Recovered File Checker — is the file you got back actually intact?
Recovery software will happily hand you back a file that cannot be opened. It found the directory entry — the name, the size, where it used to sit — but the data behind that entry may already be gone, or may have come back only halfway.
This page looks at the bytes themselves. It reads the beginning, the end, and three samples from the middle of the file, then tells you plainly what is there and what it means. When we cannot tell, we say so instead of guessing.
Nothing leaves your device: the reading happens inside your browser, there is no upload, and you keep the results to yourself. Checking takes seconds and there is nothing to install.
Drop the files you got back here
Photos, video, documents, archives — any size. Files are read on your device and never uploaded.
What this actually checks
Four things decide whether a recovered file is usable. Everything here can be judged from the file itself, without guessing.
| Format | Must be present | When it is missing |
|---|---|---|
| JPEG photo | Starts with SOI, ends with EOI (FF D9) | The picture may show a grey block or not open at all |
| PNG image | PNG signature at the start, IEND chunk at the end | Image is cut off part way through |
| %PDF- at the start, %%EOF near the end | Readers call it damaged and refuse it | |
| DOCX / XLSX / PPTX / ZIP | PK header, end-of-central-directory record | Office says the file is corrupt even if the data survives |
| MP4 / MOV video | ftyp box, plus the moov index either at the start or the end | No player will read the frames |
| Every file | Real content — not all-zeros — and a non-zero size | It is a placeholder: the entry returned, the data did not |
| Every file | Extension that matches the actual bytes | Renaming to the true type often fixes it at once |
What this test cannot tell you
Structure is not content. A file can be complete by every rule above and still contain the wrong picture, because the clusters it was rebuilt from belonged to something else. And conversely: a file we call damaged still carries whatever part did come back, which is sometimes worth salvaging. Treat the verdict as a direction, not as a verdict on your data.
Nothing leaves your device
Files are read through the browser's own File API, in slices, inside this tab. There is no upload endpoint on this site — the page contains no code that could send a file anywhere. Check it yourself: open your browser's developer tools on the Network tab, or switch off the internet entirely, and the check still completes.
Offline Recovery Kit
The right order of operations - and what to stop doing right now
$14.00One-time price · A single payment. No subscription, no recurring fees.- This kit does not promise a result. What it promises is that you will not make it worse.
- Instant delivery: the download link appears right after payment and is emailed to you.
- Full refund within 14 days, no questions asked
What stays free forever — The diagnostics tool and the guides on this site are completely free. The kit is an optional add-on, not a gate to reach the tools.
Common questions
Does anything get uploaded when I check a file?
No. The page reads your file through the File API inside your own browser. There is no server waiting for it — you can disconnect the internet and the check still finishes.
It says "damaged". Can the file be repaired?
Sometimes partly. A photo missing its end marker often still shows what came back; viewers differ in how much they accept. A file whose content is all zeros cannot be repaired at all, because there is nothing there to work from — that is why distinguishing the two matters.
Why do hundreds of recovered files come back as zero bytes?
Because the file system wrote only the directory entries. When files are deleted the entries are often reused before the data is overwritten, so a recovery tool can reconstruct names and sizes pointing at nothing, or worse, at chunks that belong to other files.
The check says the file is intact, but it shows the wrong picture.
That means the structure is complete but the content came from different clusters — typical on a fragmented drive or after several rounds of deletion. Copy the file elsewhere first, then look for an older copy on another device rather than continuing to write to the source drive.
Do you check videos too?
Yes, but only in one respect: whether the index (moov) survived. Without it a player cannot read the frames, and rebuilding that index is a separate job from this page.
How many files can I check at once?
Up to sixty per round. Each one is read in slices and examined in turn, so a folder full of recovered photos is fine; very large collections are better done in batches.
Do I need to install anything?
No. Nothing to download, no account, no email. The page works offline once it has loaded.
Is checking the file safe for my original drive?
Yes — reading a file you already recovered changes nothing on the source device. The dangerous step is installing recovery software onto that same drive, or saving recovered files back onto it.
Where to go next
The check tells you what is broken. These pages cover what to do about it — and, more importantly, what not to do to the original device while you still have a chance.
Last updated: 2026-10-01