In message , "J. P. Gilliver
(John)" writes:
[]
For the hard-to-read files, I'd be tempted to seek - or write -
something which opens them, then copies them byte by byte (to a file on
a good drive) until a read error occurs; that way you'd have at least
part of the file, which may or may not be usable. (Ideally, something
which then carries on after the bad patch, maybe writing blanks to the
copy for the unreadable bytes - so that the copy at least is the same
size and has the tail, which for some filetypes - I think .zip is one -
is where important information about the contents is.)

Paul (or anyone else) - do you know of any such utility? [Preferably
not involving command lines, either in Windows or Linux (-:!] I did (a
long time ago - I think in BBC BASIC!) write one that did the first
part (copy byte by byte until error), but not beyond. [IIRR, BBC BASIC
closed the input file when there was an error reading.]

Actually, I've just remembered: IrfanView will do the first part - read
up to error - and then let you save; however, it may only be for certain
types of file (I think it does for JPEG images, for example; it fills
from the failure to the end with grey).
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual
rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities. - Ayn Rand, quoted by Deb
Shinder 2012-3-30