WinZip and CAB Files

Factual Questions
1
      • While exploring my Win98 CD’s CAB files with WinZip, I found that there are two that WinZip will not open; it gives an error message that the file contains an error or that this is either a spanned archive file and the beginning must be opened first. None of the other CAB files give any indication of any spanned files. How can I see what’s in these files? - MC
2

Before WinZip came out, I used the DOS command ‘extract’ to extract any files I needed from the CABs. So, whenever that WinZip problem happens to me, I just go to DOS, and type extract filename.xxx d:\whatever.cab c:\directory. Since you wanna see all the files, use ..

3
      • Dat don’t werk: it doesn’t let you use wild cards to specify which file to extract, and I don’t know any included. - MC
4

Hmmm… instead of WinZip, have you tried using WinRAR? You can download it for free at download.com.

5

I am on Win2000 and there are 2 programs:
extract.exe
expand.exe

Extract.exe has an option /E that suggests it will extract all files.

I realize that you asked about Win98 and that these programs are probably slightly different for Win98, but maybe your version of extract at least has the /E option.

Good luck!

6

Whats the name of the cab file MC?

7
      • The files are win98_24.cab and win98_25.cab in the Windows\options\cabs directory of the Acer recovery CD. I was typing the extract command incorrectly, but even then, it won’t extract the concerned cab files. It does the first one, and then asks for the path to the second one but then doesn’t accept and extract it… It will show what’s in them, but the list scrolls by too fast to really see.
  • I was trying to use the OEM CD to put Win98 on the new PC I had put together, but it don’t work:
  1. The Acer OEM CD will not work even in the OEM PC unless the OEM HD is present. It can be connected as the slave, but it must be hooked up. (Part of my consternation is that the 350Mhz PC still works fine for surfing but the 6.3 gig HD is getting towards the end of its expected life. I have nowhere to get a replacment Maxtor 6.3 gig HD, and the Acer OEM CD will become useless when the OEM HD dies.)
  2. The OEM CD will not boot into the Acer diagnostics program when placed in the new PC, if the old HD is present or not (I expected that).
  3. If the new HD is placed as the master and the old as the slave HD in the old machine, it will install Win98 normally but apparently the system files are somehow tailored to the Acer OEM mobo. When the new HD is placed as the master in the new machine, after a few reboots it begins to run very slowly and lose system files until it fails to boot. In particular, himem.sys and the mouse driver disappear. Win98 appears to detect and install all the new mobo chip drivers properly, and it works fine at first, so I doubt it’s a hardware problem.
  4. I cannot do a “clean install” using just the MS Windows files on the Acer CD, because I cannot find what is the initial install program called. In a very old PC I have that was (illegally) loaded with Win95, in the cabs directory there is clearly a single program at the root level named “setup.exe”. The MS help for installing Win98 says to run “setup.exe”, but on the Acer CD, there ain’t one. Smaller sections have programs named “setup.exe” (such as personal web server and IE) but there isn’t one located in the main section. The script files I can view in Notepad do not describe by name any initial install file.
    ~
  • I am mostly just interested for haxoring purposes; I feel like I otter be able to figure this out???-particularly #4. I am already resolved to buying another HD along with an OEM version of Win98se in a few days (and the Acer CD install needs about 9 megs of Windows updates after install anyway,). -It will be interesting to compare the legit version’s contents with the Acer CD’s contents. - MC