Opening archives
Written by Writer on Friday, October 3rd, 2008
HELP Desk
I’ve had some trouble with unzipping .rar and some other weird archive endings in the past when I’ve needed to crack some games, etc.
Is there an alternative to using WinRar to open .rar archives? WinRar is terribly annoying trial software, unless I buy it (which I refuse to) or get it off a torrenting program (which I am thinking of doing)
Is there something out there that can replace WinZip and WinRar - basically, open either all, or most of the different archive types?
My C: drive is getting full. Does installing programs on another drive affect performance? In other words, do I absolutely need to install in the ‘Program Files’ folder in C:
Any help on these two requests and the question will be very much appreciated.
PECK
Database replies: Wanda Sloan replies: I’ll answer your question about the program files first.
Technically, you can put the Program Files folder anywhere, and you can install (almost) any programs where you wish, including outside the Program Files folder.
Meanwhile, back in the real world, there is unanimous expert opinion that programs should go in the folder called “C:\Program Files” because that is the way Windows has been set up, and that is what some programmers tell their software to expect.
The fairly standard way of handling disk-space shortage is to set aside the C: drive for Windows and programs only, and put everything else on other drives. If you install programs in places other than the default, the results could be smooth but could also be unpredictable.
So far as archiving programs, in the last few months I have reviewed three really excellent free programs, each of which handles all types of Windows archives, including those with .rar extensions.
It’s my opinion that no one should pay for an archiver and, except for people with truly specialised needs; computer owners should have one, and only one archiver.
In no particular order, because all are excellent and they vary mostly on look and feel, here is my current Top Three:
JZip (http://www.jzip.com)
Peazip (http://peazip.sourceforge.net)
7Zip, probably the most popular (http://www.7-zip.org)
Changing icons
In Wanda Sloan’s article with the headline “Mastering the Bin” she mentions, under the photo, that “there are numerous Internet sites that offer different and even eye-catching icons for almost everything on your desktop.”
I recently signed up to an icon site named “Change Icon Folder,” which is available at http://www.nesoft.org.
It is not a bad program but a little limited in what it offers. I have Googled for other sites and while there are many, some are expensive.
The “Change Icon Folder” site is Ok for me, but I wonder if you can advise me as to whether there’s an alternative?
So I am wondering if you could advise me of some of the programs that you refer to in your article.
PETER FREER
Database replies: Wanda Sloan replies: I may not have explained this well. My reference to icons was simply to refer to the icons on your desktop for your programs, your Recycle Bin, My Computer and so on.
There are thousands of icon collections around the Internet that you can download and use to replace any of them (or all of them) if you want.
To replace an icon on your desktop, right click on it, choose Properties, and clock on Change Icon. Then simply find the icon you want to use to replace the one that is there, and click to finish.
Change Icon Folder replaces the drab, same old yellowish folder icon with something else of your choice. This generally requires a registry change, and the software automates a complicated task.
A couple of free programs that help you change folder icons are Folder Marker http://www.foldermarker.com and iColorFolder (icolorfolder.sourceforge.net).
These are a little limited. For more choice, the $15 program Folder Style claims it can replace any folder icon with any icon of your choice. It is at http://www.6bytes.com
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