Old Photos - Unix Executable File

Trying to help a friend - he has a bunch of photos on his Mac that are six years old. He can't open them. He sent me one - it shows up as a "Unix Executable File" (whatever that is?). The read/write accesses are OK. File is about the right size (350K). iPhoto 6 won't open them. Is there a way to open/convert these files?
Thanks, Nick

Nick:
Do the files have the jpg extension on them? If they do, select one and type Command-I. In the Info pane there's an Open with menu. In that menu select Preview as the default application to open it with. Then click on the Apply to all button. See if that won't get them to respond as they should.
Do you Twango?
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.

Similar Messages

Old Quark files are now Unix Executable Files

I made hundreds of archive CD's with Mac's running OS 9 back in 1990's. They contain Quark files and .tif's. I've referred back to these CD's many many times over the years with no problems. My new iMac has the intel processor. I pop an archive CD in and all the files (with no extensions like "tif" or ".qkd" or ".eps") are now "Unix Executable Files" that won't open.
I simply add an extension to the images files (like ".tif") and they work. HOWEVER, it's not so easy with the Quark files. I add ".qkd" to the file name and it still remains a Unix file.
I launch Quark and try to open the file through the finder and it doesn't work. I took an archive CD to a friends house whose on a G5 and the CD worked properly with no extensions needed to be added.
So I figure the problem is with the Intel/PC based processor. I shouldn't have sold my old G5.
One forum claimed that a program called "File Buddy" did the trick for him. Does anyone have any other ideas other than me buying a non-Intel Mac.
I love our new iMacs but I need these archive CD's to work!
Thanks

I automatically run OnyX once a week for maintenance, but it didn't help this situation.
Those chores won't reset the LaunchServices database. Go to the Maintenance heading and click on the Reset tab. Turn on the check box for "LaunchServices database" (all other check boxes off). Click the Reset radio button and then Execute. Restart your Mac.
OS X will automatically rebuild the database according to the applications on your hard drive, giving preference to Apple applications as they would be when you first install OS X. So if you have the Acrobat Reader set up to open PDF files, you'll have to do that again as they will be set back to Preview.
Actually it's .qxd not .qkd for Quark XPress file extensions.
That's it! I knew .qkd was wrong, but Quark 6.x won't show you the old extensions when you save a file, and I couldn't remember it (been using InDesign steadily for a while now).

Old Font Files in Leopard showing up as Unix Executable File

Is there any way I can make the computer be able to use and open the font files that now are being seen as Unix Executable Files even though they worked just fine as fonts before I upgraded to 10.5. I've tried putting new file extensions on them, or telling them to be opened with font book. I'm not sure what else to do, we have hundreds if not thousands of fonts that we need and that our customers need us to be able to use.

Thanks soo much everyone for all the help.
I've installed reset permissions, reset LaunchServices using OnyX, rebooted, and files are still "unix executable" to start with. I then used FileUtils app to "Clear Executible Status," which makes them open in txt editor, and say they are 0kb in size. I then renamed the extentions, playing around with a bunch of different types, and no luck at all with any of them.
Here is a screen shot (http://180bydesign.com/uploads/Picture5.png) of my folder (at top) with a list of fonts, and fontbook.app (at bottom) when I try to add a font from that location. No luck.
PS - here's something weird... I had a friend w/ Tiger send me a font suitcase which he zipped, and it did same thing, but then he zipped it twice (wierd, I know) and it worked! I unzipped the first one, then unzipped the second file within that first one, and WALLA, the suitcase actually looked and acted like a font. This doesn't help at all with all the other saved files, but it certainly helps. I might open a pc & try to double zip all the old ones & see if that does the trick.

How open old Appleworks documents that appear as UNIX executable files?

A few of my old Appleworks or Clarisworks files won't open with Appleworks 6, but show up as a "UNIX executable file." I have tried adding the ".cwk" extension, repairing permissions using Disk Utility, and using Finder>File>Get info>Open to choose Apleworks 6 (it already was selected) as recommended by Peggy. With ".cwk" extension, I then get "that file appears to be damaged and cannot be opened."
Any other suggestions?

Hi Cloyd G,
welcome to Apple Discussions and the AppleWorks forum.
The 'UNIX executable file' classification error appears to arise mostly from the lack of a suffix (.cwk) on the original file. If adding the .cwk suffix does not make the file readable by AppleWorks, and gives a 'file appears to be damaged' message, then it's likely that the file has indeed been damaged.
If it's a word processor file, you could try opening it in a Text editor (such as Text Edit, supplied with OS X, or Text Wrangler, available free from Bare Bones Software). You'll get a large amount of junk (file meta data and formatting codes, etc.) with the text of your document somewhere in the middle. If you know a single word that is in (or is likely to be in) the document, a search using command-F should take you directly there. Copy the text and paste it into a new AW document.
For spreadsheet files, you can try dragging the file and dropping it onto a new, empty spreadsheet document. The same technique may also work for database files. I've never tried or seen recommended the same texchnique for Draw or Paint files, but attemptng it should do no harm.
Best of luck with this.
Regards,
Barry

How do I open my old Appleworks documents which have turned into Unix Executable Files? I would like to convert them into Pages documents.

How do I open my old Appleworks documents which have turned into Unix Executable Files? I would like to convert them into Pages documents. I also have old Word Perfect documents which have become similarly unopenable.

Best bet might be to try opening them using LibreOffice [free] and save them to .doc.
Do you really want to save them as .pages files? You are jumping from the frypan into the fire. Yet another proprietary format that Apple has again deadended with no working translation.
Peter

HT2128 How do I recover old files that are labeled "Unix Executable File?"

Some files that were transfered from and older mac are labeled "Unix Executable File." How do I resd these files?

There is a terminal command called file which will give you a hint of what the file is.
/Appliactions/Utilities/Terminal
me ~$ file pki
pki: directory
me ~$ file pulse-cookie
pulse-cookie: data
type file space drag & drop the file onto the terminal, press return.
Robert

Recovered files now UNIX Executable Files???

After my previous external hard drive failed I had the data recovered and placed onto a new external drive. After looking at the files I have found that a number of them have become "unix executable files." I don't know what this is or how to fix it. It seems to have only happened to things such as saved emails, but there are some photos from my digital camera that have converted to this as well.
While looking into the problem I found that the company that recovered the data placed it all onto an external hard drive that is an MS-DOS File System (FAT32) format instead of a Mac OS format. Could this be the problem since all of my files were Mac files, and the hard drive they were recovered from was formatted to Mac OS?
If this is the case, is it something I can fix myself without loosing anything, or should I take it back to the place that recovered the data?
ANY help would be greatly appreciated!

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
Yes the file naming probably was messed about with when they copied stuff over to FAT32. The files are probably there. However, the just need the correct file suffix to associate with the correct programs. A good way to test the files without hurting them is to view them in the Terminal with the program called More. Go to Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal and you will be greeted by a prompt. At the prompt type the word
more
followed by a space (do NOT hit enter)
and drag the file into the terminal following the word "more" and then when the path appears, hit enter. If there is intelligible text, the file is probably an e-mail. If there is no intelligible text, it probably is an image, or a system file. Preview can open the files which are images and save them to specific formats. Depending on the number of files you had rescued, it might be better to ask them to rescue it again, but to a properly formatted volume. You can try yourself if you still have the old disk with Prosoft Data Rescue.
In anycase, this is a very good lesson to always backup your data in the future as my FAQ explains:
http://www.macmaps.com/backup.html
Good luck!

Final Cut Pro Unix Executable file??? what do i do?

Hey All,
So I wanted to dig up an old movie i edited in 2003 so i took out the old IMac. I found the Final Cut Pro 2 sequence on there but because all the footage (capture scratch, etc.) is saved to an external hard drive i need to reconnect the material to the sequence. i hooked up my WD My Book drive to my G5 to find the clips and sure enough i backed them up on this hard drive (37 gb worth) awhile ago but for some reason all the clips say they're Unix Executable Files? Why did this happen when i backed them up instead of them staying as Quicktime files?
So here are my questions...
Tonight when i go home I want to be able to open up the FCP sequence on Final Cut Pro Studio 2 (fcp7)...will this be possible to open up an FCP 2 sequence that many versions later?
Also, please tell me why the quicktime clips did this? When i do File-->Get Info-->change open with Terminal to Quicktime they play but how will i get them to reconnect to FCP?? Do i need to go one by one and add .mov extension??
I'm very confused...i would rather not have to do the editing on the 2003 machine..i'd like to get it to work on my newest computer (27inch imac).
Can i attach a newer external that the clips are on to the old mac?
Thank you,
Jenna

..will this be possible to open up an FCP 2 sequence that many versions later?
Yes.
Do i need to go one by one and add .mov extension??
Use my [Automator Action|https://files.me.com/nikholmes/0ge9cr] which will rename them for you -Just choose the correct folder in the "Start At" section. Link is a direct download from my iDisk.
Can i attach a newer external that the clips are on to the old mac?
Of course.

Photoshop .psd files converted to Unix Executable files

I'm an illustrator and I store my art on CDs and DVDs. After a period of time my files are converted from Photoshop .psd files to Unix Executable files and I can't open them. What can I do to get my work back??? -and keep this from happening in the future. Why does it do this????
Thanks for any help.

The file sizes range from 22.2 MB to 67.9 MB.
Size isn't the issue then. Linc was asking that question because we see that with other file types. Older fonts in particular, which have all of their data in the resource fork. If that gets stripped, you end up with a zero byte file.
Does that mean I'll have to go through the Adobe authorization process for Photoshop again?
If the version of Photoshop you're currently using is already activated, then no. Either way, it has nothing to do with .psd files showing as UNIX executables.
In Windows, any file that doesn't have an association to a program is displayed as a white, dog-eared piece of paper with the Windows logo in the middle. That's Windows' way of saying, "I have no idea what this is." In OS X, (except for those files which actually are UNIX executables), displaying them as such is OS X's way of saying the same thing.
I thought I was home free when the icon changed to a thumbnail picture of the illustration, but PS refuses to open it saying it is not a Photoshop file. ???
Now that is weird. As of Snow Leopard, Apple put the old Type and Creator codes to rest. It will read them as a last resort to try and identify an older file, but none of Apple's applications add them to any file they save. For better compatibility with Windows, and OS X's own underlying UNIX core, file extensions have taken their place. So adding a .psd extension should have worked. Without playing with one of your files, I couldn't tell you why Photoshop declared it wasn't a valid .psd image.
On a side note, Apple added Uniform Type Identifiers to OS X to keep things separate. A big problem in Windows is that multiple apps may use the same file extension. EPS is a big one in printing. So you have Photoshop, Illustrator, Freehand, Quark and others all using .eps for Encapsulated PostScript files. However, Windows can only associate one application to any given extension. So if Illustrator happens to be the one tagged to .eps files, it will try to open any file ending in .eps, no matter what program actually created it. OS X keeps them separate with Uniform Type Identifiers. So even though multiple files may have .eps file extensions, the extra metadata keeps track of what program it actually belongs to.
This is what is part of the LaunchServices database, and was why it was my first suggestion. If that database is wonky, you'll see weird things like this. Have you tried clearing it yet?
The files are fine when newly burned to CD. It is only months, or years, later that they become Unix Executable Files. This has happened to just about all of my CD backups and it's frustrating to think that CD backup doesn't work across newer OSs and Photoshop upgrades. I suspect that may be the problem, but it just shouldn't happen.
That shouldn't make a difference. I've got a bunch of very old files created in Photoshop back from OS 8 on CD. No file extensions, as nothing did at the time. Just Type and Creator codes. They all open fine in PS CS5.5 in Snow Leopard, though the native Photoshop files do need to have a .psd extension added.

Unix Executable Files

after upgrading to Tiger 10.4.3, all my files that did not have a file extension (in particular all my fonts) are now Unix Executable files and unusable. is there any thing that can be done?

My boss if having the same problem! I however, am not. We have identical G5's, but our older G4's are slightly different with slightly different OS's and software. My boss has OS 10.1.3 and OS 9.2.2, also i have newer versions of photoshop and quark on my G4 than my boss does.
The file types he is having the issue with are .eps files from photoshop and illustrator, and quark files that don't have the extensions already. He was told by Support that the issue may be stemming from the fact that when he worked on his older mac, he booted up in OS 9, where as I always booted up in OS X and used OS 9 virtually.
We are trying to transfer the files directly now, while his older mac is booted up in OS X to see if that solves the Unix problem. But now we are running into the issue where, once the computers are hooked up by firewire, the process is freezing. Does anybody have any advice for us? We need HELP!!!
Thanks!
JdJ
Macintosh G5 Mac OS X (10.4.2) Old Mac - G4, OS X 10.3.2 & OS 9.2.2
Macintosh G5 Mac OS X (10.4.2) Old Mac - G4, OS X 10.3.2 & OS 9.2.2

Photoshop files show as unix executable files

Hi,
I've have a back-up drive with all my old files (the past 15 years). After I copied them over I noticed that most of them showed up as unix executable files. The most of the Quark files I was able to repair by adding .qxp. When I add the appropriate extension to my Photoshop files, (.tif, .eps) and then try to open them, PS won't recognize the files. Is there a fix to this. Unfortunately the originals have disappeared with a drive that crashed.
Thanks for any help.

Adding file extensions for unique application-types will work fine as long as there's an entry for LaunchServices to reference to - add the .qxd extension will "make" them Quark files, for example. The more generic types are going to be the problem, as there are many applications listed in LaunchServices that can open TIFF and EPS files. If you had files that you could absolutely identify as raw Photoshop files, adding a .psd extension would most likely work for those.
Maybe I just need to let all those files go...
Since it seems that only the resource fork has been munged, the files are probably fine - just missing the resource fork with the Type/Creator code and the preview info that Photoshop stores there.
-Doug

Backup files are now Unix Executable files

I backed up my iPhone on my laptop (pc) but when i but transferred all my iPhone backup files to my iMac there was a couple of folders that are now Unix Executable files which are coincidentally are the same backups that I cant use to restore my iPhone without receiving an error message.
Also, is there a program that I can use to read the history.mapsdata file? Thanks

I automatically run OnyX once a week for maintenance, but it didn't help this situation.
Those chores won't reset the LaunchServices database. Go to the Maintenance heading and click on the Reset tab. Turn on the check box for "LaunchServices database" (all other check boxes off). Click the Reset radio button and then Execute. Restart your Mac.
OS X will automatically rebuild the database according to the applications on your hard drive, giving preference to Apple applications as they would be when you first install OS X. So if you have the Acrobat Reader set up to open PDF files, you'll have to do that again as they will be set back to Preview.
Actually it's .qxd not .qkd for Quark XPress file extensions.
That's it! I knew .qkd was wrong, but Quark 6.x won't show you the old extensions when you save a file, and I couldn't remember it (been using InDesign steadily for a while now).

Unix Executable Files and VLC index.dat file -Samsung Digimax S800

Hi and thanks for any enlightenment in advance .
I got my new iMac in January and it's great . I'm using it mostly for games iWeb and pro apps like Logic . I continue to use my trusty old eMac for email and internet chores .
I was preparing to install Finale today and noticed the installation DVD had Adobe Reader 7.0.8 this led me to check "Adobe" with spotlight to make sure I already had it (I do) and I discovered a folder for Photoshop 7 settings so I looked to see if I had Photoshop (I don't:( ) , but I did find a folder titled Photoshop7 containing three files 2 Unix Executable Files titled AAAAAAAA2 and AAAAAAAA2M and a VLC index.dat file .
"Command I" tells me they are all 4KB and were created March 4 2007 and are located at Library/Application Support/Adobe/Filebrowser .
I think this was the time I was trying to get my new camera (Samsung Digimax S800) to download a movie . It didn't work and I have given up trying .
So my question is , " Can I delete these "
iMac 2.33 GHz- Powerbook - eMac Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Hi terence
Would I have any other adobe apps that came with my iMac besides Reader 7.0 ?
I appear to have opened a can off worms trying to open Adobe for the first time .
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=978019
iMac 2.33 GHz- Powerbook - eMac Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Unix Executable file - How do I open

I have a Software DVD ( Route 66 Road Planner ) and want to install onto my New Macbook, problem is I can't. I know it is an "Unix Executable file" ( Apple - i keys give me that information ) I do know that on my old iMac G4 it opens no problem using VISE and I'm using 10.4.10, any reason why I can't open this on my Macbook ?
Can I open it ? If so how ?
Thanks to all.
Steve

It probably requires X11. X11 is not installed by default in OS X. It is on the install cds though as an optional install.

Need help opening Unix Executable Files

I've recently been given the task of updating various files containing instruction manuals. However, the person who created these files is long gone and no one seems to know what program they were created in. All I know is that they are listed as "Unix Executable File" when I click on the document. I've tried opening them in TextEdit and this does me no good. Does anyone know how I can determine what program these files were originally created in so that I can open them?

Files that have no filename extensions (used by Windows and OS X, but not by OS 9) and have lost their Type and Creator codes (used by OS 9, but not by Windows or OS X), and are then written to a DOS-formatted disc by OS 9 and copied back to a Mac disc, are usually if not always misidentified by the OS X Finder as Unix executables.
Your company's old files, created in applications that ran in OS 9, probably have never had any filename extensions. Their Type and Creator codes have evidently been lost; those are what OS 9 uses to link the files to the applications that created them. If the files have also been written by OS 9 to any disk or flash drive formatted for Windows, i.e. FAT16 or FAT32, they have also lost their resource forks. The resource fork is a portion of a Mac file that has no analogous structure in a PC file. When a Mac file that contains data in its resource fork is written by OS 9 to a PC-formatted storage device, there's no place in the Windows file structure for that data — so it is simply discarded. When the Mac file is later copied back onto a Mac-formatted storage device, its resource fork is gone along with whatever data it contained, and the file may for all practical purposes be destroyed. OS X handles writing Mac files to Windows-formatted drives more gracefully, but passing files back and forth between OS 9 and OS X via a Windows-formatted storage device is asking for trouble.
I don't know just what practices have been used in moving these files from the Macs they were created on to the one you're trying to open them on now, but I suspect there has been some unwitting demolition in the process.
If copies of these files are still stored on the old Mac on which they were created, and that Mac still works, get on it and double-click the saved copies of the files to open them in the program(s) that created them, and make notes of which application opens each of the files. Be aware that the folder structure containing the files may have to be preserved exactly as it is for the files to open properly — do not reorganize anything. It may be essential, for example, for a PageMaker file to be kept in the same folder as all the individual files that have been "placed" in it using the Place command in PageMaker. If any of those files are moved elsewhere, they may be missing from the PageMaker document when it opens. I've never used Quark or Freehand, so I don't know whether they have the same requirement, or other requirements that are less than obvious.
Any of the old manuals that you're able to open in their original applications can be saved as PDF files using an invaluable OS 9-based "printer driver" called PrintToPDF. They can then be opened in Adobe Reader or Preview on your G5 running OS X, though you won't be able to edit them easily. If you require the ability to edit these files on the G5, rather than on the old computer using the apps that originally created them, you will need first to discover which OS 9-based application created each one, and then ascertain what if any current OS X-based application is able to open the file format used by that old application. In the case of PageMaker files, that will probably be Adobe InDesign or nothing. InDesign may also open old Quark files; I don't know. Aldus or Adobe Freehand files may be openable using Adobe Illustrator. These are just guesses.
Dragging and dropping the files onto MS Word or TextWrangler may reveal, buried somewhere in them, the name of the application(s) that created them. I know a PageMaker file, opened as plain text, will always contain the word "PageMaker". As for other file formats, I'm not sure.
Message was edited by: eww
Message was edited by: eww

Old Photos - Unix Executable File

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