What is BAK file? How to open and convert BAK files

A file with the BAK extension is a backup file used by many different applications for the same purpose: Store a copy of one or more files for backup purposes.

Most BAK files are created automatically by a program that needs to store a backup. This can be done by anything from a web browser to store backed up bookmarks, to a dedicated backup program that stores one or more files.

BAK files are also sometimes created manually by program users. You can create a file yourself, if you want to edit the file but do not change the original. So instead of moving the file out of the root directory, overwriting it with new data, or deleting it completely, you can simply add ".BAK" to the end of the file to stay safe.

Note : Any file with special extensions to indicate that it is for archival purposes, such as file ~, file.old, file.orig, etc., is done for the same reason. can use the BAK extension.

How to open the BAK file

With .BAK files, context is especially important. Where did you find the BAK file? Is the BAK file named as a different program? Answering these questions can help you find a program to open the BAK file.

It is important to note that no program can open all BAK files, just like a program that can open all JPG image files or all TXT files. BAK files do not work the same way.

For example, all Autodesk programs, including AutoCAD, use regular BAK files as backup files. Other programs, such as financial planning software, programs related to tax calculation, etc., can also create BAK files. However, you cannot expect to open AutoCAD .BAK file in accounting program and will somehow show AutoCAD drawing.

Regardless of the software that creates the file, each program is responsible for using its own BAK files when data recovery is required.

For example, if you have found the .BAK file in the Music folder, it is likely the file as a media file. The fastest way to confirm this example is to open the BAK file in a popular media player like VLC to see if it plays. Instead, you can rename the file into a format you suspect is the same file type as .MP3, .WAV, etc., and then try to open the file in that new extension.

User-created BAK file

Like the article mentioned above, some BAK files instead only rename the files used to preserve the original file. This is usually done not only to keep a backup of the file but also to disable the file from being used.

For example, when making modifications to the Windows Registry, it is common to add ".BAK" to the end of the value or registry key. Doing this allows you to create your own key or value with the same name, in the same location, but without conflicting with the original. It also disables Windows from using data because it is no longer appropriately named (which is all the reason you made registry editing in the beginning).

Note: Of course, this not only applies to the Windows Registry but also to any file, using an extension other than the extension that the program or operating system is set to find and read from.

Later, if a problem arises, you can delete (or rename) your new key / file / edit, and then rename it to the original by deleting the .BAK extension. Doing this will allow Windows to use the correct key or value again.

Another example that can be seen in the actual file on the computer is registrybackup.reg.bak. This type of file is actually a REG file that the user does not want to change, so instead, a copy of the file is created and then named the original with the BAK extension, so that all the files can be made. desired changes without changing the original (which has the .BAK extension).

In this example, if something goes wrong with the copy of the REG file, you can always delete the original .BAK extension and not have to worry that it will disappear forever.

This naming method is sometimes also done with folders. Again, this is done to distinguish between the unchanged document and the one you are editing.

How to convert BAK files

The file converter cannot convert BAK file types, because this is not really a file format in the traditional sense. This is true no matter what format you are handling.

If you can't seem to find a way to use the .BAK file, try using a program that can open the file as a text document. Some text in a file may indicate the program that created it or its file type.

For example, a file named file.bak does not indicate what type of file it is, so it is difficult to determine which program can open it. Using Notepad ++ or another text editor may be helpful if you see, for example, "ID3" at the top of the file's content. Searching this information online tells you that it is a metadata container used with MP3 files. So renaming the file to file.mp3 may be the solution to opening that particular BAK file.

Similarly, instead of converting BAK to CSV, you can see that opening the file in the text editor shows that there are a bunch of elements like text or tables, so you realize that your BAK file is actually a CSV file, in that case you just need to rename the file.bak to file.csv and open it with Excel or some other CSV editor.

Most free zip / decompression programs can open any type of file, regardless of whether it is an archive or not. You can try using one of them as an additional step to find out what type of BAK file is. Many people's favorite choices are 7-Zip and PeaZip.