Windows cabinets are file archives that end with the extension .cab. They contain essential files needed for installing Windows and additional software onto the computer at a later date. This document does not cover how to extract files from other compressed files, like .zip, and .rar.

Because of the differences in the various versions of Windows, follow only the instructions for your version of Windows to help prevent confusion.

Introduction

Before extracting any files from the cabinets, ensure that the below information is known.

Many third-party archiving utilities, such as 7-zip, WinRAR, and WinZip, support CAB files and will let you manually extract some or all of the service pack files. How to Create Cabinet Files in Windows XP. Have you ever seen those.CAB files on software CDs or with programs you download? They store the files that are to be installed. Have you ever wanted to create one of these files? Follow these.

Below is a listing of commonly used or needed extract lines and a short description of each line. For a listing of all switches and options, see our extract command overview.

extract /d c:windowsoptionscabswin95_02 - Utilizing the /d switch will list the contents of the win95_02 cabinet.

extract /a /d c:windowsoptionscabswin95_02.cab mmsystem.dll - Utilizing the /a and /d switch will locate the mmsystem.dll by searching win95_02.cab and beyond.

extract c:windowsoptionscabswin95_10.cab mmsystem.dll /l c:windowssystem - Knowing what cabinet contains a particular file, you can use this command to extract file(s). The /l switch is used to specify the location to where you want the file to be placed once extracted.

extract /a c:windowsoptionscabswin95_02.cab mmsystem.dll /l c:windowssystem - Using the /a switch searches cabinets 02 and beyond for mmsystem.dll. Once located, the file would be extracted from the appropriate cabinet and then placed into the c:windowsystem directory. The location of the cabinet may vary on your computer.

Windows 98 and Windows ME users

Users who are using Windows 98 or Windows ME can double-click the cabinet that contains the file they need, and copy and paste that file from that cabinet.

Users who are using Windows 98 or Windows ME can search the directory that has the cabinet files. In the Find: All Files dialog box, type the name of the file you are looking for in the Containing Text box.

Users who need to restore from the command line can use the Windows extract command helper tool by typing ext when booting from the Windows 98 or Windows ME startup diskette.

Windows 98 and Windows ME users can use the Windows System File Checker Tool to extract files by following the steps below.

1. Click Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and click the System Information icon.
2. From the Toolsdrop-down menu, select System File Changer.
3. Specify the system file that you would like to restore and click Start.

Windows ME reporting extract file error because of protected files

Receiving the below error when attempting to extract Windows ME files.

Extract File
The specified file is protected and may not be copied or deleted.

To bypass this error, follow the steps below:

1. Click Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and click the System Information icon.
2. From the Tools drop-down menu, select System Configuration Utility.
3. Click Extract File.
4. In the extract one file from installation dialog box, type the name of the file that you want to extract, and click start.
5. In the Restore from box, type the location of where the cabinets are located.
6. In the Save in box, type c: and press Enter.
7. Click OK, and then click Yes to create a folder for the extracted file.
8. Drag the new extracted file from the new location to the location where the file needs to be placed.
9. Reboot the computer.

Additional information

• See our cabinet definition for further information and related links.