Read a corrupt PDF

Wig

I am involved in a thread here on MSE with a user needing to read a corrupt PDF file. I told the user to ask here but for whatever reason they don't want to take that advice.

I have recovered a deleted PDF file from my own harddrive just to see if I can do it myself. I'd like to do this for my own satisfaction now.

Basically I need either some windows software which can peer inside a file and make sense of it - preferably designed for work with a PDF file. Alternatively some DOS software which will do the same thing.

superscaper

What have you used to try and read it? Have you tried Foxit reader?

I've sometimes found that alternative apps can sometimes read corrupted files or at least open them when the mainstream apps (Adobe Reader in this case) can't.

Wig

I edited in DOS and just got a load of code.

I searched the internet and found someone had some success using xpdf on a linux machine, but I haven't got linux, and the cygnif(? or whatever it was called) software for windows to create an xwindows platform is apparently a long install, so I'm not going to try.

I then got hold of acroreader 2 and that gave me the error message, file does not begin with %pdf.

I also read the conversion program pdf2word (from soliddocuments) can recover the data in the conversion process, but it doesn't work on win98.

I also read the same idea using one called pdf2ps. I haven't looked for this one yet.

foxit also does not work on Win98. Of course the other mse user probably won't have Win98.

currently installing pdf2word V1.6 which does work with Win98. Dunno of it is the same company as the soliddocuments one.