An A02 file is simply the third part of a split archive and won’t open individually because the structural header lives in the first chunk, so programs return errors such as “cannot open volume”; 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 verify what your A02 belongs to, alphabetically reorder the directory, then look for identical prefixes—e.g., `backup.a00`, `backup.a01`, `backup.a02`—and check if a `.arj` file appears, which serves as the correct entry point; if there’s no `.arj` and the set starts at `.a00`, that’s the file to open via 7-Zip or WinRAR, and gaps in numbering or mismatched filenames signal missing or damaged segments that need re-copying or re-downloading before extraction succeeds.
Calling an A02 “part 3” means it’s the third numbered chunk of a larger split archive made when a tool divides a big compressed file into `.A00`, `.A01`, `.A02`, etc., so A02 isn’t a standalone format but a continuation of data, and since the header and catalog reside in the first volume (or a `.ARJ` file), A02 alone looks unrecognized; if you spot matching names like `something.a00`, `something.a01`, `something.a02`, place them together and open the starter so extraction can proceed through A01 and A02 automatically.
An A02 file typically won’t open by itself because it’s a mid-series chunk in a split archive, and the critical metadata—archive header, index, compression specs, and integrity data—lives in the initial file like `. Here is more information in regards to A02 file viewer software look at our web-site. A00` or `.ARJ`, so when you open A02 directly, the tool finds no header at the start and throws errors like “file corrupt”, even though the set may be fine; placing all volumes in one folder and opening the first one is what allows the extractor to pull A02 and the rest in sequence.
When an archive tool “uses” an A02 file, it’s never treating A02 as a standalone file rather than a separate volume, because extraction begins with the starter—usually the main `.ARJ` or `.A00`—where the header and index are stored, and once the extractor reaches the end of that segment, it automatically moves to `.A01`, then `.A02`, reading them as one continuous stream; if A02 is missing, renamed, or damaged, the process stops with errors like “unexpected end of archive”.
