Kodak Picture discs - .KQP files?

WetGeek

When I cleaned out long-forgotten stuff in a closet, I came across some 3.5" stiffy disks from a photo processor, with digitized photos from 1997. As it happens, I have a 3.5" external USB drive, so I was able to copy those files to our Photos share on the NAS, but viewing them is an entirely different matter.

Neither a Budgie computer nor a Plasma computer contains any kind of viewer by default that understands .KQP files. I would have bet money that Gwenview could handle them, but no such luck.

Is anyone else here old enough to have taken photos in 1997 and had them developed somewhere that returned such a disk along with the photos? Have you managed to discover a Linux utility that would display their contents? If so, please tell me what worked for you. I'm going to try GIMP next, but I'm not optimistic.

WetGeek

As I thought, GIMP wouldn't admit to knowing anything about these files, either.

I even tried opening them on my Windows 10 VM, without success. I know for a fact that it's a Windows format, but apparently one that's been deprecated, probably long ago.

Even if nobody knows for sure what would work with these files, I'm open to suggestions of what might open them. GIMP and Gwenview are about all I know of when it comes to Linux imaging applications. There are probably others, one of which might work. Maybe a conversion utility that might change these to a more common format?

Thanks in advance for any help with this. It's hard for me to believe that accessing digitized photos could be so problematic, even those that were digitized 25 years ago.

atriaze

WetGeek I believe XnView is ok

https://www.solvusoft.com/fr/file-extensions/file-extension-kqp/

Otherwise watch with darktable

brent

I'm seeing trashy free/bloatware downloads that will convert the kqp...could install one of those in WIN.

open source I'm not sure. you might have to try one at a time. It's niche file but their might be a niche program for it.

or..........you could experiment with faking out the extensions (.png .jpeg etc) and see if they take?
Interesting project
kqp turns up nothing in SC.
but 'photo' in SC turns up Darktable, gnome-picures, raw therapee, shotwell....is any of them written to see a Konica-created 90s era file? Seems doubtful

Staudey

Just found this post where the author installed a Windows XP VM to convert them with an old program (PC PictureShow)

https://www.partsnotincluded.com/converting-konica-quality-photo-kqp-files/

Edit: One of the comments says:

Actually, looking on the web, I found a link to pcps5.exe that installed on my Windows 10 computer. So I can convert them.

brent

Staudey we read this at the same time.
"Since the Konica software doesn’t run on Windows 10, our best option is to install an older version of Windows – either on a computer of that vintage, or in this case on a modern computer using “virtualization” technology.

I followed this handy guide to download the “Windows XP Mode” files from Microsoft and create a virtual machine running Windows XP for free with Oracle VirtualBox. Although Windows XP is just outside of our supported software window having launched in the fall of 2001, it’s still old enough to support the Konica program without issue."

He states at the beginning of article that he tried a million methods including 3rd party but nothing opened these pics except konica software...for now?

WetGeek

I think I've found a solution. XnView is an image processing application that's free to use without buying a license, unless you're a company. It's cross-platform, and available as a .DEB or an AppImage. It even includes batch processing functionality.

This will be the first time I've used an AppImage, so it's a good day. I'll be learning something.

WetGeek

Thanks for everyone's replies. When I looked on appimage.org to figure out what to do with the file I downloaded, I was encouraged by this message: "Download an application, make it executable, and run! No need to install. No system libraries or system preferences are altered. Can also run in a sandbox like Firejail"

But the file permissions already included X, and double-clicking on the file in Dolphin did nothing at all. Trying to launch it in a terminal didn't work, either. What did appimage.org get wrong?

brent

WetGeek asfaik you have to manually change the permissions for appimages before you use them (properties, root).

WetGeek

brent you have to manually change the permissions

This is its status as I downloaded it:

As I indicated, it was already marked as executable, so I didn't change anything yet. Are you saying that I need to change the ownership to root? Would that be root:root?

brent

WetGeek not saying that. looks like you did it right

I've had appimages not launch anyway before so I got rid of em. unsure what the case it here

WetGeek

brent looks like you did it right

I didn't do anything at all, except download it. Maybe someone else will have a clue. I sure don't. 😀

WetGeek

More on this. Here's the problem from when I tried to execute this in the terminal, and tried to install a missing library with eopkg.
"System error. Program terminated. Repo item libkrb5.so.3 not found"

Silversurfer

Hi I just tested appimage, and after you have done it executable you have to right click the file and do Run..then it should start. Ijust tested and it worked with Tutanota and also Xnview..solus budgie..

WetGeek

Silversurfer I just tested and it worked with Tutanota and also Xnview..solus budgie..

Thanks for your reply. I just tried that on my Plasma laptop. When I right-clicked the file in Dolphin, there was no "Run" command, but there was a "Run in terminal" item. Clicking that invoked this error message:
"/tmp/.mount_XnViewVwsg7V/usr/XnView/XnView: symbol lookup error: /usr/lib/libkrb5.so.3: undefined symbol: k5_buf_free, version krb5support_0_MIT"

That's the library I tried to install with eopkg, but it wasn't found in the repository.

brent

saw a flatpak package available via terminal

WetGeek

I also downloaded the .DEB version of XnView, thinking I could build a VM that's Debian-based and run it from there. But I'd really like to display the pictures on our TV, so my wife and I could view them there. However, I don't really want to install VirtualBox on the media computer and create the VM there.

About all I can think of at this point is to install the .DEB file on a VM that I create on my laptop, and use its conversion ability to convert the .KQP files to a modern format that Linux can deal with on the media machine. This project is getting close to exceeding my interest in viewing these files.

And it's doing nothing to get me interested in AppImage files.

Silversurfer

hmm strange, I Found this;
Go into your Dolphin preferences, go to the Confirmations tab, and select "Ask for confirmation in all KDE applications when: Executing scripts or desktop files".
What they don't tell you is that if you uncheck that option it simply prevents you from executing them at all. I know - it's not what I expected either and I only just now learned it does that while trying to recreate your issue.

WetGeek

Silversurfer select "Ask for confirmation in all KDE applications when: Executing scripts or desktop files"

I'm not seeing what you described. Perhaps we have different versions of Dolphin? Here's where I am:

Should I look somewhere else to find what you described? This seems to be consistent with what I saw when I double-clicked on the file in Dolphin. I got a small window with choices of "Run" and "Cancel." When I selected "Run," nothing happened. No error, just no execution.

WetGeek

So, I created an Ubuntu Budgie VM, and tried to install the .DEB file there. Got a "not supported" error. I think this has finally exceeded my interest in viewing these files. I downloaded both XnView files from the creator's web site, not a third party. The .appimage file appears to be looking for a missing libraary and won't run. The .DEB file won't install on a Ubuntu system.

Again, thanks to everyone who tried to help, but this has just turned into too much of a project for me at this time.

Axios

WetGeek https://discuss.getsol.us/d/3960-xnviewmp-and-xnviewconvert
Or maybe fire up one your vm and install xnview sure one of them may have it just to see if it works
I think its an appimage problem if it dont launch did you get the appimage from there website?