I believe the file may be corrupt, but this is the message that I get:
The StuffIt Engine was unable to determine the file format.
I tried Unarchiver, but that could not help either.
Any thoughts?
Thank you.
MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 15.5
Well, here's my update.
Went to an old "classic" machine, as you recommended. On my Rev A iMac, I went to Macintosh Garden and downloaded Stuffit 7.0.3.
After installing it, I dragged the erring stuffed file onto the Stuffit icon, and got this dialogue:
"An error has occurred while expanding the file 'Illustrations.sit' (Format error).
Error #17540"
Any thoughts? Opinions? Is there a database somewhere explaining these cryptic error numbers?
Thanks.
[Edited by Moderator]
Well, it may be too late to work on a copy (although I may have copies of this file on DVD archives somewhere). However, today I went to my Rev A iMac running OS 9.1, and downloaded an archived installer for Stuffit 5.5 (or some version of 5). I tried v7, but I was told that I lacked the software, I think, to decompress the installer. Yay. So, I tried v5.
Anyway, that took more time than I anticipated, so I will be following up, probably in a few days, with this thread and let you know what's going on.
Thanks for your time!
Sorry, without knowing anything about the original file (and the exact utility/version used to compress it), I will just have to guess here.
Is it possible that a non-StuffIt compression (or a PC) utility has been used at an earlier stage? Possibly an intermediate file later "double-wrapped" by a StuffIt application?
Also, one should perhaps not rule out that an original (or intermediate) file actually is damaged.
BTW, you would just need StuffIt Expander for a normal .sit file decompression. Something like StuffIt Expander 5.5 should be OK for a file from 1997.
I did use Stuffit Expander here. That's where the error message came from. It's not "double-wrapped", because it was only the one compression op I did.
I used Stuffit back in '97, on a Mac, but what version I could not possibly say.
I found that this is not an uncommon problem, as there are threads online about this. I'll explore those avenues.
Thanks for giving it a shot :D
Keith
Any details about the original file(s), the transfer media, and the modern equipment used?
It is usually difficult (or not possible) to decompress/open an old .sit (or .sea) file on a modern computer without damaging the contents.
In this case, the best way may be to look for a pre-1998 Macintosh computer with an appropriate StuffIt Expander version to be used for a decompression attempt.
Generally speaking, if old Macintosh files (compressed or not) are on floppy disks, make sure that each floppy is locked (write-protected) before trying to do anything. Make a copy (preferably, sector-copied) from the original (locked) floppy disk. Work on the copy only.
Thank you for the information.
Good luck!
In my best Bugs Bunny, Tanx Mac!
Unable to Open Stuffit File from 1997
