Despite the availability of more advanced compression tools, some users still keep the habit of using ARJ files. Are you one of them? What can you do when your ARJ files are accidentally deleted? If this happens, check out this MiniTool guide to learn how to perform ARJ file recovery. Also, you will learn how to repair damaged ARJ files.
What Is an ARJ File
ARJ (Archived by Robert Jung) is an archive file format developed by Robert Jung, which was one of the mainstream file archive formats in the 1990s. Like most archive file types, it is used to store and compress multiple files and folders into a single and easy-to-manage file.
The ARJ file is a variant of the ZIP file format. It is compressed by the ARJ.exe software to generate a file with the suffix .arj. Any file with the ARJ file extension is an ARJ compressed file because the ARJ file format is designed for efficient compressed file archives. These files can be decompressed by modern decompression tools, showing its good compatibility and wide applicability.
How to open an ARJ file? To open ARJ files, you need an ARJ program or other suitable software. Without these tools, it is difficult to access ARJ files. Here are three convenient and safe tools for you.
- ARJ32: This is the first choice for opening ARJ files, and it is also the most convenient and safest method.
- 7-Zip: This is open-source software that supports multiple formats as well as ARJ to archive data and can decompress them without launching them first.
- WinRAR: It is another archive and decompression software that supports all known archive formats, including ARJ files.
After confirming you have these tools on your computer, you can try opening files. You need to right-click on the ARJ file, choose Open with, and then choose one of the above tools to open it.
Chances of Successful ARJ File Recovery
Generally, when files stored on a Windows computer are lost, they can be found in the Recycle Bin. What if the lost file does not show in it? In this case, if you have a backup, you can copy your lost files from it. However, according to surveys, very few people have the habit of backing up. So, data recovery software must come in handy, but you should know that even data recovery tools cannot guarantee that data can be recovered 100% successfully. In short, the chances of successful data recovery depend on the following questions.
- Were the files permanently deleted or just moved to the Recycle Bin? If your lost files are in the Recycle Bin, they can be restored easily. But if you emptied the Recycle Bin or deleted files using the Shift + Delete keys, you will need data recovery software to recover Shift deleted files and permanently deleted files.
- Did you write new files to the ARJ file storage location after the files were deleted? Deleted files remain on the storage device until the location is overwritten. Writing new files or modifying existing files may overwrite the deleted files, making recovery more difficult or impossible.
- What type of storage device are you using? HDD (hard disk drive) does not erase data immediately, so they will keep deleted files longer. SSD (solid state drive) is more tricky because they use TRIM, which can erase deleted files almost instantly.
Best Methods to Recover Deleted ARJ Files
When you find that your ARJ files are lost, recover them as soon as possible, which can increase the success rate of recovery. You may ask “How can I recover my deleted ARJ file?”. Here I offer you the two best methods to recover deleted ARJ files. Keep reading!
Method 1: Recover Deleted ARJ Files From Windows Recycle Bin
Windows Recycle Bin is used to temporarily store files that you have set aside for deletion but have not yet permanently deleted. This relieves you from having to be very careful when selecting files to delete, as this feature provides a grace period to undo unnecessary deletions.
In the File Explorer, you can consider the Recycle Bin as a special file directory that allows you to browse files and keep needed files. With it, you can also delete files one by one or empty the Recycle Bin to permanently delete unwanted files. But you need to be aware that permanently deleted files are difficult to recover. Now work with the following operations to restore deleted ARJ files from the Recycle Bin.
Step 1: Find the Recycle Bin and double-click on it to open this folder.
Step 2: Scroll down the list or type the keywords of file name or file extension in the Search box to search for required files.
Step 3: Select all wanted ARJ files, right-click on the selected area, and choose Restore.
Method 2: Recover Deleted ARJ Files Using Data Recovery Tool
Unable to recover deleted ARJ archives from the Recycle Bin? Don’t panic. Using a data recovery tool can also be a good choice. Here I strongly recommend MiniTool Power Data Recovery for you. This professional and robust software excels at various recoveries such as SD card recovery, USB flash recovery, hard drive recovery, and more. Whether your ARJ files are lost due to accidental deletion, virus attacks, system crashes, etc., you can use it to do a recovery.
As a friendly and free file recovery software, it gives you 1 GB of free file recovery capacity as a gift. Lastly, it is compatible with Windows 11/10/8/8.1. For most people, there is no need to update the Windows system. Just download and install it on your computer to get started.
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If everything is ready, follow the steps below to start ARJ file recovery.
Step 1: Launch the MiniTool Power Data Recovery software by double-clicking on its icon. After loading all the disk information, you will enter the main interface. In the main interface, all the drives, devices, and specific locations that can be scanned are displayed.
- Logical Drives: This section contains existing and deleted partitions, as well as unallocated space on your file storage devices.
- Devices: This part shows all internal and external storage devices connected to your computer instead of specific partitions.
- Recover From Specific Location: It displays the Desktop, Recycle Bin, and specific folders, from which you can recover files.
Find the drive where your lost ARJ files were stored, hover your cursor on the drive, and click on Scan.
Alternatively, you can choose to scan a specific folder. Move your cursor on the Select Folder, click on Browse to select the folder where lost ARJ files are stored, and click on Select Folder to begin scanning.
Step 2: This scan process will take some time. For the best scanning results, you should wait until the full scan finishes. When the scan process ends, you will see all files listed by their paths under the Path tab. You need to expand appropriate folders like Deleted Files, Lost Files, etc. to find the required ARJ files.
If it is time-consuming to locate all the required ARJ files from the massive file list, there is a faster way to filter them, which is the Search function in the upper right corner. You are supposed to type the keywords of your file name or file extension arj in the box and press Enter. All related files will show in the central pane.
Step 3: Tick all the needed ARJ files and click on Save. There is a pop-up prompt named Select a directory to save files. You are expected to choose a new storage location to put the recovered files and hit OK to start saving.
When the files are recovered successfully, the completed recovery window will pop up. You can click View Recovered from the prompt window to check if they are there.
What to Do if the ARJ Files Are Corrupted After Data Recovery
If you find that the recovered ARJ files are corrupted, how can you repair them? File corruption is very common. Generally, there are two ways to repair corrupted ARJ archives. One is to directly use the repair software to do a repair. If the repair is unsuccessful, you can choose to convert them to other file formats for normal use.
Fix 1: Use a Dedicated Archive Repair Tool
You can use WinRAR as mentioned above to repair corrupted ARJ files. As the world’s most popular compression tool, it also includes a built-in repair function to repair damaged archives. Download and install it on your computer to get started.
Step 1: Launch the WinRAR software by double-clicking on its icon.
Step 2: Find and select the corrupted ARJ file you want to repair and click on the Repair icon on the top.
Step 3: In the pop-up prompt, click on Browse to choose a location to put the repaired ARJ file, select Treat the corrupted archive as RAR or Treat the corrupted archive as ZIP under Archive type, and click on OK.
Fix 2: Convert the ARJ File to Another Format
You can also repair the file by converting the file format. As mentioned earlier, ARJ is a variant of ZIP. Here I will take the conversion from ARJ to ZIP as an example. The best way to convert ARJ file format to ZIP online is through Convertio. This is an online converter that works with different types of files including video, audio, and other files. In addition to ZIP, Convertio also supports other formats such as 7Z, JAR, and RAR, among others. Convertio is easy to use and highly secure. Here are the steps to convert ARJ to ZIP.
Step 1: After entering the site, click on Choose File to select the corrupted ARJ file and hit Open to add it to the conversion list.
Step 2: Click on Convert to start converting. Once the conversion process ends, click on Download to store your ZIP file.
Tips to Avoid ARJ File Loss in the Future
It is still time-consuming although lost ARJ files can be restored. So, you can do some tactics to prevent ARJ file loss in the future.
- Manage files when your computer or storage device is in good condition. If you manage files when your computer lags or the storage device is unstable, you may accidentally delete some important files. Sometimes you may not immediately realize what files you deleted.
- Apply antivirus and anti-malware software. Both antivirus and antimalware programs are effective. Antivirus software excels at protecting against traditional forms of malware, while antimalware software protects against new threats.
- Back up your ARJ files regularly. This allows you to recover important files after a system crash or hard drive failure. You should have an additional backup of your data if the original backup becomes corrupted or the disk it is on fails. This option is best done through cloud or offsite storage.
Bottom Line
After explaining recovery and repair methods, I believe you can have a better understanding of how to handle ARJ file recovery and repair the corrupted ARJ files. For recovery, you need to check the Recycle Bin to see if the lost files show here first. If not, MiniTool Power Data Recovery can help you get these files back easily. For repair, you can choose to use a repair or convert tool to repair them.
If you have any questions when using MiniTool products, remember to contact us via [email protected]. We have been constantly improving to provide you with better service.
About The Author
Position: Columnist
Chelsea graduated from university with a major in English. She has a strong interest in English writing. It is this passion for writing that led her to become an English editor. Her articles mainly focus on data recovery and other computer industry news. As an energetic and outgoing girl, Chelsea enjoys listening to music, singing, riding bikes, and eating in her spare time.