What Is File Corruption & How to Prevent It

File corruption: identification, prevention and response strategies

This article will explore in-depth the causes, identification methods and daily preventive measures of document corruption. File corruption refers to the original data being tampered with or corrupted during the process of reading, writing, transmitting, processing or storing data. Although computers and storage systems have multiple precautions, data corruption still occurs from time to time.

Causes and signs of document corruption

Corrupted files cannot be accessed through computers or related programs. Depending on different reasons, file corruption can lead to simple file loss and even more severely crash the computer. This section will introduce some common causes of file corruption and how to determine whether a file is corrupted.

Causes of file corruption

Generally speaking, there are four reasons for file corruption:

• Human error: When transferring or editing data, if the device is not removed or shut down correctly, it may directly lead to file corruption or device corruption.
• Physical damage to the device: Physical damage may make data inaccessible. Scratches, collisions or other damage can lead to data loss or even data corruption.
• Viral infection: If a file is infected with viruses or malware, there is a risk of corruption.
• Software failure: If you use software to edit or open a file, but the software suddenly becomes corrupt, the data may also be corrupted.

How to determine whether the file is corrupted

How to determine if the file is corrupt? Usually, you will receive an error message that the file is corrupted. Apart from this sign, there are some other metrics that can help you find out the damaged files.

• Unable to access files: Usually, the inability to open files and the error message appears simultaneously. This is a clear metric that indicates that the file is corrupted.
• Content distortion: In other cases, you can open the file normally, but the file content is distorted or garbled.
• File size exception: You can get the exact file size of the normal file. However, corrupt files may have significantly smaller or larger file sizes that appear as exceptional file sizes in File Explorer.

Measures to prevent document corruption

File corruption can be a nightmare for every Windows user. To prevent data loss and more serious consequences, we provide some tips to prevent file corruption in daily computer use.

• Check the health of the device regularly: To prevent hard drive failure, you need to ensure that the device is in a stable and healthy operating state. Therefore, it is necessary to perform disk inspections, monitor equipment temperatures and check general wear conditions.
• Careful operation: Be cautious when editing and transferring files. Remember to remove the device correctly and close the program. Also, do not click on suspicious links or visit untrusted websites to protect your device from viruses and malware.
• Regular data backup: This method provides fault tolerance for file corruption. You can easily get the correct files from your backup by copying and pasting. Files can be backed up using Windows built-in utilities or third-party backup software such as MiniTool ShadowMaker.

Conclusion

After reading this article, you should understand what file corruption is and its common causes. In addition, you should also know some basic measures to prevent file corruption.

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