[Misuzu]

Contents
WinRAR Explained
How to Archive
How to Combine/Extract
FAQ


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WinRAR Explained

WinRAR is an archive manager. It can combine and compress files and folders into smaller "package" files. These files have the .rar extension and are very similar to .zip files. In fact WinRAR is very similar to winzip (if anyone still uses that) just more powerful.

You can download WinRAR from the offical webpage [Only registered users can see links. ] and download the file called WinRAR 3.50 beta 4


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How to Archive

The process of archiving is very simple

1. Select all the files you want to add to the archieve, right click them and select "Add to archive.."
   
2. Then you just choose the name and the location of the new WinRAR file by clicking browse (1). By default the WinRAR file/files will appear in the same folder as the files you are putting in it. If you want to have several WinRAR files (ie breaking a larger file into 5MB pieces for yahoo briefcases) you can then choose the filesize of each part where it says "Split to Volumes" (2). The number shown is in bytes, so 5,000,000 would be 5MB.
   
   If you do not choose a filesize (the default selection), the file/files will be archived into a single WinRAR file and there will be no size limitation.
3. Click "OK." A window that looks like this will appear to show you the progress of the archiving process. You do not need to click anything, just wait for it to finish.
   
   Note: The process of archiving takes a lot of system resources so it is recommended that you are not running other programs that also require a lot of resources.
4. When completed, you will be returned to the original window with your original file and the new rar file/files. Congrats, you're done.

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How to Combine/Extract

1. Make sure you have downloaded all the necessary parts (i.e. all the individual RAR files). Remember, you can't expect to extract the file if you are short of one or two parts.
   
   Also, make sure that the parts are of the correct size. This is because the Yahoo! Briefcase servers may truncate (terminate before completion) your download when they are busy (i.e. many people are accessing the files at the same time). When this happens, you'll end up with incomplete or corrupted parts, and you'll need to re-download them again. This is unusual however can happen.
   
   How would you know whether a part is complete (i.e. of the correct filesize)? WinRAR splits up the parts into equal sizes, while the last part would usually be of a smaller file size.
   
   Why? Think of having to pay for something costing $22. You might use two $10 bills and the remaining $2 in small change right, for example. With effect, you're splitting up your payment into THREE parts -- two $10 parts, one remaining $2 part. It works the same way in WinRAR; the remaining data becomes the last part.
   
   Check that all the parts (except the last part) are all of the same size. That would be a very good chance your parts will extract properly. (For the files downloaded from Yahoo, these WinRAR files should be 4,883 MB)
2. So, you've downloaded ALL the parts, and made sure they (except the last part) are of the correct size. Make sure you place ALL the parts into the same folder, as in the following screenshot:
   
3. Now, right-click on any part:
   
   Can't see the WinRAR options? Scroll down to find out what to do in the FAQ section.
4. If you've done it correctly so far, you'll be greeted with this little window which shows the extraction progress:
   
5. Once the extraction is successfully completed, you'll find the clip in the folder. Make sure you can play it, although if you were able to extract it without error then it should work fine, before proceeding to delete the RAR parts (you won't need them anymore)

Hope this has been informative enough. Please post comments/feedback regarding any ambiguity you encounter.


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FAQ

Q: My trial period is up? What should I do?
A: You can register the program (buy it) but that of course means you have to pay money. If you don't want to do that, which I am sure not many people want to do, you actually can continue to use the program. The only set back is that there is now a pop-up window everytime you open up the program asking you to register. Simply close the window and use WinRAR as you normally would.


Q: Why do we even use WinRAR?
A: WinRAR has many useful purposes. The first and most obvious is to upload files larger than 5MB into Yahoo briefcases. Another reason is to combine all the songs in an album or single into one file so it is easier to both upload and download of YouSendIt.


Q: What does archiving mean?
A: Archiving means to compress a file/files or a folder/folders into one WinRAR file.


Q: I don't see the WinRAR options when I right click on the parts. What should I do?
A: Double-click on the first part and press [Ctrl]+[s] in order to access the "Settings" menu, otherwise go to [Options] > [Settings]. Click on the [Integration] and under "Shell integration", make sure the first option is clicked (as circled in red):


Once you're done, click [OK] and then close the WinRAR window and close it. You should see the options now when you right click.


Q: I download a file and tried extracted and got some WinRAR errors. What should I do?
A: First, READ the error. It may look like jibberish but if u scroll all the way to the end of the line, it will tell you exactly why you can't extract it. Possible errors include

Incorrect Passworded - Some WinRAR archieves may be passworded, check the thread where you downloaded from to find that
Missing a part - Go download what you are mising
File is corrupted - In the process of downloading, your files got corrupted (a rare event and not your fault, its yahoo's) Simply download again.


Q: I download a file and it extracted alright, and I get no errors, but I can't play it. Why?
A: This is most likely because you don't the proper codecs for the files. This problem is most likely only to happen with larger high quality videos.