An A02 file is normally one middle piece of a multi-part archive and cannot open alone since the main index is stored in volume one, which is why direct attempts show errors like “missing header”; to extract properly, all volumes must be together, and you open the starter—either the .ARJ file or, when absent, the .A00—letting 7-Zip or WinRAR automatically chain through A01, A02, and the rest, while failures like “next volume missing,” “unexpected end,” or CRC problems indicate missing, incomplete, or corrupted pieces; checking filenames and ensuring no skipped numbers usually reveals what A02 belongs to.
To quickly confirm what an A02 is part of, alphabetize the directory so matching pieces line up, look for the same base name across files—`backup.a00`, `backup.a01`, `backup.a02`—and check for a main starter such as `backup.arj`; if it exists, you open the `.arj`, but if only `.a00` upward appears, you begin with `.a00`, using 7-Zip or WinRAR to test it; any missing sequence numbers or inconsistent naming usually indicate that a volume is absent or corrupted and must be replaced.
Saying A02 is “part 3” means it acts as volume three in a split archive created by dividing one compressed file into `.A00`, `.A01`, `.A02`, so A02 isn’t its own format but a direct continuation of the same compressed stream, and because the header and file list appear in the first segment or `.ARJ`, A02 alone will fail to open; if identical prefixes like `something.a00`, `something.a01`, and `something.a02` appear, keep them unified and open the first volume so the tool retrieves data from later parts automatically.
An A02 file rarely opens directly because it’s just one of the later segments in a multi-part archive, and the defining information—archive header, directory listing, compression settings, and checks—resides in the first segment, so programs scanning A02’s start find no signature and raise errors like “unrecognized format”, even though the set may be complete; placing every part together and opening `.A00` or the main `. If you adored this information and you would certainly like to get even more info pertaining to file extension A02 kindly visit our web-page. ARJ` allows the extractor to use A02 automatically while rebuilding the archive.
When an archive program processes A02, it’s not interpreting it as an archive on its own, since extraction logic starts with the first chunk that has the header, and the tool automatically chains through `.A01` and `.A02` as the data stream requires; if A02 isn’t available or is damaged, the extractor stops and reports errors like “corrupt data block”.
