PatH

Backing Up Large File

Hi:

Need to reformat my drive and reinstall Windows. How do I back up a file that's larger than the aize of the backup disc. Software says disc spanning won't work on a single file.

PatH

Rob Gillespie

What type of file is it?

No longer here.

PatH

Unfortunately, its an .exe. I purchased a piece of software on the Web and elected to download rather than waiting for the disc.

PatH

John Chow

Just split the EXE into 2 or more separate files, and then burn them to CD. There are tons of utilities to do this, but the one that I have used is WinRAR, which is normally just used for file compression.

Alternatively, just get a second hard drive, or borrow a USB hard drive to store the file on temporarily.

Chris

Wow.. how big is this EXE? Executables (even collapsed) should not be manageable over 650MB (the size of a CDROM)...

So, it's bigger then a CDRW? If so, you might do as above, get WinRAR, it will break it up into pieces. If it's smaller then a Pen Drive (well, PD smaller then 512MB) or a CDRW, I'd get that format. Yes, there is cost, but it's reusable cost in both cases, and something you'll be glad you have later.

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Patrick Sun

You could use HJSPLIT (google on it) to split up the file.

Even if it's an executable, it could just be a zipped up install file with all the cabs inside of it.

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Jeff Jacobson

Try UPX (the Ultimate Packer for eXecutables). This program will compress the EXE file, and the compressed EXE will still work the same as the uncompressed version. (i.e., you can still run the program in the compressed form.)

I'm also curious to know how big the file is and what you're trying to back it up on.

Kimmo Jaskari

If it is a really large executable it may well be a self-extracting compressed file. In that case, trying to use UPX on it will be an excercise in futility.

I'd use RAR on it myself and use that to store it in smaller pieces. If it is an executable compressed file with data stored inside it, I'd unpack it first and then pack the data inside the exe file into a RAR file, split into smaller sections.

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