An A02 file isn’t a standalone format and won’t open individually because the structural header lives in the first chunk, so programs return errors such as “unknown header”; proper extraction requires placing all volumes in one folder and opening the starter—either the main .ARJ or the .A00—allowing archive tools to pull automatically from A01, A02, etc.; if issues occur, they usually reference missing files, incomplete parts, or CRC errors, and sorting the directory by name helps verify that every expected volume is present.
To identify what your A02 file is tied to, open the folder and alphabetize the view so matching pieces cluster together, checking whether files share the same prefix such as `backup.a00`, `backup.a01`, and `backup.a02`; if a main file like `backup.arj` is present, open that rather than A02, but if no `. Here’s more info in regards to A02 file reader visit our own web site. arj` exists and the set starts at `.a00`, then `.a00` is the correct entry point, which you can test by using 7-Zip or WinRAR to open it, and if any part numbers are missing or filenames differ, the archive won’t extract until the missing/corrupted volumes are replaced.
Calling A02 “part 3” means it’s merely the third split segment, part of `.A00`, `.A01`, `.A02` file groups created for easier transfer or storage, and it’s not an independent format but a continuation of compressed data whose header lives in the first volume or `.ARJ`; when names like `something.a00`, `something.a01`, `something.a02` match, place them together and open the initial file so your extraction software can stitch A01 and A02 back into the original content.
An A02 file usually won’t open on its own because it’s just a middle segment of a multi-part archive, and formats store key information—headers, file lists, compression details, and checksums—in the first volume (like `.A00` or a main `.ARJ`), so opening A02 directly fails since it starts mid-stream without a recognizable signature, causing errors such as “corrupt”, even when the set is intact; the correct method is to put all parts together and open the starter so the extractor can read A01, A02, and onward automatically.
When a tool like 7-Zip or WinRAR “uses” A02, it isn’t opening it individually, because extraction starts from the initial `.ARJ` or `.A00` which contains the archive header, and volume data is consumed sequentially—first `.A00`, then `.A01`, then `.A02`—without any manual merging; if A02 is absent or corrupted, you get errors such as “CRC mismatch”.
