WordPad issue

It may be helpful if you can post a sample file.

Oscar Hotel said:

What does that mean exactly please ?

Thank you, Oscar

How do I reproduce this issue on my PC to test for this problem is what I'm trying to get to?

Oscar Hotel said:

I"m still not understanding what your asking for. I"m going to guess you want me to post an actual file with the problem I showing on the screen shot ?

Oscar

yes. but make sure it doesn't contain any personal information that you don't want to share with the whole world please.

Oscar Hotel said:

The problem is these are files that have been backed up then reinstalled. I can't read any of these. If I try to make a new file it does not give me the same problem.

What extension do these files have? What did you use to back them up?

Oscar Hotel said:

The problem is these are files that have been backed up then reinstalled. I can't read any of these. If I try to make a new file it does not give me the same problem.

Possible corruption either in backup step, or in restore step.

As asked above, file type/extension (extension, you may have to turn on the reveal for this option - File Explorer > View > Options (pulldown) > Change folder and search options > View tab > untick Hide extensions for known file types .. and leave it unticked, don't know why MS insist on hiding this integral part of the filename from users!)

Why Word Pad? If you don't have MS Word, download and install the free office suite LibreOffice. Try to open the document(s) in Libre Writer (word processing program)