Retrieve info from a .bak file

[MGCS]

Looking for some insight here on helping a client retrieve her inventory data.

She had purchased now discontinued software called Bead Manager Pro to assist her with her beading business.

The software no longer runs, and I am unable to find an installation for it anymore. The website is dead and all old download links (you would buy it and the download link would be sent via email) are dead as well.

If I could run the software I'm sure I could export her data to a csv format for excel, but barring that there are only .bak files in the backup folder that can't be read outright without the program. Trying to open them with excel or a text editor output gibberish which I guess is to be expected.

Is there any route I can take to try and get the data (mostly inventory sheets) from these types of files without having access to the program that created them? Kinda at a loss so far unless I can somehow find an old version of this program in the ether.

The creator was contacted but does not respond and reviews of him and his other products shows that the customer service is atrocious and these programs come and go under various names but almost always offer poor customer service after the sale is completed.

I had considered trying to grab a different program from the developer (craft maker pro) and seeing if I could import to that instead, but they offer no free trial and I refuse to even suggest my little old lady client put any more money towards these kinds of software.

Anyway, sorry to ramble on I appreciate any thoughts you guys might have while I consider if there's any hope here or if that data is a write off. Thanks in advance!

 

[seashore]

That sucks. I can't offer a solution, maybe more knowledgeable folks here can, but if there was ever a scenario where prior full image backups were vital this is it. Unsupported apps can often be the death of a business.

 

[Sky-Knight]

The problem with .bak that it's not a generic file type. So the only thing that can read it, is the software that made it.

 

[mikeroq]

What does "the software no longer runs" mean? Does it open and crash? Do you get an error? Does the process open and no window appears? Does nothing happen?

 

[glennd]

Looking for some insight here on helping a client retrieve her inventory data.

She had purchased now discontinued software called Bead Manager Pro to assist her with her beading business.

The software no longer runs, and I am unable to find an installation for it anymore. The website is dead and all old download links (you would buy it and the download link would be sent via email) are dead as well.

If I could run the software I'm sure I could export her data to a csv format for excel, but barring that there are only .bak files in the backup folder that can't be read outright without the program. Trying to open them with excel or a text editor output gibberish which I guess is to be expected.

Is there any route I can take to try and get the data (mostly inventory sheets) from these types of files without having access to the program that created them? Kinda at a loss so far unless I can somehow find an old version of this program in the ether.

The creator was contacted but does not respond and reviews of him and his other products shows that the customer service is atrocious and these programs come and go under various names but almost always offer poor customer service after the sale is completed.

I had considered trying to grab a different program from the developer (craft maker pro) and seeing if I could import to that instead, but they offer no free trial and I refuse to even suggest my little old lady client put any more money towards these kinds of software.

Anyway, sorry to ramble on I appreciate any thoughts you guys might have while I consider if there's any hope here or if that data is a write off. Thanks in advance!

I'm happy to have a look at the bak file.

 

[phaZed]

I would also be interested in helping/having a look at the .bak file. I have some hacking tools on Kali that may be able to help.

 

[Blues]

Have you tried the file in a DB app like Access or a spreadsheet program? My other thought is if it was a type of compressed file if a tool like 7zip would work. I mostly think of these as possible based on the description of the company sounds like it would do something lazy and use a standard format with a different extension.

 

[NviGate Systems]

Best to do any discovery on copies.

The app could by using MySQL or Access, whatever was easiest.

Perhaps look in the programs directory and see if there are tell tale DLL which would point to what backend it uses.

You still face a challenge of extracting the data and manually moving it

 

[putz]

File extensions do not necessarily indicate what data the file actually holds. File extensions are more for the operating system to assign application handlers for files with the those same extensions. Taking a .txt file and renaming it to a .zip file doesn't change what the file actually is, it merely tells the operating system to use said program to handle that file. Your file could be a compressed ZIP file, and the program might just be naming it with .BAK because they thought it sounded better. Using a Hex Editor and examining the header of the file may help you determine exactly what sort of file it is, and that may point you in the direction of what you need to do in order to extract any useable data from it.