Solved my .jnt file shows symbols and characters instead of letters

trvlr May 3, 2020 at 04:53:55

Were (are) these documents created in MS-Word and saved in .doc format?

I've found the answer already. The thing was that when I had updated to windows 8.1, my Microsoft windows journal also got deleted. That built-in journal was the only thing capable of turning it back to normal. So when I had re-downloaded the journal, everything was fixed. Thank you very much and have a nice day. PS: It took me 7 hours of research to find the solution.

trvlr May 3, 2020 at 09:52:37

Tak for feedback/update. Possibly someone else may find this thread anon, via whatever search engine, and find your info. very helpful. Can take time sometimes to find and fix what ails after an update... So well dun ... Incidentally is it possible/practical to make duplicates of these files, which can be preserved elsewhere and in Word format (I’d use .doc as it’s still universally supported; and/or use rtf format toO for duplicates/backups)?

Apologies, I don't think I fully understood you. And yes I think it might be a good idea to store or save important files into a USB or into other applications like Word etc..., in case an app goes awry as you will always have a backup file somewhere.

riider May 3, 2020 at 11:03:04

I'm curious why you chose Win8.1 instead of Win10? It's still available for free. Luckily Win8.1 will still be supported for about 3 more years. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us... Windows Journal was discontinued several years ago. Besides being obsolete, its biggest drawback is that no other programs can read JNT files. I highly suggest you find something else to use. The following wikipedia article recommends OneNote. This statement in the article should be a concern as well: "On August 9, 2016, Microsoft released another patch (KB3161102) to remove Windows Journal from Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 due to the Windows Journal file format (Journal Note File, or JNT) being susceptible to security exploits" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windo...

trvlr May 3, 2020 at 13:25:51

@ Hasnat: Tak = thank you (in my childhood dialect and also in Swedish...). I like to play with words occasionally - as some here will have noted in the past...

I didn't know Windows 10 was still free, i had seen a few websites where you had to pay to acquire Windows 10. And i had updated from Windows 8 to 8.1 because my laptop had suggested it to me. I'm wondering if updating my laptop to Windows 10 will delete some files or applications. I wouldn't want an episode like this to repeat and am very reluctant to start messing with updates again. I have essential files which are all JNT files and if upgraded to Windows 10, i might lose the ability to access and view these files because maybe i would also lose Microsoft Windows Journal.

riider May 3, 2020 at 15:10:09

✔ Best Answer

Unless you don't care about security, you shouldn't be using Windows Journal at all. If you read the wikipedia article, you'll see this: "Microsoft offers the ability to reinstall Journal and a tool for converting Journal files to OneNote files". https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/ar... As for installing Windows 10, all you need to do is go to Microsoft.com & get it. I have no idea how it might affect what you have installed. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/sof...

Thx, will do so.

trvlr May 3, 2020 at 15:25:29

For safety... before you do anything else with the current system - be it upgrade to win-10 or dowhatever.. Duplicate all those precious JNT files, any other important files too - to external media. That ideally is another (external) HDD, and/or DVD. Carefully check the duplicates before doing anything to the system as is. And do not use flash drives (USB sticks) as they are not the best to trust with critical items at any time...

Noted. Thanks for the heads up.