How to solve 'The Backup File Contains Unrecognized Data and Cannot Be Used' backup (.bkf) error

Published by Jacob Martin on July 29, 2014

BKF files are data backup files which contain valuable data. These files are created by using NTBackup utility which is a powerful backup application and it is a free tool which comes with NT based version of windows operating system. It is very easy to save and store data in these BKF files by using NTBackup tool. However, sometimes BKF files give an error message while restoring data from it. There are various reasons behind these error massages but the main cause is corruption in BKF files. If BKF files get corrupted then you will not be able to access or backup any data and it cannot be recovered by using NTBackup tool.

Users those who move from Windows XP to Windows 7 are mostly face such backup recovery related issue. The backup that are created in Windows XP with the use of Ntbackup utility cannot be restored in Windows 7 as it does not support it. When you try to open backup file then you get this error – “the backup file contains unrecognized data and cannot be used.” This error message will pop up even if you try to restore corrupted or damaged backup (.bkf) files on Windows XP computer. Hence to solve this issue you can use bkf repair tool to avoid yourself from such scenario.

However in the case of Windows 7 you have to find some other way to fix this error message. Here are some solutions that you can use to get rid of ‘The Backup File Contains Unrecognized Data and Cannot Be Used’ backup (.bkf) error:

1 – First methods you can apply are that downloads and install windows NTbackup utility on your Windows 7 computer to restore bkf files. Enable Removable Storage Management feature (RSM) for running NTbackup on Windows 7. If you are successfully able to install on Windows 7 then you can easily restore your bkf file without any issue.

2 – Second method is little bit complex, this method will be successful only when you try to restore backup form external hard drive (the backup created in Windows XP). In such cases, just completely copy bkf file from external hard drive to the “XPMuser” profile inside documents and settings. Once you do it, then you can run NTbackup utility and try to fix and restore your backup (.bkf) files.

Final solution

Most probably above two solutions are able to solve this error message. But in some situations it may not solve your problem and still you may face the same error. So, in this case you must use the expert recommended software that is BKF File Repair tool. It is one of the excellent and appropriate tool that is specifically designed for repairing and restoring any kind of corruption or errors related to backup (.bkf) files that was earlier not accessible. With the help of this tool you can easily repair corrupt BKF files created in Windows XP by using NTBackup and which throw error message ‘The Backup File Contains Unrecognized Data and Cannot Be Used.’ The other feature of this bkf repair tool is that it automatically searches for BKF file store in system and detects the corruption and helps you in fixing the problems. So, use BKF file repair tool and say good bye to any kinds or corruption related to bkf files.

steps to fix the error:

Step 1: Select a file from the ‘Select File’ option or a folder by clicking ‘Select Folder’ or to find the file click on the ‘Find File’ option.

Step 2: List of selected file is displayed. Select the BKF file from list that you want to repair or to select all files mark the ‘Select All’ checkbox and on the ‘Scan’ button.

Step 3: Preview of the scanned file can be seen by clicking on the file in both ‘Full document; and ‘Filtered text’ formats by clicking the tab given on the middle pane of the window.

Step 4: Once the files are selected to recover, select destination folder where you want to safe those files.

Step 5: To repair click on ‘Start Repair’ option. Select the option for saving your file from ‘Save Document’ dialog box and press ‘Ok’ button.