
A Word document is fine until it’s not. Digital files like a Word file can be fragile when you fail to store and launch properly. Also, viruses and malware will turn the fine Word document into a corrupted file that cannot be opened anymore.
What would you do if you want to once again launch this fine Word file to read the texts on it, scroll up and down, or resume your writing? Of course, repair the corrupted Word file. To bring your Word file back to fine, check out the methods below and try them out.
Tip: Something You Should Check Before Start to Fix a Damaged Word File
Before you apply any methods to fix your corrupted Word file, there’s something you should do.
First of all, you need to make sure it’s the file that goes wrong. Sometimes, if your MS Word software is bugged, it will fail to open any Word files and prompt you with the following notification.

Well, it mentions that the Word file may be corrupted. So, it may be not.
To find out the truth, open another DOC/DOCX file with your Microsoft Word software. If the same notification pops out, you should re-install your MS Word.
Method 1: Recover a Corrupted Word File with echoshare Data Recovery
On the internet, there’re some third-party applications that are designed to recover corrupted Word and other documents (Excel, Powerpoint, etc). Among all those big and small names you can see online, echoshare Data Recovery for Windows & Mac is nothing short of all the competitors.
This is a handy data recovery tool that is able to recover your damaged Word file back to normal. It aims at the best results and the least cost for both Windows and Mac users.
Featuring all-rounded and fast recovery, this kit recovers photos, videos, audio, archives, system files, and most importantly, documents like Word, Excel, and Powerpoint in minutes. Start the program, set up a scan to search for the corrupted Word file, and recover it in seconds.
No matter where the Word file lies, your computer hard drive, an external drive, a USB stick, an SD card, or email conversations, this app covers all of them. You can recover your Word document from any of those mentioned devices.
Download it on your computer, Mac or Windows, and start to recover your corrupted Word file!
Steps to Recover a Corrupted Word File
Step 1: Set up a scan for the corrupted Word file
Launch echoshare Data Recover after it’s installed. On the initial screen, set up for the data scan.
- How does the file(s) lost: Choose I Don’t Know, or tick USB devices/SD Card when the Word file is on a USB drive, SD card, or portable hard drive;
- Check all file types: Uncheck this option, and tick only the Document option.
Click Next to proceed.

Step 2: Scan for the corrupted file
On the new screen, tick a disk or partition that the Word file is on. Click Scan to start.

Step 3: Recover the corrupted Word file
When the scan is complete, locate the Enter Name or Path here inbox, enter the name of the Word file, and click Filter to quickly locate it. Then, click Recover to restore this corrupted document. Choose a new destination for the recovered file.

Wait for the completion and open the Word file afterward. You can delete the corrupted file after the new fine Word file is accessible.
Method 2: Repair a Corrupted Word Document with Stellar Repair for Word
When a Word file is corrupted, let’s repair it with a professional file repair tool, like the one offered by Stellar.
Stellar for Word Repair, an easy-to-use repair tool for files with DOC and DOCX extensions, is able to fix multiple corruption errors. With it, you can revert everything on the Word file, including
- Content: texts, images, hyperlinks, logos, videos
- Format: fonts, headers, footers, margins, paddings
In short, it brings back the original Word file.

Worried about its effect? Don’t. Making the recoverable data visible to you in advance, the program provides a clear and complete report to you. You may choose Full documents, Filtered Test, or Raw Text to preview the result based on your need.
Get this Word repair tool right away to fix your corrupted Word document!
Steps to Repair a Corrupted Word Document
Step 1
Launch the program. On the initial screen, you can see a pop-out window. Hit the Browse or Search button on it and locate the target Word file, import it.
Click Scan to let the program analyze the chance of repairing this Word file.

Step 2
When the analysis is complete, preview the file. See if it satisfies you or not.

To repair the file, locate the Save button on the top left corner. Then decide a destination to save the output Word file.

Walkaround: Extract the Text From the Corrupted Word File
When the corrupted Word file is filled with pure text, no image or hyperlink is attached, you can try to extract all the texts from it.
To do that, simply launch a Word-to-Text website and start the extraction then. You can find a lot of these websites online, choose the No.1 that shows on your search result.