Working with Archives: There are a number of archiving tools that are used by people, but the three main archive formats are "RAR," "ZIP," and "ACE," and the three main programs used to handle those formats (at this time) are: WinRAR, WinZip, and WinACE. This page will not replace the manuals or help-files that accompany those programs. It only is intended to help you get started with multi-file binary archives. At this point you should have successfully downloaded an archive set: you have a number of files which are related to each-other- such as expnv01.zip, expnv02.zip,..expnv14.zip, etc. Notice the sequential ordering; some such ordering will be evident regardless of which format the archive is in. RARs may begin with "RAR" and go through "R00-Z99" or ".001-.999". Beginning with WinRAR v3.0 RAR archives may also use the naming convention of archivename.partXX.rar, where X or XX or XXX are numbered sequentially from 1 on. ACE archives usually begin with ".ACE" and continue with ".c00-c99", etc. Any of these might be self-extracting and begin with an ".EXE". Note to packagers/posters: Self-extracting archives are not popular. The extraction code adds to the overhead, nobody likes ".EXE" files, and everybody has the appropriate un-archiving program anyway. When unpacking any archive- set be sure to extract to another destination directory, and use the "extract with full path" option, so that any directories and sub-directories may be properly recreated. Now you have something that looks like this:  An NFO, some zips, and an SFV. You've run the SFV and know you have a perfect post, all files are there and are uncorrupted. Now it's time to un-archive (extract) them. The simplest way to unzip multiple files is with WinRAR (yes, WinRAR, not WinZip!). Open WinRAR ,and navigate to the directory containing the files you want to unzip-
 then select them all. Click on the "Extract To" button, and extract them somewhere handy.
You can also use a program named "Unziplify." Unziplify adds itself to the context-menu so that when you right-click on a directory in Windows explorer you will have the option to Unziplify it. Unziplify will create a sub-directory named "Unziplify" in the selected directory, and proceed to unzip all the zips in the selected directory into the new sub-directory.  If you have followed directions so far, you have something that looks like this. In this example the archived files are ACE files, but the instructions are the same as for RAR. If you have WinACE properly installed, or have set WinRAR to extract ACE archives, you can simply double-click on "dvnddd.ace" and let it extract. Where you let it extract to depends on whether there were specific instructions in the NFO file regarding that. Usually you will have something like a "setup.exe" and some support files. As WinRAR will also handle ACE archives you can associate the "ACE" extension with WinRAR if you wish to keep it simple and just use one program to extract. WinRAR is the only archiving program you should need, in fact. It can ZIP or RAR, and it can extract from ZIP, RAR and ACE-archives, as well as less common types, such as .z and .gz.
Any specific instructions in the NFO file should be followed scrupulously! The majority of installation problems result from failing to read (and follow) the installation instructions in the NFO. Most of the remaining problems are related to the release being imperfect. Damaged Zips If the any of the zips are damaged you may still be able to extract a good archive-file. If you can't even open the zip with WinZip or pkzip, try with WinRAR. If you still can't even open the zip, it is probably beyond reclamation. Programs like "Advanced Zip Repair" are good for zips with multiple files, as they will allow you to extract the files, some of which may be undamaged. In the case of a zip containing a RAR or ACE archive file you might be able to recover an undamaged archive file. Note that they work by altering the CRC in the zip so that it reflects the file that is there now, not what was originally put there, so a file in a bad zip that was damaged is still corrupt after a program like Advanced Zip Repair gets done with it. You can extract it, but it might still be unusable. Damaged RARs or ACEs If you have a RAR (or ACE) archive and receive CRC errors or an "archive damaged"-type message when you attempt to extract it, there may be a possibility of repairing that damaged archive: It needs to be complete (not short any bytes) and it needs to have been created with a recovery record. To see if it was, click on the "Info" button in WinRAR. If it was created with a recovery record, then you have a chance: highlight the damaged file in the WinRAR (or WinACE) window and click on the first-aid box with the red cross, the "Repair" icon in WinRAR. In WinACE click on 'Archive', then 'Repair Archive'. In both cases a window will pop up asking you where to put the file the program will create in it's attempt to make a perfect file. Usually you have it put the "repaired" file in the same folder as the rest of the archive. It might be able to create a perfect file, which you can then rename to take the place of your damaged one, and retry the extraction process. If the damaged file has no recovery record, then no repair is possible. If it is short bytes, even if there is a recovery record, then no repair is possible. There are no third-party products (at this writing) for repairing ACE or RAR files other than the PAR1 or PAR2 systems. WinRAR has it's own parity-archive system if the archive creator used it- this is shown by there being REV files, and if present, WinRAR will use them to repair or replace the damaged files. If not, then there is little hope of repairing the entire archive, but you still might be able to extract individual files from it. <top> A: Use WinRAR or get WinZip. Setup for either is straight-forward. After downloading a .zip file, just double-click on it. It's very easy. WinRAR will also unzip multiple zip files at once (see the answer below for WinRAR,) and Unziplify will unzip all the zip files in a directory at once. Buy WinZip at: http://www.winzip.com/ Get a free copy of Unziplify at http://www.webmasterfree.com/unzip.html <top> A: The program is WinRAR. If there is no ".rar" file, use the lowest-numbered extension. Many release groups/packagers/posters start the archive set with a "001"-file which is functionally identical with RAR (or ".part01.rar" in the newer naming convention.) Starting with WinRAR v3.0 the default naming convention for WinRAR archives is filename.part01.rar, filename.part02.rar ..."filename.partXXX.rar" - but WinRAR treats them the same as it does the .rar..r99 files. Just open "filename.part01.rar" in WinRAR and when you tell it to extract, WinRAR assembles all the parts and from extracts them. Versions of WinRAR earlier than 2.9 may return an "unknown method" error when decompressing archives made with WinRAR 3.0 or later. The only solution is to upgrade to at least version 2.9. Buy WinRAR at: http://www.rarlab.com/ A fully-functional free trial is available. <top> A: They are almost certainly RAR files, or "split" files (see below). Try RAR first. If they don't decode, then try the other. Most posters will tell you which format in the .nfo files or the 0/ file of the post. Double-click on the 001 file if you have WinRAR installed, it will treat it just as though the 001 was the RAR. WinRAR can also handle CAB, ARJ, LZH, TAR, GZ, ACE, UUE, BZ2, JAR, and ISO archives. Note that some groups use "splitter" programs, such as Master-Splitter, which number parts sequentially as shown above- but such programs are not used in ABW.*, or in any warez or CD-image group- being used mainly for "Pron" (Porno) movies. If anyone posts using them avoid the download- that person has no clue what he/she is doing; and such posts almost invariably end-up providing little but grief for the downloader. <top> Q: I get an "Unknown Method" error in WinRAR...A: The archive you are trying to expand was created with a version of WinRAR newer than the one you are using. The developer of WinRAR tweaks the algorithms periodically, which can result in that error occurring in an older version of the application. As of this writing- the "unknown method error" will occur when you are using a version older than 2.9, and you are attempting to extract an archive compressed with version 3.0 or later, and which used a larger dictionary-size than the older versions of WinRAR are capable of handling (1024 bytes.) So it's not a very common error, and the solution is simple: update WinRAR. Q: How do I unpack the "ace", c01, c02, etc. files? A: Use WinRAR, or get WinACE. Some game-release groups use ACE compression because it packs some types of files the best. Get WinACE at: http://www.winace.com/ Q: How do I "join" RAR files?A: You don't- RAR isn't a splitting program. You "extract" a RAR archive. Scroll up to "How do I decode these RAR...." etc. to see how to use WinRAR. It's one of the easiest programs around to learn to use-- just forget about "split" and "join", those aren't concepts used in the a.b.w* or cd-image groups. <top> | 
