Winrar error

[alintatoc]

Hello everybody
I keep having problems when I extract things with winrar,any ideas why? some files work ok to be extracted but with many I have problems and finally I can't extract at all.
Can somebody enlight me!?
Thanks!

[louv68]

Try 7Zip http://www.7-zip.org/

[TBoneit]

Corrupt rar files will not extract properly. You have not identified why they do not exttract.

I use winrar all the time at work. It never fails unless the file is corrupt. I prefer it to Winzip for extracting Zip files that many driver updates come in.

[buttzilla]

7Zip will not work if the file is corrupt.

[alintatoc]

packed data CRC failed, this is the error that I get quite often.
The thing is that somebody else managed to extract the same file I've tried. Isn't that a little strange if the problem comes only for me with this error?

[Bjs]

Crc errors :

A: Need updated version of unrar.dll
B: Caused by fragmentation of drive ... normally associated with downloads (swap space issue ... lack of)

Remove all non-essential data from pc , to free up space .

Recycle bin usually takes around 10% of drives max capacity ... system default , can be adjusted .
System swapfile is adjustable ... no lower than 50% of physical memory installed ... not much point in being above 2gig .

Run scan disk , then defrag systems drive ... even if windows says its not needed ... do it anyway .

Better tools :

Zipgenius (can also extract files from iso images)
Uniextract ... what it cant unpack , is stuffed anyway (update av , and scan package first - latest package is clean)

alintatoc

The thing is that somebody else managed to extract the same file I've tried

How is file obtained by both users ?

Internet interruptions can cause file corruption

Shared by media ... Bad floppy , flashdrive ... incorrectly burnt to media ... poor quality media ... burners not compatible (it happens)

[alintatoc]

How is file obtained by both users ?

Internet interruptions can cause file corruption

Shared by media ... Bad floppy , flashdrive ... incorrectly burnt to media ... poor quality media ... burners not compatible (it happens)

Shared by media to bouth users...

And I don't think I need to delete every unnecessary file because I have a big hard drive.

[jman98]

RAR format sucks. It's rare to find a RAR archive that isn't corrupted. That's why PAR exists. If PAR files didn't exist to fix RAR corruption, someone would have to invent them.

If you are getting RAR files from P2P (ie. BitTorrent), note that anything could happen on someone else's PC to corrupt a RAR file and then you are getting a corrupted file from them. If you're getting the RARs from Usenet, look for PAR files associated with the RARs. A program like QuickPar can use the PAR files to fix problems with RAR files. If you can't get any PAR files for your RAR, you're stuck. Most likely the problem is NOT with your software but simply that the archive is corrupted. It happens all the time with RAR. All the time.

It's also been reported that the MPAA and perhaps the RIAA have deliberately placed bad files on the internet, so if you are downloading some recent major Hollywood release, we can't rule out that you are finding deliberately placed corrupted archives. Downloading RAR files on P2P is just a losing proposition most of the time because of RAR corruption. Without PAR files to recover from, all you need is ONE bit in the RAR archive to go bad and your entire archive is useless.

[Bjs]

jman98

It's rare to find a RAR archive that isn't corrupted

Rar files are not generally found corrupted , many things contribute to the issue , but rar dose support recovery data , without the need for par files ... Just that people do one of two things .

In some rare cases , the file needs to be sourced from where it originated from ... some servers are crap , and cause this problem ... a good download manager can help here ... http://www.freedownloadmanager.org/download.htm

There are those who deliberately hex edit rar files , for one of two purposes ... to protect , or waste your time .

If done correctly first time , there is no need to include recovery data in rar , or par files ... How and where they are stored later is far more important in the prevention of data corruption , provide the file was a "whole" and complete unit to start with .

It wastes time to locate , search , and bandwidth , and you now need to backup two sets of files .

Wouldnt be much fun if important data , needed missing data now , only to find out the media you placed the backup par files on is now , itself , useless ... kiss it all goodbye ... its gone .

----

alintatoc

As to the second part , I would still like to make sure that the question of crc caused by fragmentation , is not an issue , to be sure ... you dont need to remove every file , just those nolonger required , and to run scandisk , plus defrag , after , its best practice to do so .

Shared by media to bouth users...

First :

If it was your friend that sent it to you , in the case of cd/dvd , try http://www.recoverytoolbox.com/cd.html

Not all optical drives are equal , some are better , others , not so good ... especially if there getting on .

You may just need to either , give the unit a clean out (small amount of compressed air to remove dust) , or check for firmware update (if its been a while , or never done) ... beyond this , and the tool mentioned , there's not much more you can do , except try the disc in another pc locally ... if it works there , I'd say your drive is having issue , provided you followed what I said in the previous post ... it may be near the time to replace it .

Failing all that , I would suggest , if the file came from your friend , that they make some sort of arrangement to resend the file .

If by cd/dvd ... get them to use verbatim (cdr or dvd-r) , and burn with imgburn , at 4x only .

Its a guess , as I dont know how the file was received as yet .

----

So , from friend , internet , and local pc are reasonably covered as to "why it happens" , and some steps in managing "how to recover" from such faults .

There are a few others that can cause issues on local pc ... programs that cause conflicts , registry issues , but the most important aspect is you must have the very latest unrar.dll first , or proceeding forward is useless .

You might even try unistalling the archival tool your currently using , reboot , reinstall , reboot once more , might just clear the issue .

If the file , ever , unpacked succesfully before , onto the local hard drive , it may still be accessible by using a data recovery tool , such as drive rescue .

----

P2p ... rare where a file comes from multiple users .

But a single file , from a single user , is highly possible these days .

[alintatoc]

Thank you guys for the good explanation! I realy appreciate your comments.
I happened to me sometimes that only after I restart the computer the archive worked, that was even stranger for me to understand...

[handyguy]

For me it was just cause my version of WINRAR was out of date.

[Midzuki]

RAR format sucks. It's rare to find a RAR archive that isn't corrupted.

So far I still haven't gotten corrupted RARs from BitTorrent, eDonkey or Gnutella2.

It's also been reported that the MPAA and perhaps the RIAA have deliberately placed bad files on the internet

Quite possible and quite probable. Corrupted MP3s plus infected ZIPs and EXEs were
the rule on FastTrack (at least until two years ago, when that network was still alive).


===========================

[alintatoc]

For me it was just cause my version of WINRAR was out of date.

I have the latest one right now and I still get the message in some files...especially in games I don't know why

[handyguy]

Did you get the matching PAR files?

Parchive - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Par and Par2 files are used to repair damaged files based on their binary pattern. The name Par comes from Parity. These files can be used to reconstruct.

[alintatoc]

Did you get the matching PAR files?

Parchive - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Par and Par2 files are used to repair damaged files based on their binary pattern. The name Par comes from Parity. These files can be used to reconstruct.

how can I get the matching PAR files?

[handyguy]

They are supposed to be posted with the main files automatically.

[alintatoc]

They are supposed to be posted with the main files automatically.

what's the ending of the par files? I don't know much about archives that's why I want so many details

[Bjs]

I see its still an ongoing saga ...

You cant get PAR files , if they dont exist in the first place ... hardly anyone use's it , as most dont have issues .

If your friend was able to unpack and share it , then they should either :

A: Generate the par files using only the original archive that was shared , then send you the par only files .

Only needs to be performed on the file that is causing the problem ... quicker .
Copy the problematic file to a new folder , as a backup (never screw with an original)

B: Unpack the archive , and send it to you on cd or dvd .

Par files are similar to all achival formats ... open to hex editing ... to protect content from unauthorised users , or to be a blantant waste of users time to download them in the first place .

The file extension is *.PAR2 from quickpar