How to Fix corrupt QuickTime Movie Files on Windows PCs

Solutions to fix corrupt QuickTime files

1. Preliminary fixes
2. Repair the unplayable MOV video file
3. Repair with QuickTime 7 player
4. Repair a corrupt QuickTime movie file using VLC
5. Change file extension

Struggling with a corrupt QuickTime movie file? Have you experienced a fault in the QuickTime media player, which suddenly halts and closes down, and you started it again and tried playing the movie file but it has no sound or breaks?

Or you probably tried playing it on a different media player but the result is still the same? You probably have a corrupt QuickTime movie file if this is your situation.

QuickTime media player is an innovation introduced in 1988 by Apple Inc. and is compatible with all versions of OS X. It can handle different formats from digital video, sound, panoramic images, pictures, and interactivity but is commonly used to open QTL files.

However good the player is, its users tend to get issues when playing a movie file in QuickTime.

MOV is a commonly used video container file format with a proprietary compression algorithm and MPEG codec to compress the files.

Why do I get QuickTime errors on my PC?

There are several common reasons why you may get a corrupt QuickTime movie file, including:

• The file can be empty if the import and/or conversion was terminated prematurely before the data was copied to a new target file
• A bad video compression
• Missing EOF
• A video with a broken header
• Video data rate may be lower than the minimum required for creating keyframes
• Corrupt playback in/out points
• Power interruption while recording videos makes the video corrupt and unplayable
• If MOV files are encoded with QuickTime incompatible video or audio codec
• Using unreliable software for recovering lost and/or deleted videos
• Frequent conversions of video file formats
• Trying to play MOV files with unsupported media players
• Interruptions when transferring video files from one system to another device or vice versa
• Audio video synchronization issues and codec issues

So what do you do now that there’s a corrupt QuickTime movie file? Below are some solutions to try to fix a corrupt QuickTime file.

— RELATED: How to fix video_tdr_failure (nvlddmkm.sys) on Windows 10

How to solve Corrupt QuickTime movie file

1. Preliminary fixes

• Install a good antivirus solution to prevent any virus infection on your QuickTime movie files
• Avoid removing external storage media abruptly when the movie file is being processed and/or played
• Use video converters that are compatiblewith QuickTime movie files or convert the files to a different format

2. Repair the unplayable MOV video file

You can use a MOV video repair software for Windows that rebuilds and fixes corrupt videos supported by QuickTime. Whatever tool you use should resolve issues of frame, header, sound, duration, and movement. It should also be able to repair corrupt videos that have been damaged due to compression, or changes made in file formats, errors of read/write, and virus attacks among other reasons.

3. Repair with QuickTime 7 player

QuickTime 7 player has new features such as trimming, editing, looping, saving, and reverting video files. It can automatically repair any slightly damaged videos, but severely damaged files get a Black Screen error message. It has a feature that checks properties of the damaged movie file.

To do this:

• Run QuickTime player
• Select Show Movie Inspector from Windows. This will give back details such as video format, pixel information, data rate, movie FPS, Playing FPS, and others. If a movie file is damaged, the player will show a black screen error message, and the inspector will display details within the metadata of the movie file.

4. Repair a corrupt QuickTime movie file using VLC

VLC may be for playing videos or movies. But it also has features for fixing a corrupt QuickTime movie file. If your VLC player prompts you to repair corrupt or videos that cannot be played, select Yes, then do the following:

• Run VLC player
• Go to Media
• Click Convert/Save
• Click Add and select the movie file you want to repair
• If you want to edit or check profile settings, go to Show more options box and check it
• Click convert/save button
• The convert window will open. Go to Settings and select the preferred codec from the drop-down menu
• Name the destination file and browse a location to save it
• Click Start

Note: You may get options to Add a new profile or Delete an existing one.

5. Change file extension

• Create a copy of the original movie file
• Change the extension to AVI
• Run VLC player
• Go to Tools tab
• Click Preferences
• In the preferences window, select Input/Codecs
• Go to Files
• Select Always Fix
• Click Save and follow the steps to repair with QuickTime Player 7

Were you able to resolve the corrupt QuickTime movie file using the abovementioned solutions? Let us know your experience in the comments section below.