Export your PDF as images. Use (commercial, best accuracy) or NAPS2 (free) to OCR the images, then re-assemble in Acrobat. This proves whether your PDF is salvageable.
For garbled output in a specific language (e.g., Korean, Chinese, Japanese): adobe acrobat dc ocr fix
| Tool | Best for | Fix approach | |------|----------|---------------| | | Multi-language, complex scripts | Run via command line or gImageReader, output PDF with text layer | | ABBYY FineReader | Degraded historical documents | Superior noise filtering and layout retention | | OCR.space API | Batch processing of failing files | Cloud-based, different engine than Adobe | | NAPS2 (free scanner software) | Re-scan + OCR before Acrobat | Use ClearScan-equivalent output | Export your PDF as images