RAR Files Explained in Plain English
RAR is currently the most efficient method for compressing files. RAR works
like ZIP files do on Windows, and like Stuff-It files do on the Mac. RAR files are
'archives' which can contain one or more compressed files. RAR files can also
be segmented into smaller chunks, which is why RAR has become dominant
in the binary newsgroups (groups whose names begin with 'alt.binaries').
If you have a RAR file, you probably downloaded it with a file-sharing program, or you got it from a binary newsgroup, which are a http://www.techsono.com/supernzbwin/index.html zillion
times faster than file-sharing programs. If you used a file-sharing program, all you need to do
is un-RAR the file. See below for the free software you will need
In the binary newsgroups, RAR is used to compress large files such as movies
and MP3's. As people post larger and larger files, it has become more
important to compress them down as much as possible. That's why RAR and
http://www.techsono.com/faq/yenc.html yEnc were invented, and that is why they have caught on so fast. Typically, a
poster will compress his file with RAR. Then he will post it using the yEnc
standard which will make his posts smaller than the default UUencode
standard. Then he will make, and post, some http://www.techsono.com/faq/par.html PAR files to make sure people
can get clean copies of the RAR files. So first, you must have a news-reader
program like http://www.techsono.com/pixnewspro/index.html PixNewsPro
that will download, assemble, and decode the yEnc
posts. After that, you will have a set of files that look like this:
somefile.part01.rar
somefile.part02.rar
somefile.part03.rar
Or, using the older naming convention, like this:
somefile.r00
somefile.r01
somefile.r02
When a giant file is compressed with RAR, it must be posted to a newsgroup in
hundreds, maybe thousands, of pieces because the newsgroups were
originally designed for small text messages. The more pieces, the more likely some will not come
through completely intact. To solve this problem, PAR was invented. PAR files
are able to magically fix, and even re-create missing files (whether or not they
are compressed with RAR.) So, you will usually want to check your RAR files
with their associated PAR files before decompressing.
To decompress your RAR files, use http://www.techsono.com/newztoolz/index.html NewzToolz
which is a free program for Windows and Mac OSX.
A poster may post his RAR files without PAR files. Maybe the RAR's will be ok,
maybe not, but there will be no way for you to fix them if there is a problem. You
may want to download something else, or ask the poster to make and post
some PAR files. A poster may post RAR's without using yEnc or vice versa, or
he may post PAR's for a file that is not compressed with RAR or yEnc. You will
find that posters use a wide variety of methods. In general, download files that
come with a set of PAR's; that way you are pretty much guaranteed to get
something usable. A last resort to fix a corrupted file is to find somebody with a
good copy and ask him to make some PAR's for you.
This may sound a bit on the elaborate side, however it is this way because the
person posting the file must spend a lot of time and effort to do so. Naturally, he
wants the process to go as quickly as possible. Posting a 4.5 gigabyte DVD
can take a while, right? So, you can't blame the poster for using things like
http://www.techsono.com/faq/divx.html DIVX, http://www.techsono.com/faq/yenc.html yEnc, and RAR to make his life easier.
Consequently, you will need to
learn a few things to get started, and from time-to-time you will have to
download some new software to stay current with the latest methods. But it is
not that difficult, and the reward is more media than you will ever be able to
consume.