What Is a CFB File?

CFB files are created when Disk Drill can’t determine for sure if the recovered item is XLS, XLSX, DOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX or other MS Office file after a Deep Scan.

CFB stands for “Microsoft Compound File Binary”. If you come across such files after successful recovery, try renaming them with the file type they originally were:

1. Right-click on the document and select Get Info.
2. Click the arrow next to Name & Extension.
3. Change the name so that it ends with a period and the correct file extension. For instance, if you know it should be a Microsoft Word document, change it to “filexyz.docx” (or “filexyz.doc” if you’re working with an older version of Word) and close the window.
4. When the dialog box pops up, confirm that you want to change the extension.
5. Double-click on the file to open it.

We are working on improving our file type detection algorithms. Based on our tests, in 90% of recovery scenarios Disk Drill is able to detect the correct type of the MS Office file. But if you get a CFB file, renaming it often solves the problem. If it doesn’t, it’s possible that the recovered file was corrupted. See Troubleshooting Scan Results for more information on opening recovered files.