Fix MS Word Error ‘The file is corrupted and cannot be opened’

MS Word comes in compilation with the most popular Office Suite developed and maintained by Microsoft. It is amongst one of the widely used commercial word processors that holds great importance like other Microsoft components i.e., Excel or PowerPoint. Depending on the personal or professional use, you can use it to create documents and text files. However, there’s no denying that you avail more advanced and efficient features with the latest version of MS Word. Moreover, there are some cons associated with the .docx files as well when compared to other file formats. At times, you may come across an issue where the older versions of MS Word will fail to open the newer versions. Sometimes, while trying to open an older version file in new version, your file may get corrupt and denies to open.

To mention a few, one such problem takes place whenever you upgrade to Word 2010 from 2007. The following error message may display on your screen while you try to open the Word file post upgrade:

‘The file is corrupt and cannot be opened.’

However, one needs to know that the issue isn’t only restricted to MS Word file. You may end up with this while using MS Excel 2010 and MS PowerPoint 2010 after upgrading from their 2007 versions as well. Thus, it’s essential for you to fix the error at the earliest. But before you do so, you must be aware of the common reasons behind this error. We have covered all the possible causes in the next section of this blog

Reasons Behind ‘The File Is Corrupted And Cannot Be Opened Error

As said, there are numerous reasons that makes it difficult for you to access the Word files ranging from round-tripping (i.e., the process of the converting the file format back and forth) to change of different Office versions. The common instance is when you try to open a Word 2007 file using Word 2010 version. The common reasons behind inaccessibility or corruption of Word files have been listed below:

• You might be having an unstable Internet connection.
• The word files may get damaged or corrupt due to fluctuation in the internet connection.
• You might haven’t installed the Microsoft Office Suite properly. This further restricts proper workflow of the application that in turn, affect files based on different components including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.
• Another reason behind inaccessibility of Word files, can be corrupt or damaged header components.

Methods To Fix ‘The File Is Corrupted And Cannot Be Opened’ Error

Below we have listed all the possible effective troubleshooting solutions by following which you would be able to resolve the MS Word error “The file is corrupt and cannot be opened.”

Method 1: Try to change the ‘Trust Center’ Settings

At times, you may fail to open the Word file from opening due to enabled protected view settings under the Trust Center menu. In that case, you have to change the settings of Trust Center. For doing so, you may proceed with the below-given steps:

• At first, you have to open the MS Word application.
• From there, go to the File menu and click on Options.
• Further, select the Trust Center option and select the option that appears under ‘Trust Center Settings’.
• After that, click on Protected View and unmark all the options that are listed under the ‘Protected View.’
• When done, click OK.
• At last, restart MS Word and try to open your corrupt Word document.

Method 2: Make changes in the Manual Setting of ‘Component Security’

You may follow the below-listed steps to change the manual settings of the component security to default settings:

• Click on the Windows icon and type dcomcnfg in the text field.
• After that, select ‘dcomcnfg’ from the program list.
• Now, go to the navigation pane and expand the ‘Component Services’. 
• Moving ahead, navigate to ‘Computers’ and expand it. 
• Then, right-click on My Computer and select the Properties option.
• Further, open the Default Properties tab and set Default Authentication Level: Connect, Default Impersonation Level: Identify and click OK.

It may happen that the error “The file is corrupt and cannot be opened” may persist even after following the above-mentioned troubleshooting solutions. In that case, we would suggest you to try out a reliable Word repair software. To name one, Stellar Word repair software can help you repair corrupt Word file and restore all the data stored in it without making any change in its original formatting. 

Method 3: By Using Windows Data Recovery Software

Stellar windows data recovery software is an easy-to-use Word repair tool for repairing corrupt MS Word (.doc, .docx) files without modifying the original text, images, fonts, headers/footers, and hyperlinks.

Why Stellar Data Recovery Software for Windows?

Below, we have listed common reasons that explains why should you select the Stellar Data Recovery Software:

• With the Data Recovery Software, you can repair multiple corrupt Word documents in one go.
• Apart from that, it helps you repair comments, text, bookmarks, font, footer, hyperlinks, header, etc.
• It comes with three repair options i.e., Simple, Advance, and Raw Recovery.
• Before saving, you can get the preview of the recovered corrupt Word document.
• It is compatible with the MS Word 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, and earlier versions.

Features of Stellar Windows Data Recovery Software:

Here, we have listed some of the common features that comes along with the Stellar Data Recovery Software:

• Repairs Word Documents

With the File Repair Software, you can fix various corruption errors that take place in the Word files having ‘.doc’ or ‘.docx’ extensions. What it does is, secures the original text, fonts, images, and headers/footers of the document and then, performs a safe repair of MS Word files. Thus, you will be able to repair .doc/.docx files that are inaccessible, start repagination automatically, or show unreadable characters.

• Searches Word File

If you aren’t aware of the location of your corrupt Word document, or have moved the document to a different location. Then, this software will make it easier for you to search the required file anywhere in your system. And then, you can arrange it for the repair.

• Previews Recoverable Word Document Data

Once you have completed the scanning process, you can review the recovered data in the Word file documents with the file repair software for free. These features assure you of the effectiveness that this software offers you to repair and recover the Word file data. Moreover, if required you can see the preview in three different formats, i.e., ‘Full document’, ‘Filtered Text’, and ‘RAW Text’.

• Simple Word Repair Option

If you have ended up with minor corruption errors in .DOC and .DOCX files then you can opt for the Simple Repair Option. This feature allows you to repair the corrupt Word file with original formatting.

Summing It Up

To conclude, the manual ways to resolve the error ‘The file is corrupted and cannot be opened’ includes modifications in system component settings/disabling the protected view settings that in turn, makes your system prone to unwanted threats. In that case, what you may do is try out the Windows Data Recovery Software. It’s helpful because it doesn’t demand major changes while setting your system components. Apart from that, it also requires fewer steps that can help you recover corrupt data. And with this, you can experience amazing results when it comes to data recovery.