Rar extractor that can span 4gb file boundary?

[Guest wsxedcrfv]

Is there a rar extractor / decompressor where you can specify a max-file-size so that the output will span multiple files if necessary?

Or even a just an option to span at the 4gb size boundary?

I realize that the spanned files may not be usable, and that my next question would be this: If the original file is supposed to be a video file of some sort (say, mkv) then is there a program that can add the headers to the file-segment "orphans" and modify the header of the first 4gb file so that if the original file is supposed to be be a 6 gb .mkv file, then the result is two .mkv files (4 gb and 2gb) with appropriately-modified headers so they play correctly?

(and please don't tell me the answer is NTFS, because (1) I'm running win-98, and (2) USB thumb drives are FAT32 also)

Edited March 25, 2011 by wsxedcrfv

[Glenn9999]

Is there a rar extractor / decompressor where you can specify a max-file-size so that the output will span multiple files if necessary?

Or even a just an option to span at the 4gb size boundary?

RAR always has done this even in the DOS days - I remember using it to create 1.44MB files on hard disk to later copy to floppy. Your issue is more with the 4GB boundary part. This would have to do with the storage structures and values used. Most software implemented today likely use LongWords to store numerical data, which have a maximum of 4294967295. As you might be able to see this number represents in the number of bytes (roughly) 4GB. Without a doubt, most probably don't see a need to support that high of a value (or larger) in their software, so it is highly unlikely you will find something that can. This is especially true, since there would be backward compatibility issues in supporting this.

You might detail what you are looking to do (it seems like a 2 part video file)? Why not just split the video itself and save it to two disks (this is what most other situations of this type have done)?

[Guest wsxedcrfv]

Is there a rar extractor / decompressor where you can specify a max-file-size so that the output will span multiple files if necessary? Or even a just an option to span at the 4gb size boundary?

RAR always has done this even in the DOS days. You might detail what you are looking to do (it seems like a 2 part video file)? Why not just split the video itself and save it to two disks (this is what most other situations of this type have done)?

Example: I have downloaded 12 rar files, each 400 mb in size. The source is a single .mkv file - I guess around 4.8 gb in size. Winrar takes the first file and happily begins to decompress it and starts generating the output file. It opens each of the 12 rar files one a time. At some point it hits the 4 gb file-size limit and throws up an error message that it's "run out of disk space" - which it hasn't - there are still a few dozen gb of space on the drive. I'm guessing that it hit the 4gb file-size limitation while it was processing file #10. I don't see an option in winrar to break the output file up into x gb size chunks.

I realize that even if winrar could do this, that the first 4gb file-chunk might be watchable in VLC, but not the remaining 800 mb chunk unless I somehow grafted the proper .mkv file header to the front of it.

[Glenn9999]

Example: I have downloaded 12 rar files, each 400 mb in size. The source is a single .mkv file - I guess around 4.8 gb in size. Winrar takes the first file and happily begins to decompress it and starts generating the output file. It opens each of the 12 rar files one a time. At some point it hits the 4 gb file-size limit and throws up an error message that it's "run out of disk space" - which it hasn't - there are still a few dozen gb of space on the drive. I'm guessing that it hit the 4gb file-size limitation while it was processing file #10. I don't see an option in winrar to break the output file up into x gb size chunks.

In other words, I want to store a file > 4 GB on my FAT32 partition which can only handle 32-bit file sizes using Windows 98, which can only handle 32-bit file sizes and addresses. How do I do this? Short answer: Impossible. Longer answer: Microsoft has an exFAT file system which they have to support flash drives. But only supports as far back as XP. You can look at this thread if you don't believe me - as well you can find an exFat reader someone attempted. It may or may not read your file.

Good luck. You will need it.

MGDX also posted something here which might help. But again don't get your hopes up.

Edited March 25, 2011 by Glenn9999

[Kelsenellenelvian]

hmmm my usb thumb drives are ntfs...

Just goto a friends house with XP or higher and make one ntfs.

Edited March 25, 2011 by Kelsenellenelvian

[ricktendo]

hmmm my usb thumb drives are ntfs...

Just goto a friends house with XP or higher and make one ntfs.

I dont think it would help, if he does he wont be able to use it anymore on his PC

[LoneCrusader]

Hmmm.. I wonder...

This is purely hypothetical, but I thought I would throw it out and see if anyone wants to experiment with it.

(The following statement is not necessarily true on this forum, we're unique )

Given the fact that many times, when people want to run Windows 9X applications on their newer computers these days, a common response is always "Run it in a VM." Needless to say this is a rather irritating answer for us, but maybe we can use this logic in another way.

Now, what if you were to run Windows 2000 or Windows XP in a VM on Windows 98, and use NTFS to format their virtual "hard drives." In this scenario, (provided one can create >4GB virtual disks) would it be possible to store and play >4GB files within the VM on your 98 machine?

[dencorso]

Now I've got it! What you need is an intelligent movie splitter!

Of course, both 7-Zip *and* WinRAR can span their archives into < 4GiB files.

Of course, a simple file splitter, like hjsplit, can hack any binary into < 4 GiB pieces.

[And, of course, either operation would have to be performed on NTFS (or ExFAT), to have a place to hold the file > 4 GiB you'd like to split, to avoid truncating it, so it cannot be done from Win 9x/ME, for sure, since Win 9x/ME would cause the truncation, even if using a NTFS (or a presuntive ExFAT) installable file-system driver.]

But, in any case, neither will allow you to actually *use* the pieces to view them, when they're pieces of a movie!

So, please, stop dancing arround it and open a new thread, this time with the right subject, will you?

[ricktendo]

I was thinking exFAT, I remember being able to add it to XP before it was officially supported but I have googled and cant find anybody who has added it to 9x

[Glenn9999]

Of course, both 7-Zip *and* WinRAR can span their archives into < 4GiB files.

Of course, a simple file splitter, like hjsplit, can hack any binary into < 4 GiB pieces.

True, what the OP requests could be done, the issue really involves whether it's worth doing for such a niche request. As far as we know, there may be a dozen people that would actually use such functionality. Although, such functionality would be questionable in and of itself.

But neither will allow you to actually *use* the pieces to view them, when they're pieces of a movie!

Indeed. If you did code a special UNRAR to split files on decompression (instead of compression), you'd still have the problem of reading the file(s) properly.

Really probably the best solution if this person plans to stick with 98 is go to a friends place, extract the files and then process the movie into two sections. Of course, that solution depends on how frequently the OP plans on trying 4GB files on FAT32.

[loblo]

(provided one can create >4GB virtual disks)

Since a virtual disk is just one file (AFAIK) I don't think that's possible.

[Guest wsxedcrfv]

So, please, stop dancing arround it and open a new thread, this time with the right subject, will you?

Asking if there is a rar extractor that can span it's *decompression* output across multiple files is the primary issue, and it's a question that is not OS specific, so there was no reason to move this thread here.

And besides, many large usb thumb drives do come pre-formatted as FAT32, so the ability to limit RAR decompression to 4 gb (or some other user-specified value) has some utility in those cases as well.

Naturally I realize that splitting a large movie file into 3 or 4 gb chunks would render all but perhaps the first chunk as unplayable, but maybe there's a way to add the necessary header to the individual chunks to turn them into individually-playable files. Does the .mkv file format allow for a single movie to span multiple files - in a way similar to DVD .vob files?

Edited March 25, 2011 by wsxedcrfv

[LoneCrusader]

(provided one can create >4GB virtual disks)

Since a virtual disk is just one file (AFAIK) I don't think that's possible.

Yes, that's the issue. If the VM software can create >4GB virtual disks (splitting it into multiple "files" on the real disk but knowing how to read them as one virtual disk) then I don't see why it wouldn't work.

Of course we are also limited by the available VM software for 9x, most of it is dated, so who knows? Just an idea for a workaround if anyone wants to give it a try.

[loblo]

A JBOD array under QEMU perhaps...?

[loblo]

Anyway, if it was me I'd look into a live Linux distro that has got mkvtoolnix on it, format a drive/partition in the linux filesystem and then split the mkv file there to finally copy the sub-4GB chunks onto a FAT32 partition for use in Win 98/ME.