Attempting to recover a corrupted screen recording file
A screen recording file that won’t open after a crash, power loss, or unexpected stop isn’t automatically gone — but what’s actually recoverable depends on exactly how and where the recording broke.
Why recordings get corrupted in the first place
Most video file formats write a metadata index (called the “moov atom” in MP4 files) at the end of the file after recording completes. If recording stops unexpectedly before that final write — a crash, a power cut, running out of storage mid-recording — the file body exists but the index doesn’t, leaving the file structurally incomplete and unplayable by most players.
What’s actually recoverable in this specific scenario
A file that has the recorded data but a missing or incomplete index is frequently repairable using tools that can reconstruct the index from the file’s raw data — ffmpeg’s -i flag with -c copy for a basic repair attempt, or dedicated tools like Treasured or Grau GmbH Video Repair for more damaged cases. This is meaningfully different from a file that’s been genuinely overwritten or lost entirely.
How to check if the raw data is actually there
A corrupted recording that still has its data will typically show a non-zero file size (check the actual file properties, not just whether a player errors out). If the file size looks plausibly right for the expected recording length, the data is likely present and a repair attempt is worth making. A zero-byte file is a different, less recoverable situation.
Preventing this with your recording tool’s settings
Some recorders write to the file progressively during recording rather than only at the end — OBS in MKV format does this specifically, so a crash mid-recording still produces a playable MKV up to the point of the crash, which you can then remux to MP4 afterward. This is why experienced users often recommend MKV for OBS over MP4, as covered in our OBS scene setup guide.
Running out of storage mid-recording is a different problem
A recording stopped by a full disk, rather than a crash, may actually have written a valid but truncated file — one that plays correctly up to the point storage ran out. This is recoverable in the sense that you didn’t lose what was already saved, though anything after that point is genuinely gone.
Frequently asked questions
Can a screen recording file be recovered after a crash?
Often yes, if the raw recorded data was written to disk before the crash — the most common failure is a missing index rather than missing data, which specific repair tools can reconstruct.
What’s the difference between a corrupted recording and a truly lost one?
A corrupted file typically has its data intact but a damaged or missing structural index — repairable with the right tools. A truly lost file (overwritten, zero bytes) has no data to recover from.
Related reading: OBS scene setup — the mistakes that ruin a first stream · How much storage do screen recordings actually use · Why your recording setup stopped working after an OS update