How to Repair Corrupted GIF Files in Easy Steps

Popularly used for creating memes, stickers, or jokes, GIF files often tickle your funny bone and amuse you.No wonder, you want to save and share such GIF images with friends and family.

But sadly, like any other file, GIFs too can get corrupt or damaged. You only realise this when GIF file is not opening on your PC or smartphone. It shows errors such as ‘unsupported file format’, ‘unrecognized disk’, and more.

Nevertheless, thankfully you can recover corrupt GIF files. The damaged GIF images can be back to original pristine form again.

This post shares how you can restore corrupt GIF image. But before that it would be useful to know why your GIF file corrupted to avoid the problem in future.

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Why GIF files get corrupted – common reasons

If you are wondering, why your GIF images don’t open, show error, or appear damaged, below aresome of the common reasons:

  • Your photo viewer program doesn’t support GIF format.
  • There is virus in your device.
  • Improper or incomplete download/ transfer of GIF file from the source.
  • GIF storage drive failure or bad sectors.

Best ways to repair corrupt GIF image files

In any case, you would like to recover GIF files. There are some manual techniques, which are worth trying to fix damaged GIF images. Besides, image repair tools are available that can restore GIF files back to original form.

So let’s get on to all the possible methods in detail to repair your damaged GIF files.

1.     Restart your device

GIF files are not working or opening on your PC, Android,iPhone, or tablet? No worries. You might have received GIF images on WhatsApp, email, or downloaded from website. Before, getting on to repair the file thinking it is corrupt, first restart your device and then try to open. This quick hackmostly fixes such file issues.

2.     Convert GIF file format

Often GIF photos don’t open due to lack of file format support by the image viewer. You can try to view the GIF file by converting it to MP4, MOV, or AVI video formats. If you wish to change the animated GIF file to image, then convert it to JPEG, JPG, PNG or other image file format.

Converting a GIF files can also reduce file size, which helps to easily load or open files on any platform.

Try any free online GIF converter program like Convertio, CloudConvert or others. There are also desktop file converter tools, which you have to install on your computer. These tools allow unlimited GIF file conversions unlike the online free GIF converters. Some video editing programs also convert GIF to different formats.

3.     Repair corrupted GIF file online

Many free online photo repair programs can fix corrupted GIF files.  You can try Ezgif, Aspose, oranother online program to repair corrupt or inaccessible GIF image files. The online GIF repair tools are easy as breeze. Simply open their website, drag or upload the damaged GIF file, and repair.

However, online photo repair tools have file size limitation. For instance, on Ezgif you can only repair GIF photos of up to 50MB.

Also read: Your Ultimate Guide for Creative Holiday Photos

Here’s how you can repair corrupt GIF files online by using Ezgif:

  • Open ezgif.com in your browser.
  • Click on Choose File button to load the corrupt GIF files. You can also add the image url.
  • Next click on Upload button.
  • From the dropdown, select a repair method option – Drop corrupt frames, Reset color tables, ImageMagick coalesce, Gifsicleunoptimized. If you are not sure which one to choose, try each one by one.
  • Click Submit.
  • Next Save button the repaired GIF file on your system.

4.     Use a GIF file repair tool

A quick solution to fix corrupt or damaged GIF files is to repair them with the help of an efficient photo repair tool. Software such as Stellar Repair for Photo are well built to repair damaged or corrupt header and data in GIF files. You can easily fix GIF files not opening or working on PC, Android etc. If GIF files are greyed-out, appear black, or blurry, etc., then too you should try the software.

Besides, you can repair other corrupt image file types as well, such as JPEG, JPG, TIFF, RAW, DNG etc.

5.     Run SFC Scan now to repair GIFs

Its quiet possible if the GIF images are not opening on Windows laptop, is due to file system corruption. In such a situation, running a System file check or SFC scan can help. When you run the SFC Scannow command on Windows, it scans the system files and fixes if any corruption or damage is detected.

Once the SFC scannow finishes, you should be able to access your GIF files on PC.

Follow the below steps to run SFC Scannow in Windows system:

  • Type cmd in the Windows Start search box at the bottom.
  • Right-click on the Command Prompt
  • Select Run as administrator.In the User Account Control window click

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  • The Command Prompt window opens. Type the SFC /scannow command and hit Enter.

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  • Wait until the scanning process finishes completely. As the scan ends, close the window and restart your Windows computer.

Now check if the GIF files are repaired and opening properly.

Finally,

Unseen technical glitches, unexpected errors can corrupt your GIF image file. Now you can always try the above solutions to fix them. The solutions are simple yet effective. Begin with the basic hack of restarting the device followed by other methods. Besides, you can directly move to fix GIF files by using a photo repair software or any online repair program.

Which one method helped you to get back your GIF files, do share in the comment box.

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