An A02 file is generally just the third volume of a broken-up 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 "unknown archive"; 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.
Describing A02 as "part 3" means it is simply the third file in a broken-up archive produced when a big compressed file is divided into `.A00`, `.A01`, `.A02`, etc. for easier transfer or storage, so A02 itself has no separate meaning and continues the same data, while the header and index live in the first volume or a main `.ARJ`, making A02 alone unusable; seeing matching files like `something.a00`, `something.a01`, and `something. If you adored this information and you would certainly like to obtain even more details concerning
A02 file reader kindly visit our own web site. a02` indicates a split set, and opening the first piece lets your extraction tool assemble the full archive.
An A02 file generally fails to open alone because it’s only a continuation segment, and since the essential metadata—header, index, compression descriptors, integrity markers—is stored at the start of `.A00` or `.ARJ`, A02 begins mid-stream with no identifying signature, prompting errors like "unknown format"; once all pieces sit in the same folder, opening the first part lets the extractor automatically process A01, A02, and the remaining volumes.
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 "next volume missing".