Opening custom .CABs, .ZIPs, .Zs?

[Pace]

Just looking at some application setup files and they all seem to use custom compression formats, yet use the same naming convention - do these comply to standards and is it possible to view them?

Thanks,

Paul.

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[Jammrock]

When a company packages files in a CAB, DAT, ACE, MSI, RAR or whatever, many times they will use standard compression schemes but they will be password protected, encrypted or use proprietary zip/unzippers. The install program will have the key, password or program needed to unpack the files.

How do I know? You can get unpackers on the web for most compression schemes out there. Just need to know where to look.

Jammrock

[fds]

No, they do not use the Microsoft standard CAB format if they don't open in archivers which support CAB.

Most of the time it's in some custom format of the installer package they used. <a href="http://www.installshield.com">InstallShield</a> is very common, or there's VISE installer, and a lot more.

MSI is Microsoft's finally standardized Windows Installer package format. (Yet most companies keep using the proprietary installer packages.)

There are some tools on the net which let you extract some of them without running the installer. <a href="http://156.17.4.138/~mwd/playtools/file-packers/i5comp.zip">i5comp</a>, <a href="http://156.17.4.138/~mwd/playtools/file-packers/icompx.zip">icompx</a> for example for some versions of InstallShield. The newest ones aren't supported by these.

Note that most of the installer packages don't intend to behave quite like regular archives, often the file names and folder paths are found in a file seperate from the compressed data.

[fds]

Here's <a href="ftp://ftp.bke.hu/pub/mirrors/sac/pack/i6comp.zip">i6comp</a> for a newer installshield.

[This message has been edited by fds (edited 03 December 2000).]

[Pace]

Thanks guys, getting those links at the moment!

Oh, and Jammrock, want to enlighten me any further?

Paul.

[DosFreak]

Thanks for the links guys. Been looking for those for awhile but forgot about it.

So much software to organize! AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!! !!!!!

[Jammrock]

What I normally do is go to www.google.com and type in the program name and archive file type for search criteria. Somewhere burried in the replies will be a hack for it. Can't say more than that, but it's there. If you're looking to run odd video/audio files, do the same.

Jammrock