Split RAR files - what they look like and how they work with WinZip

WinZip is able to process split (multi-volume) RAR files in their entirety as long as they have been saved in the same folder, no parts (volumes) are missing, the part names follow correct naming conventions, and the file's first part is what you have opened in WinZip.

Recognizing a split RAR file

If you do not have Windows configured to allow you to see common file extensions, you may not realize that you are working with a RAR file. WinZip uses the same icon with all of the archive types with which it works. Your file, then, might look like this:

To configure Windows so that you can see file extensions, do the following:

1. Open the Control Panel
2. Open Folder Options (you may have to change the view in Control Panel)
3. Click on the View tab at the top of the dialog box
4. Uncheck the box next to Hide file extensions for known file types
5. Click OK

Split RAR file naming conventions

Newer split RAR files should all have part names ending with the .rar extension. This comes after the actual file name and a part number. Here are two examples.

Multi-volume RAR files following older style naming conventions indicate part numbers in the extension beginning with .r00 but WinZip always expects the first volume name to have the extension of .RAR and all volume names to have the same first name. Here is an example.

A common issue with split RAR files

If you have downloaded only one part of a split RAR file, it is not the last part, and you attempt to open that one part, it is likely that a WinZip dialog will display asking for the next part. For instance, if you saved sources.part01.rar in C:\Downloads, the dialog would ask you to:

Please insert the disk containing "Downloads\sources.part02.RAR" into drive C:

To avoid this issue, download all of the parts of a split RAR file and save them into the same folder. After all of the parts have finished downloading, open the first part with WinZip.