Handling of SFX RAR multi-volume archives.

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gworley
Posts: 16
Joined: 30 Mar 2006, 04:33

Handling of SFX RAR multi-volume archives.

Post by gworley »

WinRAR version 3.90 beta 5 can create self-extracting multi-volume archives. I have quite a few of them. The files are like the following:

rar.part1.exe
rar.part2.rar
rar.part3.rar
rar.part4.rar

I accidentally double click on "rar.part3.rar" and was ask for the first volume and I decided to see if Salamander could handle multi-volume SFX files and got an error that file could not be found. I then noticed that the file extension was RAR so change to EXE and worked as expected. Could there be code in place so that one doesn't have to actually to remember to change the extension on from RAR to EXE? I.E. A check to see if .EXE file is available if the RAR file isn't?


Thank you in advance,

George
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Ether
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Re: Handling of SFX RAR multi-volume archives.

Post by Ether »

Just of curiosity, what's the purpose of self-extracting multi-volume archives? It's not very usual and I can't think of any use for this combination right now.
Ελληνικά rulez.
gworley
Posts: 16
Joined: 30 Mar 2006, 04:33

Re: Handling of SFX RAR multi-volume archives.

Post by gworley »

There are several reasons one might want multiple volume SFX files. Some legit and some not legit. I use it for for backup purposes or to transfer to CD-ROM and transport to another computer which may or may not have any form of RAR decompressor on the computer. Sort of using it as a "installer"

Some other uses which may or may not be ligit are split on file share services like RapidShare or Sendspace. I don't condone nor do I condemn the trading of copyrighted material but some people use it as such.

There are Online backup services that limit the size of files that you can store but the computer that you may want to restore may not have anything to decompress the files.

George
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Ether
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Re: Handling of SFX RAR multi-volume archives.

Post by Ether »

gworley wrote:another computer which may or may not have any form of RAR decompressor on the computer. Sort of using it as a "installer"
gworley wrote:the computer that you may want to restore may not have anything to decompress the files.
Unfortunately, I can't agree with you in this area. I believe that a] every computer should have a "RAR decompressor"[*][/size] and you should install one wherever there isn't any. Or if you really don't want to mess with the computer, b] you should have a portable tool to supplement this functionality for the moment.

However, seeing that people use self-extracting multi-volume archives (I've never seen one, though I have no reason not to believe you), I support your feature request with a +0.5.

*] I recommend 7-zip which supports a lot of file formats and features a user-friendly interface. It's open-source and free for use.
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