Did you recently suffer a system crash while a program was writing data to your hard disk? If so, your corrupted file may simply be an isolated incident. And because programs like Microsoft Word save intermediate versions of a file as you work on it, you may have something to go back to since your last successful save.

If hours of running the PC occasionally yields bad files, use a tool like Motherboard Monitor to gauge the case interior's temperature. If it exceeds 90 degrees Fahrenheit (about 35 degrees Celsius), you're setting up your drive to fail. Check that vents and fans are clear and that all fans are working.

When corrupt files appear, run Windows' Check Disk tool to detect physical flaws on the disk: Open My Computer, right-click the drive's icon, choose Properties, select the Tools tab, click Check Now, and click Start. Bad disk sectors can portend a drive failure. If any pop up, back up your data and consider replacing the drive.