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Question

Recovered files are Unix Executale, and I can't open them

by Jul 7, 2011 7:13AM PDT

My external hard drive died, and I had to use a recovery service. Many of the recovered files have become labelled as Unix Executable files and have extensions like .rsc or .cwk, not .pages or .numbers, and I can't open them. Even the .txt files which are labeled as Unix Executable won't open. Many recovered photo.jpg files have .rsc copies; I can open the .jpg files, but don't know what these .rsc files are.

Any suggestions?

Discussion is locked

10 Posts
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Answer
Those recovered files
by Forum moderator Jul 7, 2011 8:16AM PDT

get to look like they do when the system is not sure what to do with them.

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Recovered files are Unix Executale, and I can't open them
by Stephen Goulden Jul 7, 2011 6:00PM PDT

Thank you for responding to my problem.

I have tried changing the extensions to those which correspond to software I have, including those you suggest, but the response is that they are not file which ".." can open. Even when they were produced by that software, such as Appleworks (which I no longer have, but Pages should be able to open such documents; it can't open these transformed ones.

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Recovery is not always perfect.
by Kees_B Forum moderator Jul 7, 2011 6:25PM PDT

Your case seems to be a good example. That's why you should never store files on no more than an external hard drive. Didn't they tell you when you bought it?

Kees

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What happens when you choose
by mrmacfixit Forum moderator Jul 7, 2011 10:05PM PDT

the Right Click and Open with option.

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What happens when you choose - New!
by Stephen Goulden Jul 8, 2011 10:19PM PDT

tried both - no success

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Hmm,
by mrmacfixit Forum moderator Jul 8, 2011 11:46PM PDT

who recovered the data?

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What happens when you choose - New!
by Stephen Goulden Jul 9, 2011 1:31AM PDT

A local 'specialist', with lots of references; I don't think it significant "who'. Perhaps all PC disc rescuers have this problem.

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While not wanting to comment too much
by mrmacfixit Forum moderator Jul 9, 2011 4:13AM PDT

as to the expertise of the local "specialist" I cannot help wondering if he/she actually had a Mac to work the recovered data with.
Pulling data off and just presenting you with the raw data, presumably without any comment as to the usability of it, seems a little untoward, IMO
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Do you still have the drive?

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Those recovered files - closing comments
by Stephen Goulden Jul 22, 2011 4:43AM PDT

After chasing them up and down, and being told how they were an expert data recovery service using the best equipment available, they had a second attempt, which produced files I could use; even when the extensions had got lost, I could find extensions which allowed the files to be opened. No explanation for the first unsatisfactory job was forthcoming, just a lot of bluster.
I suspect that they did a minimal recovery the first time, hoping it would satisfy; when it didn't, they had a more serious look at the problem.

For general information, they claim that the recovery was my dead disc to a Mac; no PC involved.
I now have a RAID 1 archive disc, and am (slowly) putting my photo archive on to archive quality DVDs as well.

Thank you all for your suggestions.

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Pleased you have something to work with now
by mrmacfixit Forum moderator Jul 23, 2011 12:14AM PDT

Time Machine works well too

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