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RAR archive won't open: what to do? Is it possible to save data from it if there are no copies of the file

Good time!

On the agenda today is such a difficult question, to which it is quite difficult to give an unambiguous answer ...

The problem is further complicated by the fact that the RAR archives (most often) store some unique personal documents that cannot be obtained from anywhere else (unlike the same games ...). Those. whatever one may say - but you will have to try to "unpack" this very RAR to the last ...

In this post I will give a few recommendations that (possibly) will help you with problematic RAR archives.

I do not pretend to be the ultimate truth, but still ... 👌

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Problems with RAR archives: causes and solutions

👉 Option 1: RAR archive was made in the new version of the program

Perhaps this is the most harmless thing that can be ...

First, run the installed archiver 👉 WinRAR (link to the official site for downloading for those who do not have it) and look at it version (tab "Help / About WinRAR").

What year is it from? Ideally, it should be 2020!

By the way, if you don't have WinRAR, I recommend installing it without fail!

We look at the version of the WinRAR program

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The thing isthat after the release of RAR 5.0 archives, files created in new programs do not open in old ones (moreover, notifications may not be shown! 😢).

therefore, to immediately exclude this moment - update WinRAR to the latest version by downloading it from the official site: www.rarlab.com .

Extract version - WinRAR 5.0

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👉 Option 2: trying to open files with the extension "part3.rar" (".r03"), for example

pay attention to file name and its extension: many users mistakenly try to open archives of the "part3.rar" (".r03") format.

Such files are only a "part" of a large archive (ie the whole archive itself can consist of 2 ÷ 5 such particles, which must first be marked together in one folder, and only then extracted ...). 👌

Note: such archives are called multivolume... Divide them into several parts due to the large size of the resulting compressed file.

File name

By the way, by default, Windows Explorer does not show the extension for archives. To enable them - press the combination Win + R, in the window that appears "Run" use the control folders command.

Next in the menu "View" disable hiding extensions for registered file types (👇).

Explorer options - hidden folders will now be visible ...

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👉 Option 3: testing the archive. A forced attempt to "cure" an archive despite damage

WinRAR has a function to check archive integrity (it will help you find out if everything is in order with the files inside the RAR file). In any normal archive - such a check should complete without errors! 👌 (as in the screenshot below).

To check: open the archive in WinRAR and click on the button "Test" ... After a while, if everything is in order with the files, you will see a message stating that no errors were found ("No errors found ...").

Archive test - WinRAR

By the way, there is one more function in WinRAR, which is hidden from the "eyes". If you press the combination Alt + R (on the left on the keyboard) - you can open the menu for recovering a damaged archive.

As a rule, it is enough to specify the directory (in which the file will be restored) and the format of the current archive (RAR or ZIP). See example below. 👇

ALT + R - open the archive treatment menu

In some cases, this simple menu allows you to "revive" part of the archive and extract specific files.

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Well, I can't do not mark a program such as 7-ZIP. After installing it, a small menu will appear in the explorer context menu: by right-clicking (right-clicking) on ​​the RAR archive, the program will offer to unpack it.

I recommend trying to do this, because 7-Zip sometimes manages to unpack almost "hopeless" things ...

7-Zip - unzip here

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👉 Option 4: Check Windows Defender Log

In the modern version of Windows 10, the built-in defender sometimes "neutralizes" (so that they stop opening) and even deletes archives.

Moreover, the notification about "this" work done can be hidden ... (and you won't even guess that the defender has "worked" ...).

To check the defender log: press the combination Win + i (enter the OS parameters), and go to the section "Update & Security / Windows Security / Virus & Threat Protection / Journal" (👇).

Threat log

Next, check if the log on the eve of any lines on "disinfecting" the archives you need was missing ... As a rule, most operations can be marked, and the deleted (corrupted) file can be restored from the "quarantine". 👌

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👉 Option 5: an attempt to restore the original archive files from the media

If you have an archive file with which the problem occurred was stored in the folder "My documents" (which often happens) - check if it got into the auto-backup of the OS (Windows sometimes makes copies of system folders).

To check this: go to "My Computer" and right-click on the folder "My documents" (where the problem archive was stored) - open it properties .

My computer - open document properties

Further in the tab "Previous Versions" maybe you will find a backup from which you can "get" our problematic RAR file ...

Previous versions of files

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By the way, it also makes sense to try to scan your media (hard drive, USB flash drive, etc.), where the RAR file was previously stored, special. utilities (for example, R. Saver) to try to find a copy of it on them.

Even if RAR was deleted long ago, there is still a chance of recovery (and it is not always small ...). 👇

👉 To help!

How to recover deleted files (after emptying the recycle bin or formatting the disk).

Found files that can be recovered

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👉 Option 6: use of special. utilities for recovering files from a damaged RAR archive

If you were unable to recover a RAR archive using standard WinRAR tools, try using the utility Recovery Toolbox for RAR .

Unlike the recovery methods described above, the program does not require any additional settings before creating an archive, which allows you to use this utility to recover absolutely any RAR archives.

The principle of operation is as follows:

  1. Download Recovery Toolbox for RAR with officers. site //rar.recoverytoolbox.com/ru/;
  2. Install the program on any Windows computer;
  3. Run Recovery Toolbox for RAR ;
  4. Select a damaged archive in RAR format to get started;
  5. Proceed to restore the archive;
  6. View the structure of the restored archive and draw a conclusion about its effectiveness;
  7. Save recovered data. 👌

Recovery Toolbox for RAR - screenshot of the utility main window

By the way, in the preview mode of the recovered data, you see files that can be extracted at the next stage (this is very convenient before registering). Registration of Recovery Toolbox for RAR takes only a few minutes and, of course, involves payment ...

Recovery Toolbox for RAR - which files can be recovered from the archive

PS

I would like to say something like: make a backup and you will be happy ... 😢 But, unfortunately, this is not the case.

Often, if the problem is not related to download errors, the RAR archive is already some kind of backup of documents. Have multiple backups? Maybe…

But it is unlikely that most of even the most prudent users think about this option. Therefore, I can only advise you not to forget about the parameter "Add recovery information" when creating RAR archives.

Add data for recovery (WinRAR - create an archive)

Well, be sure to store the archives on a different disk than the system one, this increases the chances of successfully restoring the backup in case of various kinds of errors ...

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If you opened the problematic archive in any other way - please let me know in the comments! (thank you in advance!)

That's all for this sim, success!

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Post on notes

from Recovery Toolbox

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