Export through the recorder’s own interface whenever possible. If the recorder won’t boot, removing the drive and imaging it is possible, but the raw data may need vendor tools to interpret.

Dashcams write loops to a memory card. Remove the card promptly after an incident to stop loop recording from overwriting the important clip. Look in event or protected folders first. The clip that was being written during a crash is often missing its index and needs a rebuild using another loop from the same camera as a reference.

Know when to call a professional

If a drive is physically damaged (dropped, water-damaged, burnt, making noises), stop and contact a data-recovery lab. They can replace failed parts in a clean room and image the platters. Software recovery on a physically failing drive risks making things worse.

If the footage is irreplaceable and commercially important, such as a wedding or legal evidence, a lab’s cost may be justified even for a working drive, simply for their expertise and documentation.

For everything else, the free and low-cost route covered here recovers most corrupted videos. See also recover an MP4 file and how to repair corrupted video files.

Recovering corrupted videos on Windows

Start with built-in options. Right-click the folder that held the video, choose Properties, then Previous Versions. If File History or restore points were enabled, an earlier copy may be listed. OneDrive’s web interface also has a version history for each file.

For memory cards, connect through a card reader rather than the camera’s USB cable, which can be slower and less reliable. If Windows offers to scan and fix the card, choose to continue without scanning.

Free tools that work well on Windows: PhotoRec for carving, TestDisk for partitions, HDD Raw Copy for imaging, FFmpeg and VLC for checking and remuxing. Recuva is an easy option for recently deleted files on drives that haven’t been reused.

Recovering corrupted videos on macOS

Time Machine is the first stop. Open the folder in Finder, enter Time Machine, and browse back to before the problem. Restored files are copies, so the damaged version stays where it is for comparison.

For cards, macOS may mount a damaged card read-only or not at all. Don’t run Disk Utility’s First Aid on the only copy. Image it with dd from Terminal, checking the device name with diskutil list first, then work on the image with PhotoRec or a commercial tool such as Disk Drill.

macOS can read the card image directly: double-click the .img file to mount it, if its file system is intact, and copy files out like a normal disk.

Recovering corrupted videos from a camera that won’t read the card

When a camera shows a card error, it may still contain your footage. Power the camera off, remove the card, and read it in a computer. If the computer can see files, copy them all off before anything else.

If the computer sees an empty or unformatted card, image it and run recovery. Cameras usually use FAT32 or exFAT, which recover well. Professional cameras with proprietary formats (some Sony, Panasonic, and RED formats) may need vendor tools for full recovery, but carvers can still often find MP4 and MOV clips.

Avoid putting the card back in the camera until recovery is complete. Some cameras quietly rebuild their database or reformat on insertion.

A realistic recovery timeline

Imaging a 128 GB card takes 10 to 40 minutes depending on the reader. Carving the image with PhotoRec takes a similar time. Sorting and checking the recovered files takes another few minutes. Repairing a handful of key files takes minutes each.

For a typical lost-clip situation, expect an afternoon, much of it waiting. Don’t rush the early steps; a hurried format or reuse of the card is the one mistake that can’t be undone.

After recovery: organising and protecting

Rename recovered and repaired files with meaningful names and dates. Keep the raw recovered versions in a separate folder until you are sure you won’t need them.

Set up automatic backups so the next failure is a nuisance rather than a loss. Repair any files that still won’t play on the repair page, using the free 15-second preview to check each one; unlock full files for $9/month or $29/year. Related: video is corrupted.

Mistakes that make recovery harder

Formatting the card because the camera asked. A quick format leaves data recoverable, but a full format or the camera’s low-level format may overwrite it.

Running recovery software that saves to the same card. Recovered files written back onto the card can overwrite the very data you are trying to recover.

Repeatedly plugging in a failing drive. Each attempt adds wear. Image it once with ddrescue and work from the image.

Opening and saving videos in an editor before recovery. Editors may create cache and preview files on the same drive.

Waiting too long on phones and SSDs. Automatic cleanup and TRIM remove deleted data quickly.

Recovering corrupted videos from USB sticks and external SSDs

USB flash drives behave much like memory cards and recover well with the same tools. External SSDs usually support TRIM over USB, so deleted files may be erased quickly; corrupted but present files, on the other hand, are fully accessible and only need repair.

If an external drive asks to be formatted when connected, decline. Image it, and use TestDisk to try restoring the partition before carving.

Recovery for video professionals

On paid shoots, set up a data-wrangling routine: copy cards to two drives with verified copying software such as ShotPut Pro, Hedge, or rsync with checksums, and keep cards untouched until both copies are verified. If a file turns out corrupted, you still have the card to recover from.

Keep a small kit for emergencies: a reliable card reader, a spare drive large enough to image your biggest card, and the free tools above installed and tested. When something goes wrong on location, you’ll be ready.

Repair any recovered clips that won’t play on the repair page, checking each with the free 15-second preview. Unlock full files for $9/month or $29/year.

Recovery versus repair, in one sentence

Recovery gets the bytes of your video back onto safe storage; repair makes those bytes playable. Most corrupted-video cases need a little of both, and doing recovery first means the repair always has the best possible material to work with.

Building a recovery plan for many files

When dozens or hundreds of videos are affected, work methodically. First create a full image of the card or drive and store it safely. Then run recovery against the image and save results to a separate folder. Sort recovered files by size and date, and test a sample to see which ones play. Group the broken ones by device and settings so each group can share a reference clip during repair.

This approach avoids repeated reads of failing hardware, keeps track of what has been tried, and makes it easy to resume if something goes wrong. It also helps you prioritise the most important footage first.

Keeping recovered footage safe

Once files are recovered and repaired, store at least two copies in different places, such as an external drive and a cloud folder. Check a few files periodically to make sure they still open.