How to Change the File Type From NCO
By Shea Laverty
The NCO file format is a compressed backup file used by Nero's BackItUp software. If your business needs to get at the data in these files, generally it can be restored within BackItUp. Because of the NCO format's usage of ZIP data compression technology, NCO files can easily be converted outside of BackItUp with a quick rename and a ZIP archive extractor.
Press "Windows-E" to open a Windows Explorer window. Navigate to the folder containing the target NCO file.
Click on the file once so it is selected, and then right-click on the file. A context menu opens.
Select "Rename" from the menu and replace the ".nco" file extension with the ".zip" extension. Press "Enter" to accept the change. If a warning about changing the filename appears, confirm the change.
Open the file with your preferred ZIP extractor and extract the files. The NCO files will behave just like a fully functional ZIP file and contain all of the backup data, allowing you access to the file's contents and effectively converting the file into the more universally used ZIP format.
Tips
Use this trick to transport backup data to systems that aren't installed with Nero's BackItUp, or to retrieve data after discontinuing use of the program.
Any ZIP extractor will do, and many are available for free. All versions of Windows after XP also feature the ability to explore and extract ZIP files directly from Windows Explorer.
Warnings
Be sure that you've correctly changed the file extension. A simple typo can render the file unusable until you properly rename it.