When it comes to pictures, JPEG is one of the most popular formats. With the passage of time, our need for taking pictures and that too, perfect ones has significantly increased.
There was a time when only cameras could capture memorable moments but you could not carry them with you all the time, no matter how compact they were. Now, the invention of smartphones has filled that gap. Today, smartphones feature powerful cameras and with social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Snapchat on the loose, there’s no stopping.
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We routinely capture hundreds of images that are stored in JPEG format. Although it is way easier now there is always a chance of losing photos due to system malfunction or other such issues.
Let us discuss the several types of corrupt JPEG pictures and possible solutions to fix them.
Types of Corrupt JPEG pictures
Corrupt JPEG Header
This is the most common type of JPEG corruption. In this case, the header gets corrupted and the viewer fails to show the actual image. It stays in what you can call the ‘loading mode’ and does not display the image. In some cases, the file explorer will display the message ‘invalid JPEG maker’ or ‘File appears to be damaged’. When your JPEG header is corrupted, Windows may also not be able to preview your images. If that is the case, then you should know that your JPEG picture is most probably corrupted.
JPEG Data Corruption
In this case, the JPEG picture might open but will not be properly displayed. The image will either appear incomplete or have color issues. This is a sure tell-tale sign of your JPEG picture or pictures becoming corrupt. However, there is no need to worry as the options to repair such pictures might be limited but it’s not entirely impossible.
Corrupt Hard Drive
It is possible that if the hard drive is corrupt, the effect may pass onto the JPEG pictures as well. Not only that, all the files and folders in that hard drive will be affected and eventually become corrupt. This is why computers need regular scanning for bad sectors as well as viruses and malware. You might not know that your JPEG pictures are corrupt until you try to open them.
Ways to repair corrupt JPEG pictures
Change the image format
You can begin repairing your JPEG picture or pictures by changing the format of the image. In most cases, it might do the trick. Users may open the corrupt images in the Paint tool and from there, try to save the image or images in different formats. Tinkering with file formats will hopefully solve the issue.
Try repairing with image editors
If the JPEG pictures are experiencing benign issues, you can use image editing tools such as Picasa, Lightroom, and Adobe Photoshop. Sometimes, using these tools to simply open the JPEG pictures and then renaming them will solve the issue. If it doesn’t, then move onto the next solution.
Run a scan to check hard drive for bad sector
In some cases, a sector of the hard drive might be corrupt. As a result, the JPEG pictures might fail to appear. But, there is no need to worry, you can run a scan on your hard drive and check for corruption. Typically, Windows will automatically fix them and you will be done rectifying the problem in a few minutes.
Use professional repairing tools
The last method and perhaps the most effective way of repairing corrupt JPEG files are to use professional tools. There are several tools available out there, such as Stellar Phoenix JPEG Repair 2 that will successfully repair even unreadable files. However, you need to remember that repairing every single JPEG picture might not be possible. If there is nothing to recover, you will have to shift towards professional repairing tools. Some tools might work, whereas others won’t. Therefore, you will have to try several before finding the one that works out for you.
