Windows
Old email file opened as squares because it had the wrong file extension
An old email file would open as squares instead of readable content. The technician determined the file was saved with the wrong extension and fixed it by changing the email file from .DOC to .MSG so it could open in Outlook.
Killed once by someone from XL.net, on 2025-11-17.
Affects
Apps
- Outlook
What you see
- Opening the old email shows squares instead of the message content.
Why it happens
Likely The email was saved with an incorrect file type/extension, with the file ending in .DOC instead of .MSG.
When it shows up
An old saved email file opens in Outlook but the message contents display as squares or unreadable characters, and the file extension is .DOC instead of .MSG.
You are in this case if:
- The affected file has a .DOC extension even though it is an email message file.
- The file opens in Outlook after being renamed to .MSG.
- No repair was recorded beyond changing the extension.
1 fix below
The steps that killed it
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Someone from XL.net killed this on a Windows computer on 2025-11-17. It is written up from that one repair, so it cites no outside page.