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 "unsupported file"; 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 identify what your A02 file is tied to, list files in name order 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.
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 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 "invalid archive"; 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 doesn’t treat it as its own archive, 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 `. If you loved this information and you would want to receive more information regarding
A02 file description generously visit our own website. A02`—without any manual merging; if A02 is absent or corrupted, you get errors such as "CRC mismatch".