Repair and Recover MP4 Videos | Quick Methods

A Brief Introduction to MP4 Video

MPEG-4 Part 14 (MP4 in short) is a digital multimedia container format that is commonly used to store video and audio. Although it can also be used to store other data such as subtitles and still images, MP4 files generally refer to video files.

Like other modern container formats, MP4 files allow streaming over the internet. The only filename extension for MPEG-4 Part 14 files as defined by the specification is .mp4. This is why files in this format are called MP4 files.

Why MP4 Files Are Lost or Corrupted?

Before starting to learn how to recover MP4 videos and repair MP4 files, you need to know what causes MP4 files to miss or corrupt. Here are some common reasons.

• Network issue: When streaming, downloading, or transferring MP4 files over the internet or a network with a high packet loss rate, the files may arrive incomplete or corrupted due to missing data packets. In this case, you need to stream, download, or transfer the MP4 file again in a good network environment.
• Incomplete download or transfer: If a glitch or sudden shutdown occurs while downloading or transferring, the MP4 files may get lost or corrupted.
• Drive issues: Hard drives and SSDs can develop bad sectors over time, and physical damage or extreme environments can also cause them to be damaged. If an MP4 file is stored in these damaged areas, parts of the file may become unreadable or even the entire video disappears.
• Human error: You may inadvertently damage video files by improperly editing or cutting them, especially if you do not use a professional tool or follow proper procedures. In some cases, changing file extensions improperly or renaming files while they are in use may also cause corruption. What’s more? MP4 file loss can also be caused by accidental deletion or emptying the Recycle Bin.
• Premature ejection: Removing a USB drive, SD card, or external hard drive that holds the MP4 videos without using the Safely Remove Hardware option may interrupt the writing process, resulting in corrupted or lost MP4 files.
• Backup failure: If backup procedures fail or are not performed correctly, video files may get lost if the original copies have been deleted or corrupted.
• Virus or malware infection: Viruses, ransomware, or other types of malware may infect, corrupt, delete, or encrypt MP4 files, making them inaccessible or completely deleted.

How to Perform MP4 Video Recovery on Windows?

How to recover MP4 files when your files are missing? Here two methods can help you.

Method 1: Recover MP4 Videos From Recycle Bin

If your MP4 video files are missing, you need to check the Recycle Bin first. Sometimes, you may delete MP4 files from your desktop or folders unintentionally. Fortunately, they are not actually deleted but placed in the Recycle Bin. They are not permanently deleted until you delete the files in the Recycle Bin.

Open the Recycle Bin and check if the MP4 video you want to recover is there. If yes, right-click it and choose Restore. Then you can find it in its original location.

Method 2: Recover Your MP4 Files With MiniTool Power Data Recovery

If you have confirmed that your videos have gotten lost permanently, you need a data recovery tool to recover them. Here we recommend you use MiniTool Power Data Recovery, which is an outstanding data recovery tool among secure data recovery services for Windows on the market.

MiniTool Power Data Recovery allows you to recover most types of files in various situations. Therefore, you can use this file restore tool to recover MP4 videos lost due to various reasons such as accidental deletion, OS crash, partition formatting, hard drive failure, partition loss, virus attack, and so on.

Moreover, MiniTool Power Data Recovery supports recovering files from a variety of file storage devices, including internal hard drives, external hard drives, SD cards, USB flash drives, etc.

Now you can get MiniTool Power Data Recovery Free and recover up to 1GB of files without charge.

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Step 1: Launch MiniTool Power Data Recovery.

If the MP4 files are stored on a USB drive or SD card, you need to connect it to your computer first. Then, open this MiniTool data restore tool, and it will automatically recognize the USB drive. If not, click the Refresh button from the upper right corner to refresh the device list.

Step 2: Select the target drive to scan.

You can see all your disk partitions on the computer’s internal hard disks and external hard disks under Logical Drives. The flash drive will be marked with a USB icon. To recover MP4 videos, you need to choose the drive where the files are lost and click Scan.

Furthermore, this software offers you quick specific location recovery modules under Recover From Specific Location. If you delete the video files in the Desktop/Recycle Bin, choose Desktop/Recycle Bin to scan. If you know the exact location of the missing files, you can choose Select Folder to scan a certain folder, which will cost less time than scanning a whole partition.

Here we take scanning the desktop as an example.

Step 3: Find the needed files and recover them.

After you select a drive or location, the tool will begin to scan for all existing, lost, or deleted files. This will take some time, depending on the size of the storage space, data capacity, and disk status.  

When the scanning is complete, you can use Type or Filter to find your MP4 files more quickly. Moving on to the Type category list, you can view all MP4 videos individually under Audio & Video. The Filter feature enables you to filter out other types of files leaving only videos. Moreover, you can filter listed files by file modification date, file size, and file category.

In addition, you can double-click on an MP4 video to preview it for confirmation.

Choose the files you need and hit Save. Then you need to select a directory to save the recovered files and select OK. Be careful not to save the recovered files in the same storage location where the lost data were stored to prevent file overwriting and complete irrecoverability of the files.

If you run out of 1GB of free recovery, you’ll need to upgrade the software to get unlimited data recovery capacity.

Many thanks to MiniTool Power Data Recovery for recovering my MP4 videos. The 1GB of free recovery capacity it provides is so useful. Click to Tweet

How to Fix Corrupted MP4 Video Files on Windows?

Method 1: Use MiniTool Video Repair

If you cannot open your video, the video files may get corrupted. To repair corrupted MP4 video files, you need to use a video repair tool. You can use MiniTool Video Repair to repair MP4 files. This is a free tool that allows you to repair corrupted videos in various formats such as MOV, MP4, M4V, and more.

Download MiniTool Video Repair and use it to fix corrupted videos.

Step 1: Launch MiniTool Video Repair. After the interface shows up, click the Plus sign and add the corrupted MP4 video to it.

Step 2: After you add the video you want to repair, click Repair to start the process. If you want to repair multiple videos at once, choose Add to add more videos.

Step 3: When the repair process is complete, you can preview and save the video. You can choose Save All to save all the videos.

Note that you need to save the repaired video to another safe location instead of its original location to avoid data overwriting or secondary corruption.

Method 2: Fix Videos With VLC Media Player

VLC media player is a free, open-source multimedia player developed by the VideoLAN project. It is renowned for its ability to play a wide range of audio and video file formats without needing additional codecs.

Here are the steps to fix corrupted videos by using the VLC player.

1. Launch the VLC media player and select Media > Convert/Save… on the right-top.
2. In the File tab, add the corrupted videos and click Convert/Save.
3. When the Convert window pops up, click the Profiles tab to select an input codec and choose Start.
4. After it’s complete, it will back to the main interface. Choose the Tools tab this time, then select Preferences.
5. Choose Always fix for the damaged or incomplete AVI file option and click Save.

How to Prevent Video Files From Getting Lost or Corrupted?

To prevent video files from getting lost or corrupted, it’s necessary to implement a combination of good practices in file handling, storage, backup, and security. Here are some useful strategies:

• Complete transfers and downloads: Ensure file transfers or downloads are fully completed before disconnecting storage devices or closing applications. You can use download managers to resume those interrupted downloads.
• Safely eject storage devices: Use the eject option on your system before unplugging USB drives or external hard drives.
• Use high-quality storage devices: Purchase reputable and high-quality storage devices such as SSDs, HDDs, USB drives, and SD cards. Replace the storage device promptly to avoid using old or unreliable storage media.
• Back up videos regularly: Store copies of your video files in multiple locations, such as external hard drives, cloud storage, or network-attached storage. Also, you can use professional file backup software like MiniTool ShadowMaker to schedule regular, automatic backups. Ensure backups are consistent and verify their integrity periodically.
• Verify checksums for the video files: Use checksum tools to create and verify checksums for your video files, ensuring they haven’t been altered or corrupted during transfer or storage.
• Edit the video correctly: Learn how to correctly perform video editing and cutting operations, and do not rename the files improperly.

Conclusion

This article gives you a detailed guide to help you recover and repair MP4 files on Windows. Perform the above methods to get your video files back now!

Recover MP4 Videos FAQ