Plugin for Microsoft compressed files (expand)?

[Helix751]

I am looking for a plugin to support uncompressing Microsoft's propietary compression format (the one tha leaves .DL_, .EX_, .OC_, and which is extracted by the 'expand.exe' command shipped with Windows).

I have found what seemed to be an addon for MultiArc for this task, but it didn't work.

Is there any TC plugin out there that can achieve this job without having to deal with the command prompt and a stupid MS command?

Thanks in advance.

[nyam]

Is this what you're looking for?

http://www.nyam.pe.kr/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=34

[Helix751]

Well, I can only say Thank You a lot!

I'll have the opportunity to test it tomorrow at work, where I had the need to use it.

[Helix751]

I could try it at work today and can confirm it does work as expected. It was exactly what I needed. Thanks again for your help.

TCmd would be just one nice file manager and not the Great application it really is if it weren't for the efforts of the community that supports and enhances it day after day.

[icfu]

You don't need a plugin to expand files, TC can do that natively. Just unpack...

Icfu

[nyam]

You don't need a plugin to expand files, TC can do that natively. Just unpack...

What you say is EXTRACT (CAB extension).

EXPAND(SZDD) is different from EXTRACT(MSCF).
Their compression algorism is different from each other.

EXPAND is widely used before when Windows 95 is out.
(It's most frequently used with Windows 3.1.)

[icfu]

Nope, I am talking about expanding, not extracting.
I can expand files like .dl_ without any problems, for example from the XP CD.

Icfu

[nyam]

Nope, I am talking about expanding, not extracting.
I can expand files like .dl_ without any problems, for example from the XP CD.

Icfu

They're not really expand (*.??_) files.
Only there extensions are *.??_.

What's the header of file?
Does it start with a 'SZDD' signature or 'MSCF'?

[icfu]

Oops, you are right, they are MSCF....
So those are renamed .cabs then, didn't know that, rather confusing that MS uses the same extension scheme.
Those times where I regularly used expand to fix my corrupted Windows 95a installations are gone for a long time now.

Icfu

[nyam]

They're seldom used nowadays.

[Helix751]

The compressed files I'm talking about are the old format used since the DOS days, which have the 'SZDD' header and which was later used in Windows versions until W98 I believe.

The apparently similar format (at least by the extension) used by Win XP is really internally the MSCAB format.

I haven't had this problem before and was completely unaware if this because this old format is indeed seldom used nowadays, UNTIL I received a pair of installation diskettes (ouch!) from a supplier which was created with, you may guess, a very old installation program, from which I was in need to 'expand' just the documentation.

Thanks nyam for the support.

[jy Cheng]

Try this multiarc MS EXPAND configuration.