Just like any other program files, Microsoft Word files too can get corrupted due to different reasons. When that happens, your first thought would be to try the built-in repair tool for Word. But as we all know, the probability of recovering data from a corrupted file using the built-in Office repair tools is always next to nil. While this may seem rather frustrating, it’s not the end of the road. So what do you do if the built-in repair tool can’t recover your corrupted file? A professional Word repair tool might be your only hope. But with so many tools to choose from, how do you find the best recovery tool for Word? That’s where we come in. We tested the Recovery Toolbox for Word to see whether it can recover data from a severely damaged file to write this review of the program.
What Causes Microsoft Word Document Corruption?
Corrupt Word documents contain errors that prevent Word from opening them correctly. Sometimes a saved file can become damaged or corrupt as a result of unavoidable reasons. Below find some of the main reasons for file corruption.
An abrupt cancellation of the Word program A forced system shutdown when the program is open Bad sectors on the hard drive/storage media failure Virus attack Bugs attack Software installation that destabilizes your Office suite Human errors
Now that you know the reasons why Word documents become corrupted, we’re going to show you how to repair and recover data from a corrupt Word document using the Recovery Toolbox for Word.
Recovery Toolbox for Word: Program Overview
As the name suggests, Recovery Toolbox for Word is a data repair software that specializes in recovering data from corrupted or damaged MS Word documents. The program can repair and recover data from Word files that have suffered damages as a result of virus attack, hardware problems, and human errors that result in data corruption. It can help you extract text from corrupt *.doc, *.docx, *.rtx, *.dot, or *.dotx files of any version and size. Below find the salient features of Recovery Toolbox for Word.
Recovers *.doc files of ASCII and Unicode texts Recovers .docx files from Office 2007/2010/2013/2016/2019 files Recovers text from Rich Text Files (.rtx format) Exports the recovered data directly to Word Utilizes proprietary heuristic filters to exclude garbage elements from the recovered data Recovers data from corrupted Word files of all versions and formats (Microsoft Word 95/98/2000/XP/2003/2007/2010/2013/2016/2019).
Recovery Toolbox for Word is compatible with all versions of Windows – from Windows 98, 2000, all through Windows 10.
How It Works
To get started with Recovery Toolbox for Word, you’ll first need to download the program. The download link can be found at the company’s official site. Once the download is complete, double-click the “.exe” file to start the installation, and follow the simple installation instructions. Once done, launch the program. One thing you’ll notice about the program is its clean interface with clear-cut instructions, as shown in the screenshot below.
Now we’re going to test whether the software can repair a damaged Word document as advertised. Note: if a Word document is corrupted, Word will not be able to open the file. Instead, it will display a pop-up error message. This is the error message I received when I tried to open a severely damaged Word document.
Below find the procedure to recover data from a corrupted Word file.
- Launch the program.
- Click on the folder-shaped icon to select the file you want to repair from your computer, then click on the “Analyze” button to allow the system to begin the recovery process.
The system will begin processing the document in preparation for recovery, and you’ll be able to see the progress bar.
Once the processing is complete, click the “Start Recovery” button to continue.
Select where you want the recovered document to be saved.
In my case I chose to export to MS Word. As you can see in the screenshot below, the program was able to recover text and images from the damaged file.
After file recovery is complete, the system will display a log of the recovery results. Click Finish to complete the process and exit the program.
That’s it! You’ve successfully recovered a corrupted Word document with the Recovery Toolbox for Word. Alternatively, you can use their Online Repair Service for Word to recover data from corrupt Word files. The online repair service eliminates the need for a download and installation while giving you nearly the same features.
Pricing
The company offers three licenses as follows: Personal License Price: $27 With this plan you get a lifetime license for personal use only. Business License Price: $45 This license is for use in enterprise, commercial, and government environments. Site License Price: $90 This license can be shared on several of the customer’s computers (up to 100 devices), whether in one building or distributed across many buildings. Online Recovery Price: $10/per file This gives you the same features as the software and costs just $10 per file.
Pros and Cons
Below find the pros and cons we found with the software.
Pros
Intuitive and easy to use Compatible with virtually all versions of Word and formats Fast data recovery speed Recovers text and graphics and does a stellar job at separating garbage from the recovered content.
Cons
Could have been better if the company offered a free version with limited functionalities Not clear whether the business license can be used on more than one computer
Verdict
In a market saturated with hundreds of software programs all claiming to repair and recover data from corrupted Word files, it can be hard to get one that can get the job done. Recovery Toolbox for Word promises to recover data from corrupted Word files, and it does as promised. In our tests it worked smoothly on Windows 10 while going light on system resources. It may not be the cheapest Word recovery tool, but its performance is worth every penny you’ll spend on it.
