Word for Mac is reporting an unreadble error and unable to recover

Question

365 version of Word for Mac is reporting an error: rd found unreadable content in "RFP v5.docx". Do you want to recover the contents of this document? If you trust the source of this document, click Yes." and unable to recover. Need help ASAP as mission critical document.

Answer 1

Hi @Michael Hoffmann,

May I know the scope of this issue, only this one specific file or all the files you can't open? Usually, the Word found unreadable content error indicates file corruption, which may be caused by various reasons like virus attacks, file conversion, sudden power outages, etc.

Firstly try to open and repair a corrupted Word File on Mac:

Step 1. Launch the Word on Mac. In the main menu, click on "File" > "Open".

Step 2. Find the drop-down menu titled Enable( Show). Select the option "Recover Text from Any File".

Step 3. Navigate to your corrupted Word file. Follow on-screen instructions to complete the recovery process.

Other troubleshooting steps deserve to have a try: https://www.remosoftware.com/info/fixing-file-corrupted-cannot-opened-error-ms-word.

Also, If the issue persists, you can try using other software that can open and read .doc or .docx files. For example, you can install WPS and use this software to open the Word file. Usually, the third-party software will run without interfering with Microsoft Word.

In addition to the above method, you can also install a Word repair program. Some third-party programs are designed to repair corrupt Word files. You can try them.

f all of the above methods don’t work, you should check whether there are some things wrong with the Microsoft Word software. If the Word found unreadable content error is caused by Word software, I recommend you reinstall it.  

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Answer 2

It is just this one file.