A RAR file (short for a Roshal Archive Compressed file) is a compressed file, or data container, that holds one or more other files and folders inside of it.
Think of a RAR file like a regular folder on your computer, where there are sometimes many other files and folders inside of it for the purpose of organizing them.
However, unlike a normal folder, a RAR file needs special software (more on this below) to open and 'extract' out the contents.
Most file extensions are pronounced as their individual letters, but RAR is usually treated as a word itself and pronounced as 'rahr.'
What Are RAR Files Used For?
You'll probably only run into a RAR file when you're downloading computer software. File sharing websites and software distributors sometimes put their files in a RAR file so that they can compress it down to a smaller size, allowing you to download it faster than you otherwise could.
Apart from just saving on download time, RAR files can also be protected with a password and encrypted so that the contents inside of them stay hidden unless you know the password. Think of this like a little-locked box full of data, with the password being the key.
Most RAR files won't have a password protecting them, being used to store images, documents, videos, or whatever type of file the author wanted.
Another time a RAR file might be useful is when a friend has a long list of files they want to share with you, like photos, for example. Instead of having you download every single image file individually, your friend can first compile the photos into a RAR file and then share just that one file with you.
Once you open a RAR file, you can extract out the data from the inside and then use the files like you would any other file on you computer.
How to Open a RAR File
Windows computers don't have a baked-in ability to open RAR files. If you double-click or double-tap a RAR file without having specific software installed to open it, you'll probably see one of the following messages: 'Windows cannot open this file' or 'How do you want to open this type of file (.rar)?'.
RAR is actually the native format of an archive program called WinRAR. The only problem with using WinRAR is that it's not free! Before you run off and buy it, however, you should know that there are plenty of free RAR openers that can do the exact same thing but at zero cost.
I've used a lot of un-RAR tools and, in my opinion, the best is the free 7-Zip program.
Some RAR files are multipart files and are named something like 123.part1.rar, 123.part2.rar, etc. Those types of RAR files should also be able to open with the programs I mention below.
Download 7-Zip. Once installed, you should set it up to automatically associate itself with RAR files so that, going forward, you'll be able to just double-click or double-tap a RAR file anywhere on your computer and it'll open automatically in 7-Zip.
Do this by opening 7-Zip File Manager after installing the program in Windows. From the Tools menu in 7-Zip, choose Options.., and then select rar in the list of file types. Then click on the Plus button for either the current user or all users (or both). A little disk icon will appear next to rar in the list. Save the changes with the OK button.
If after doing this, 7-Zip still doesn't open RAR files when you double-click them, see How Do I Change the Default Program for a Specific File Extension? for help. If you go this route, you'll need to know the install location of 7-Zip File Manager, which on most computers will be 'C:Program Files (x86)7-Zip7zFM.exe'.
You can also open RAR files with 7-Zip by right-clicking on them and choosing 7-Zip > Open archive from the pop-up context menu.
Note: If you're dealing with multipart RAR files, first select all the different parts of the RAR file and then right-click one of them. From that menu, choose 7-Zip > Extract files.
More Free Programs That Can Open RAR Files
7-Zip isn't the only free program that can open RAR files. PeaZip and jZip are two alternative RAR openers.
Mac users should be able to download and use Keka, The Unarchiver, or RAR Extractor Free to unload RAR files.
Another method is to use Unzip-Online, which lets you open RAR files without having any software installed, thanks to the fact that it works through your web browser.
More download links to free RAR extractors can be found in this list of free file extractor programs.
WinZip Free is often suggested as a free RAR opener, but it's really just trialware. There's no reason to use trial software or buy a RAR extractor when there are plenty of completely free ones, many of which I mentioned above.
Cracking a Password Protected RAR File
As I mentioned above, some RAR files can be secured behind a password. With those RAR files, you'll need to enter a password before you can unpack the files out of the archive.
One problem with password protecting a RAR file is that you may have made your own RAR archive and secured it with a password, but have since forgotten what that password is! This is where a RAR password cracker comes in handy.
One particularly effective, and completely free, program that can break the password on a RAR file is RAR Password Cracker Expert. It can use a brute force and/or a dictionary attack (with included wordlists) to attempt every possible angle at recovering the password. Lots of different options let you customize how the different attacks should work.
If the above program isn't able to unlock your RAR file, you should give Free RAR Password Recovery a try. It uses brute force to make guessing attempts at the password. It supports trying numbers, symbols, capital letters, latin, and spaces.
How to Convert a RAR File
To convert a RAR file means to change it from a file with the RAR extension to a file with a different extension, usually 7Z, ZIP, LGH, TGZ, TAR, CAB, or some other archive format.
Before we get too far into RAR converting, I want to clarify something important. There's no converting from a RAR file to a non-zipped format. Spend much time searching around for RAR files and you'll see search suggestions like 'RAR to MP3 converter' or 'RAR to PDF converter' .. none of which actually exist!
Like I've already talked about, a RAR file is similar to a folder that contains other files. If your RAR file contains MP3 files, for example, you must open the RAR file, not convert it, to get the MP3s. See the How to Open a RAR File section above to learn how to actually unpack the MP3s (or PDFs, or whatever is in the RAR file that you want access to).
Now, if converting a RAR file to a ZIP or 7Z file (other archive formats) is actually what you want to do, keep reading.. there are a few ways to do this.
Free RAR Converters
The quickest and most effective method to converting a RAR to ZIP, or any other common archive format, is a free file converter like Zamzar or FileZigZag. These two RAR converters are online services, which means you just upload the RAR file to the website and then download the converted file.
A free online RAR converter is perfect if the RAR file you're working with is small, but you probably don't want to use an online converter on a large RAR file. You'd first have to wait for the RAR file to upload and then wait for the converted file to download, something that might take quite a while for a really large file.
If you're converting a large RAR file, I recommend using a free tool like IZArc. It's super easy to convert a RAR to 7Z, or one of several other archive file formats, from IZArc's Tools menu.
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How to Make a RAR File
Finding a free tool that can build a RAR file isn't as easy as finding one that can open RAR files. This is because software developers must have explicit permission from Alexander Roshal (the copyright owner) in order to re-create the RAR compression algorithm.
The best suggestion I have for creating a RAR file is to use the trial version of WinRAR. Though it's a timed trial, technically valid for less than 30 days, it's the easiest way to build a new RAR file.
We would generally recommend that you choose not to compress files in the RAR format, mostly because there are so many other, more widely available, compression formats, like ZIP and 7Z.
More Information on RAR Files
Though you probably won't ever find one this large, the maximum file size of any RAR file is just under 8 exbibytes. That's over 9 million terabytes!
Chrome OS is one operating system that natively supports RAR file extractions, much like how Windows natively supports unpacking ZIP archives. This means Chrome OS can get files out of a RAR file without using any third-party software.
About 4 months ago I added few of my important files in .rar folder. But now, after this long time when I need them I am unable to open it. The file is showing that the file header is corrupted. So now, what can be done to extract my RAR files back?
At times, it often happens that your RAR files refuse to open because they are corrupted or broken. RAR, or Roshal ARchive, is a file archive containing single or multiple files that are compressed with the .rar file extension. This RAR file archive is commonly used as a compressed file on the Internet for file-sharing purposes. If you want to see the contents of this RAR file, you will have to unzip the .rar file i.e. extract the file. However, in case your RAR file is corrupt, it may be impossible to open it unless you repair it.
How to extract corrupted RAR files?
Fortunately, WinRAR allows you to extract corrupt RAR files manually. Follow the steps below to fix the RAR file:
Once this procedure is carried out, you will be able to see the files that are extracted. However, this process works well for partial files and for those with some minor issues. At times, even when the RAR file is fixed, all files can’t be extracted. Moreover, if this process fails, there are more chances of corrupting the RAR file furthermore. Hence, the attempts of repair do not yield much with this manual way. So now, how to fix this corrupted .rar file? Don’t worry; you can make use of the best Remo Repair RAR tool that has been specifically designed to fix such corrupt RAR files.
Some of the Exciting features of Remo Repair RAR
Remo Repair RAR is finest and the best utility that is equipped with many advanced algorithms that could easily repair your corrupt RAR file on all the versions of Windows OS like Windows 10, Windows 8 and 8.1, Windows 7, Vista, Windows Server 2003 & 2008, Windows 2000, XP with utmost care. In the process of repair, the tool creates a new RAR and hence, just extracts the contents from the old corrupt file, saves it in the new file and repairs the file. Thus, your source file will never be edited, it remains as it is. Hence, the app is referred as Read-only tool. Some of the features of this app are:
Guidelines to Extract Corrupt RAR file
Step1: Download and install Remo Repair RAR software on your Windows machines
Step 2: Use the “Browse” button to locate and select your RAR file as in
Step 3: Click on the “Repair” button to begin repair process as depicted in
Step 4: With this, the software will start scanning the RAR file and once the repair process is over press 'Next'
Step 5: Then window will appear asking for the destination location to save lost data, just click on the 'Select Folder' button to choose the destination path as showed in
Step 6: Select the location and click the 'Save' button to save all your lost data
Additional Info: Are you worried about how to fix damaged files? Don't worry, just click on the given link to learn the file repair process.
Ever received an email attachment or been required to download a file with the .rar suffix, and wondered how it should be openedHow To Open Strange File Types In WindowsHow To Open Strange File Types In WindowsComputers know thousands of different file formats. Sometimes, both you and Windows are clueless as to how to open a strange file. Here is how you can figure out how to open those files.Read More?
You’re not alone. Fortunately, managing ZIP files and other compressed archives is simple and over the years functionality has been integrated into Windows.
Whether you’re looking for answers about ZIP files, RAR, 7z or other common archive types, the steps for unzipping and extracting the contents are the same.
Different Types Of Archive CompressionRar Opener Online
Although ZIP files are probably the most common form of document data compression, several others are in use. You might have seen files with an icon that resembles a pile of books or coloured folders, for instance. This is a RAR file, and for several years RAR and ZIP were considered competitors. Latterly, RAR files became synonymous with filesharing/download services such as eDonkey, which probably damaged the reputation of the compression service. Here it was used to compress entire ISO disc image files.
Another compression system is 7-Zip, which came along as a surprising new alternative a couple of years ago and has established itself as a viable and popular alternative to ZIP and RAR.
Uncompressing archives is uncomplicated thanks to mature user interfaces and years of development. As such, it should be simple to unzip or extract data from archives, as well as to decide where the data is going to be placed.
How to Unzip an Archive in Windows
Windows users don’t need to install any additional software to unzip a ZIP archive. Since Windows ME, the functionality to extract ZIP files has been included in the operating system.
If you have a ZIP file you can explore the contents in Windows Explorer – simply double click as you would with any folder to view the “zipped” files.
Depending upon the contents of the ZIP file, you may want to unzip, or extract the files within. You can do this by right-clicking the ZIP file and selecting Extract all…, deciding where to unzip the files to. Note that the default location has the same name as the ZIP file, but without the .zip file extension.
Windows 8.x users can select the ZIP file and use the contextual Extract tab in Windows Explorer, where you will find an Extract all button.
In both cases, the alternative is to extract an individual file or subfolder, which can be done by dragging the item from the ZIP archive to a new folder.
Prior to Windows incorporating support for ZIP files, WinZip was a popular choice for installation and it remains an option that you can install on your computer, and is available from www.winzip.com with a free trial. As Windows has its own ZIP tool built into Windows Explorer, this version is really only for anyone who requires more control over the compression and unzipping of files, and the ability to manage other archive types such as RAR files or encrypt data.
Extract Data From a RAR File
If you have RAR files on your system then you will be unable to open them with Windows Explorer. Instead, can use the WinRAR utility from www.rarlab.com/download.htm or 7-Zip introduced below.
WinRAR offers support for other file formats, including ZIP, 7-Zip (see below), CAB, GZip, TAR and even ISO. You can use the setup screen to toggle which of these is supported within your installed version (this can be changed later), along with determining which items are included in the context menu. (If this slows down Windows Explorer, you can edit or remove these).
Options within the WinRAR app include tools for viewing and finding files, as well as a virus check. Overall, RAR is a more flexible way of compressing data and managing archivesWhy RAR Is Better Than ZIP & The Best RAR Software AvailableWhy RAR Is Better Than ZIP & The Best RAR Software AvailableRAR files are smaller, easier to split and easier to recover than ZIP files. These three features mean RAR files are better than ZIP, even though ZIP files are far more common. If you use..Read More, as Justin Pot explained.
WinRAR is paid software, and after the trial nag screen will ask you to upgrade to the paid version every time you run the software. To get around this, right-click your RAR files and select one of the Extract options, which automatically unpacks the archive.
Of course if you use the software regularly, we suggest you pay the reasonable €29,95 license. Or you could use the next tool.
How to Extract Files From 7-Zip
Unlike WinRAR and WinZIP, 7-Zip is free and available from www.7-zip.org (our 7-Zip review7Zip: A Free Program to Unzip Uncommon Archive Formats7Zip: A Free Program to Unzip Uncommon Archive FormatsRead More).
This isn’t the only reason to like it, however. For Windows users, it is the best universal option, capable of dealing with its proprietary format as well as ZIP, RAR, TAR, Gzip and other files.
Unzipping archives using 7-Zip is happily easy. The utility will integrate itself into the context menu in Windows, enabling you to use the options such as Open archive, Extract files…, Extract here, Extract to “[filename]” by simply right-clicking the archive and selecting 7-Zip, as illustrated.
If you don’t need to use RAR files and have plenty of ZIP archives, but occasionally need to open other formats, 7-Zip is probably the best option; it also has a better compression ratio (2-10%) than WinZip.
Unlike WinZip and WinRAR, 7-Zip’s additional features, beyond compression and extraction, are limited, but it remains a good choice.
The Other File Archive Tools
Although 7z, WinZip and WinRAR are the most widely-used file compression tools for WindowsWhat’s The Best File Compression Method? MakeUseOf Tests Zip, RAR & MoreWhat’s The Best File Compression Method? MakeUseOf Tests Zip, RAR & MoreFile compression is an important and common task users frequently ask of their computers. Reducing a file’s size makes it easier to email or place on a flash drive. It also reduces bandwidth usage and..Read More, others are available. Most notable among these are:
With each of these, the principle concerning compressing and extracting the data remains the same. If you can extract data from a ZIP, RAR or 7z file, you should be able to do the same with a .pea, .tar or .gzip archive with no trouble. Of course, you probably wouldn’t be able to do much in Windows with uncompressed TAR or GZIP archives unless it was something like a MySQL database.
While we’re talking about other platforms, Mac OS X users can adopt UnarchiverUnzip Any Archive Using The Unarchiver [Mac]Unzip Any Archive Using The Unarchiver [Mac]Quickly extract practically any compressed file on the planet. If you're a Mac user, and Apple's default unzip tool is struggling to open an archived file, it's time to install the ultimate tool for the..Read More, a universal archive extractor that can handle ZIP, 7z, TAR, CAB, even EXE, MSI and BIN (all of which are archives used for installing or running programs.).
Comic Book Files Are Archives
Comic book viewing apps use the CBZ and CBR formats. These are just renamed ZIP and RAR files, collections of images compressed using either application.
You should be able to open a CBZ or CBR file using the corresponding software. CBZ files can be opened with WinZip, and CBR files with WinRAR. If you have trouble with this, select the file and rename the file extension to .zip or .rar first, then try again.
As you might have guessed, the ease with which this can be done means that you can make your own comic book reader files. You can find more about this in our guide to creating comic book and graphic novel filesCreate CBR/CBZ Files To Distribute Your Comic Strip Or Graphic NovelCreate CBR/CBZ Files To Distribute Your Comic Strip Or Graphic NovelThe Internet has been kind to comic book creators (although piracy has inflicted a big dent in the profits of the major publishers) and web comics and sequential art tales created specifically for an online..Read More.
Extracting ZIP Archives Is Easy!
You’ve probably got a few ZIP, RAR or 7z archives on your computer. Even if you have compressed folders created by another app, as long as you have the right tool to uncompress them, you should have no problem.
What is your favorite tool for compressing and extracting archives? Have you run into problems with any of the tools mentioned in this post? Let us know – leave your thoughts in the comments box.
Now you can also extract RAR files on AndroidThe Best RAR File Extractor for AndroidThe Best RAR File Extractor for AndroidNeed a RAR file extractor for Android? Here are the best apps for working with RAR archives on your Android device, and they're free.Read More.
Image Credit: Files Compression Via Shutterstock, Folder with zip 3D via Shutterstock
Explore more about: File Compression, .
Have you ever downloaded a file only to find it has a strange .rar file extension? RAR is a compressed file format—much like a ZIP file—and in this article, we’ll show you how to open RAR files on Windows or macOS X.
Open a RAR File in Windows
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There are a variety of applications on Windows that can open RAR files. The default choice is WinRAR, made by the developers of the RAR file format, but it’s not a free app. If you want to create RAR files, WinRAR is your best bet. However, if you just need to extract a RAR file, the free and open source 7-Zip app is a better choice.
After you’ve downloaded and installed 7-Zip from their web site, you’re good to go. You can double-click any RAR file to open it in 7-ZIP and view or extract the files.
If you know you want to extract the files, you can do it without even opening 7-Zip. Right-click any RAR file, point to the “7-Zip” menu, and then select one of the “Extract” options, depending on where you want to extract the files. Note that if you’ve got a multi-part set of .RAR files, you’ll want to extract the first file in the set—7-Zip will handle the other files in the set automatically.
There are other Windows apps that support extracting RAR files, but we recommend 7-Zip because it’s open source, free, and reliable.
Open a RAR File in macOS
There are not as many choices for opening RAR files on macOSX as on the more popular Windows platform. There are still a few, however. We recommend the free app “The Unarchiver,” which has great support for multi-part archive files. After installation, you can launch The Unarchiver to associate file types with the app.
After associating file types, you can extract a RAR archive by simply double-clicking the file. The Unarchiver create a folder with the same name as the archive, and then extracts its contents to the new folder. Note that if you’re working with a multi-part RAR archive, you’ll need to open the first file in the set. The Unarchiver will handle the additional files in the set automatically.
If you use prefer to deal with your archives with a different tool, please let us know about it in the comments.
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