FLAC files are commonly used for storing important audio data, but what if they get lost or damaged due to some reason? How can you get them restored or repaired? This post from MiniTool delivers FLAC audio file recovery and repair methods for you.
The use of audio files is quite common in daily life, whether in presentations or when publishing content online. Today I am going to talk about the FLAC file, which is also a very common audio format.
What Are FLAC Audio Files
FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) is a lossless audio compression encoding format developed by the Xiph.Org Foundation. It can compress audio files without losing any original audio data, thereby reducing the file size while maintaining the same sound quality as the original file. FLAC format files are usually smaller than uncompressed WAV files, but larger than lossy compression formats such as MP3.
FLAC files have the advantages of lossless compression, space-saving, and wide compatibility. So many people choose to store files in this way. However, FLAC audio files may sometimes be lost or damaged due to various reasons. In this case, you may be thinking how do I recover FLAC files on my computer? This post explains how to recover and repair FLAC audio files. Keep reading to learn more information about them.
Possible Reasons for FLAC Audio File Loss
When you find that your FLAC audio files are missing, you may wonder what caused them to be lost. Here are some common and possible causes you can refer to.
- Accidental deletion: You may accidentally delete FLAC audio files when cleaning your devices.
- Device failure: FLAC audio files may be lost due to hard drive damage or system crash.
- Virus infection: Malware or viruses can sometimes damage or hide FLAC audio files.
- Migration error: When transferring FLAC audio files to other devices, they may not be transferred correctly.
- Software error: For example, File Explorer on Windows 10 sometimes damages the metadata of FLAC audio files, resulting in file loss.
How to Recover FLAC Audio Files
After knowing the factors for FLAC audio file loss, you can learn how to recover a .FLAC file. Here are two ways for you to get them back. Generally speaking, if you lose files on your computer, the first recovery suggestion is to check the Recycle Bin where the deleted files are moved. If you can’t recover FLAC files using this utility, then you can try some data recovery software to do a FLAC audio file recovery.
Method 1: Recover FLAC Audio Files From Recycle Bin
The Recycle Bin is a temporary storage location in the operating system for deleted files. When files are deleted, they do not disappear completely from the hard disk immediately, but are moved to the Recycle Bin. As long as the Recycle Bin is not emptied, these files can be restored. Here are the steps to recover deleted FLAC audio files from the Recycle Bin.
Step 1: Find and double-click on the Recycle Bin to launch it. If you cannot find it on your computer, you can type Recycle Bin in the Windows search box and press Enter to open it.
Step 2: If you lost FLAC files recently, you can see them on the top. On the contrary, you can scroll down the list or type the keywords of the file name in the search box and press Enter to locate your FLAC files.
Step 3: After selecting the FLAC file, right-click on it and choose Restore.
Once you have done these operations, you can go to the original location to see if the lost FLAC audio files are restored.
Method 2: Recover FLAC Audio Files via MiniTool Power Data Recovery
As mentioned before, if you cannot find lost FLAC files in the Recycle Bin, using a powerful data recovery tool to recover lost files is the best choice. If you have not used recovery software before, I recommend you use MiniTool Power Data Recovery. Having a concise interface and easy operations, it is very friendly for novices.
As a professional and robust recovery tool, MiniTool Power Data Recovery can recover almost all types of files such as photos, videos, audio, documents, and more. It functions well on SD card recovery, USB flash drive recovery, hard drive recovery, and so on.
In addition, the software can retrieve files lost due to accidental deletion, virus attacks, disk formatting, and so on, which are suitable for various data loss scenarios. It can deeply scan the disk and has a high recovery success rate, even if the files have been lost for a long period or the storage device’s file system is damaged.
One thing you need to know is that this free file recovery software allows you to recover 1 GB of files without any cent. As for the compatibility, it is compatible with Windows 11/10/8/8.1. For most of you, you don’t have to update your Windows. So just download and install this FLAC audio file recovery software on your computer to have a try.
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After installing the recovery software, just keep reading to start the FLAC audio file recovery.
Step 1: Scan the partition where FLAC audio files are stored
Double-click on the MiniTool Power Data Recovery icon to launch it. After loading the disk information, you will enter the main interface. Under the Logical Drives tab, find the targeted partition, move your cursor on it, and click on Scan. Alternatively, if the lost FLAC files are stored in several partitions, you can change to the Devices tab to scan the whole disk.
Step 2: Find the targeted FLAC audio file with the built-in features
The scan process will take some time. For the best scan results, you have to wait patiently for it to be completed. After it ends, the files are displayed according to their paths under the Path tab. It is generally divided into Deleted Files, Lost Files, and Existing Files. Double-click on the small arrow in front of Deleted Files to expand it. In the central panel, you need to scroll down the list to locate the FLAC file you want to recover.
If there are too many files here, you may find it hard to find the needed files. In the top right corner, there is a Search feature that helps you find the wanted files more quickly. Type the keywords of the file name or the file extension in the box and press Enter.
Step 3: Save the required files to a new location
After finding the targeted FLAC audio file, tick them all and click on the Save button. In the prompt window, choose a new location instead of the original place to store the recovered FLAC file and click on OK. When the recovery is completed, a window with information for the size of the recovered files and the free remaining recovery capacity will pop up.
How to Repair FLAC Audio Files
Although I decided to recover the damaged files too, it went successfully and most of the FLAC files came intact. I played a few of them and I noticed one track that had a problem. When playing it in Foobar, at some random points it produces an unpleasant very loud screech (white-noise-like). How to repair them? Thanks!hydrogenaud.io
FLAC files are a lossless compression format, and while the sound quality is excellent, they are prone to corruption during transmission or storage due to their large file size. In addition, some devices and players may not support the FLAC format. So, the compatibility issues may prevent the audio from being played. Here, we provide you with some methods you can try to repair corrupted FLAC files.
Method 1: Use VLC MediaPlayer to Repair FLAC Files
The lack of FLAC audio codec will make FLAC files unable to be opened or played normally. In this case, you can use VLC Media Player to open it. This tool has a built-in feature that attempts to repair minor corruption issues, such as broken file indexes, codec problems, or header errors, by re-encoding the file during playback or conversion. This feature makes it the first step to try before using dedicated repair software to fix more serious corruption. Here are the steps to open a corrupted FLAC audio file using it.
Step 1: Download and install the VLC Media Player software on your computer.
Step 2: After installing, double-click on the VLC Media Player icon to launch it.
Step 3: Click on the Media option on the top and choose Open File….
Step 4: Choose the corrupted FLAC audio file and click on Open.
If the corrupted FLAC audio file can be played normally, you can use VLC to open your FLAC files to avoid further damage.
Method 2: Convert the Corrupted FLAC Files to Another Format
If the above method does not work, you can convert the damaged FLAC file to another format. By converting to a different format, sometimes a player or converter can partially decode the damaged data, allowing you to listen to the audio with minimal quality loss. What’s more, converting to a more common format can increase the compatibility of the file. Refer to the operations below.
Step 1: Go to the FLAC audio file converter website.
Step 2: Click on Select File to choose the corrupted FLAC audio file and hit Open.
Step 3: Choose the format you want to convert to such as MP3 and click on Convert.
Step 4: When the process is over, click on Download to save it.
Once you complete these instructions, check if the audio in MP3 format can be played.
Tips for Preventing FLAC File Loss and Corruption
After completing the FLAC audio file recovery and repair, in the end, this article lists some suggestions for preventing data corruption and loss in the future. You can use them according to your actual situation.
- Check the status of storage devices regularly. If the storage device is damaged, the files are likely to be lost, so you need to check the status of the storage device regularly. If there is any abnormality, you should repair it to ensure data security.
- Use a trustworthy converter to convert your FLAC files. When you need to convert FLAC files to WAV or other formats, it is necessary to use a reliable converter to ensure the converted files can be read by other systems, avoiding data loss and corruption.
- Convert FLAC files to another format. Converting FLAC files to other formats such as MP3 can reduce the file size, thereby reducing the risk of corruption.
- Back up FLAC audio files regularly. It is recommended to perform weekly or monthly backups to ensure that no data is lost in the event of a primary device failure.
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Final Thoughts
How to recover and repair FLAC audio files? This post gives you an answer. When you lose FLAC audio files, you can check your Recycle Bin to see if the files are in it. If they are, restore them directly. If they aren’t, use MiniTool Power Data Recovery to do a FLAC audio file recovery. Suppose you encounter other file loss in the future, you can also use this tool to get them back.
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What if the FLAC audio files are corrupted? First, you can try using the VLC Media Player to play it. If that doesn’t work, convert it to another format to fix the error.
If you are confused about MiniTool products, feel free to contact us via [email protected].
About The Author
Position: Columnist
Chelsea graduated from university with a major in English. She has a strong interest in English writing. It is this passion for writing that led her to become an English editor. Her articles mainly focus on data recovery and other computer industry news. As an energetic and outgoing girl, Chelsea enjoys listening to music, singing, riding bikes, and eating in her spare time.
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