An A02 file acts as the third chunk in a split archive, not a standalone file type, and opening it directly won’t work because the archive’s header is stored in the first segment, leading to errors like “file corrupt”; the right method is to gather every piece, then open the starter file—either the main .ARJ or the .A00—so 7-Zip or WinRAR can pull data from A01, A02, etc., with issues like “next volume missing,” truncated files, or CRC errors pointing to absent, incomplete, or corrupted parts; sorting the folder and verifying all numbered pieces match the same base name ensures clean extraction.
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 `.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.
Saying A02 is “part 3” means it functions as the third part 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 a mid-volume fragment 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 `. If you loved this post and you would like to acquire additional info concerning A02 file online tool kindly stop by the web-page. A00` or the main `.ARJ` allows the extractor to use A02 automatically while rebuilding the archive.
When an archiver “uses” A02, it’s just pulling continuation data because the structure is defined in the starter (`.ARJ` or `.A00`), and decompression flows sequentially through `.A01` and `.A02` exactly as if they were one big file; if A02 is missing or faulty, the extraction breaks with errors such as “CRC error in volume”.
