Fix ‘unable to read’ Error in Office Word File

When you try to open corrupted Microsoft Office Word document, the file will not open. Instead it may throw an error message stating that:

“Word was unable to read this document. It may be corrupt”

To fix this “unable to read error” in Word file, try one of these following work around…

  • Open and Repair the file
  • Repair “unable to read error” using Word file repair software

Fix #1: Open and Repair the file

You’ll have to make use of the following steps to run the “Open and Repair” feature of MS Word.

Step 1: Start off by opening a blank document in MS Word

Open the MS Word application that has been installed on your computer, rather trying to access a file that is corrupted.

Step 2: Search for the corrupted file

Try to find out the corrupted file by choosing the Open option after clicking on the File menu. Search for the file in the Open dialog box and highlight it by clicking it only once.

Step 3: Choose the Open and Repair Option

The ‘Open and Repair’ option is located in the drop-down menu of the Open button. You will have to hit the arrow button located next to the Open button to access this drop-down menu and then choose this option.

Fix #2: Repair “unable to read error” using Word file repair software

If the above solution fails in repairing the error – “unable to read the document”, then using a file repair tool is the only option left. It will help you to repair corrupt files and ensure that the error message gets fixed. It is suggested to go with Hi5 Word File Repair Tool.

The best Word file repair toolkit

  • Extremely easy to use and is designed in such a manner that anyone can use it to repair corrupted files
  • Easily read and repair corrupt Word files with DOC and DOCX extensions
  • Offers a number of excellent search options to find corrupted files in an instant
  • Provides an extraordinary preview feature that allows you to see the contents of the file to be repaired
  • Capable of recovering all of the data contained in the corrupted file

Simple steps to repair Office file with File Repair Toolkit

First of all, download Hi5 Word File Repair Software to your Windows computer and install it by logging in as Local System Administrator and follow steps below:

  • Once the installation is finished, you can see shortcut icon on the desktop. Double click that icon to launch the application
  • The main screen comes up with advanced repair option. Click on ‘Browse’ button to choose the document showing error Word was unable to read the document it may be corrupt
  • After selecting the document click the ‘Repair’ button to start repairing operation
  • As the repairing process gets completed, repaired Word document can be viewed by using an option 'Preview'
  • After previewing the repaired file, browse for the location to save Word document on Windows computer

Important tips

  • Install powerful anti-virus program in your computer to keep Word files protected
  • Exit MS Office Word properly before you turn off your system
  • You can save your crucial Word file in “Read only” mode to prevent unexpected modifications

Well, the MS Office Word file unable to read error can be quite annoying for a user. It results mostly because of MS Office Word file corruption. You can easily repair corrupt files by using a suitable repair tool like Hi5 Word File Repair Toolkit. Using the ‘Open and Repair’ feature can help you to repair MS Office file too.


Related Software

How to Open Corrupt Word Files

Hi5 Software Word File Repair will help you in reading corrupt Word files swiftly and effortlessly. This tool works on read only mode thus do not alter any actual content.

Repairing Corrupted DOCX File

Try Demo version of Hi5 Software Word file Repair to fix problems related to DOCX files on Windows Operating System. It also repair DOC file without any difficulties.

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