How to Open a .Bak File

So you've found a .bak file on your computer or someone has sent you one and you're wondering how to get it open. Depending on how much you know about the history of the file, getting it open could take seconds or it could take a bit of time. Either way, you'll get it open eventually.

What is a .bak file
In short, a .bak file is a backup of some other file. The .bak extension refers to the phrase BAcK up. You'll sometimes find it as .bk, too. A lot of programs that allow you to create complex work automatically create a backup when you save your work. Should anything happen to the file you're working on, you've got that .bak file to start from instead of starting all over again. (Keep in mind, though, that .bak files are somewhat older copies of an original file. It won't look the same as the orginal copy you've been editing.) Of course, unless you know how to open a .bak file, just having it sitting on your computer won't do you much good.

Because this extension can be applied to a backup of any type of file, there's no standard file format for .bak files. That also means that unlike with .zip or .rar files, there's no standard program for opening them. The good news is you won't need to download yet another program. The bad news is that you may have to open each .bak file you have in a different way.

How to open a .bak file

Method one
The usual method for opening a .bak file is the simplest. The first step is to find out what the file is a backup of. For example, a file named mynewebook.bak is likely to be a backup of the file mynewebook.pdf, a PDF ebook. So, you just rename your .bak file to mynewebook.pdf. Since PDFs are opened with a special reader like Acrobat Reader, you can now open the backup copy of your ebook with your pdf reader as usual. Often, .bak files come from specific programs you use often. Say you're an architect who regularly uses an autocad software. Your .bak file could well be a backup of a recent autocad drawing file. If you think that's the case, you just change the .bak to .dwg and open the file as usual. A composer using the NoteWorthy Composer software could try changing the .bak to .nwc and opening the file in NoteWorth Composer. It works the same for almost any specialize software like this.

Method two
If you don't know what the file is a backup of, you can still get it open, but it will take a little more effort. First, search your computer for files with that name. If you trying to open myfile.bak, go to start > search > for files or folders and search for "myfile." If you can't find it that way, right click on the .bak file, then click on Properties, or "Quickveiw" if you can to find out more about the file. Another method is to try opening your .bak file in Notepad. If it's a text file, it will open and you'll be able to read the contents. If it's a backup of an executable file, however, you'll see nothing but nonsense text and coding. That will give you a clue as to what type of file the original was and you can try various extensions until you hit on the right one.

Keeping backup files can save you a lot of grief should you happen to accidentally delete an original file. Once you know how to open a .bak file, you can easily retrieve a copy of your work and not have to start your project all over again.