Recovered .docx from a USB drive or data-recovery tool won't open

Word (.docx) · what this error means and every free fix to try first

What's actually wrong

Files recovered by undelete/photorec-style tools are often incomplete — the recovery tool guessed at the file's boundaries and got part of it, or filled gaps with zeros. Office refuses these outright. How much is recoverable depends entirely on how much real data the recovery tool actually captured.

Free fixes — try these first

If the recovery tool offered multiple candidate files with similar names/sizes, try each — one is often more complete.
Re-run recovery with PhotoRec (free) if you still have the drive — different tools capture different fragments.
Check whether the original still exists: OneDrive/Dropbox web history, email attachments you sent, Windows File History backups.

If the free fixes fail

Our analyzer measures exactly how much real document data your recovered file contains — before you spend anything. Files that are all zeros get told the truth: nothing is recoverable.

Check what's recoverable — free, in your browser.

Drop the file on our analyzer. It runs locally (the file never leaves your computer) and shows you an honest recovery percentage with a real preview. If nothing is recoverable, we say so plainly — and you pay nothing, ever, for the diagnosis.

Analyze my file free