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For serious downloaders especially torrenters, encountering umpteen RAR files are the norm. As stipulated in one of the many scene rules, releases depending on categories must be packed with RAR, i.e. DIVX/XVID releases must be packed with RAR and broken into 15 or 20 MB volumes and so on. When scene releases are leaked to the public through private trackers etc. and slowly down the hierarchy, the RAR files remain intact, with nary an uploader taking the initiative to extract the archives and uploading just the main file.

Upon completion of download, we have to navigate to the folder storing the download, and manually extracting them with our file extractor of choice. This process can be time consuming and very tedious.

Recently, I’ve discovered some useful tools which can make extracting multiple archives much easier and less of a headache. These programs are not a replacement for WinRAR or WinZIP, instead they utilize the API to extract the archives. First on the list;


1. Unpacker

Developed by Lars Werner, Unpacker makes a queue of every RAR file added to the list and extracts them one by one. This way you can peacefully play your games (or sleep) while extracting. It also has optional functions to cleanup (removing archives after extract). Other functions such as the ability to minimize to tray, adjusting thread priority etc. are also available.

The GUI is simplistic and fairly minimum which is great as it minimizes CPU resources. Furthermore, it is able to integrate into the right-click context menu, simplifying the extraction process. It’s AutoUnpacker function which allows users to scan and monitor directories for RAR archives is indeed a welcome addition. For example, we can monitor our default download directory, hence, downloaded RAR files are instantly extracted automatically.

The ability to adjust the thread priority gives users more control over the whole extracting process. Users with slow computers (like me) do not have to manually adjust the priority of the WinRAR process to speed up the time of extraction.

The only gripe I have about Unpacker is there is no portable version available. However, you could always use Thinstall to portablize it.

2. RARZombie

RARZombie is a Java based app that also allows easy extraction of multiple archives. As it is a Java applet, it is able to run on almost all OSes. However, being coded in Java has it’s drawbacks. It requires Java 1.6 or higher installed. While idle, it uses 25 MB of RAM, which is significantly higher than the rest. During this review, RARZombie was unresponsive twice so I had to terminate it manually via Task Manager.

RARZombie didn’t seem able to extract any RAR files on during my test. The lack of a FAQ on the homepage didn’t seem to help too. The GUI looks rather awkward with the window spanning larger than my desktop on a resolution of 1024×768 pixels. The buttons can be unresponsive at times too.

As this version is currently in beta, and quotheth the author RARZombie is a work-in-progress and is provided without a manual, warranty, or guarantee for support.” there are still quite some bugs that still need to be taken care of. Hopefully the final version of RARZombie will be much better and improved.

3. ExtractNow

ExtractNow is a more lightweight app to extracting multiple archives. Currently ExtractNow supports ZIP, RAR, ISO, BIN, IMG, IMA, IMZ, 7Z, ACE, JAR, GZ, LZH, LHA, TAR, SIT archive formats, which is much more than the rest.

In terms of ease of use, this app beats em all. Users need only to drop the target folder into the window, and it will detect the archives available. If the archive is password-protected, the user will be prompted with a window for the password. It is able to integrate into Windows shell context menu and also associate known file types.

ExtractNow is great but it could do with a feature like AutoUnpacker as mentioned above.

4. The Scene Release Unpacker

The Scene Release Unpacker is a more advanced tool compared to the rest. To setup, you should first select your output directory under the “Settings” tab. Under “Watcher”, browse to your location where you store your downloads and remember to include subdirectories. In “Filters”, you can add rules to ensure that only specific files with specific filenames are extracted. “Profiles” are where you create different profiles which different filters i.e. Music, TV, Movies etc.

SCRU is more advanced to set up, which makes it not exactly user-friendly for most people. It also requires NET Framework 2.0 or higher, which may be a drawback for some.

5. Scene Unpacker (1.0.0.1)

Scene Unpacker (1.0.0.1) is somewhat similar to ExtractNow. You just have to drag & drop the folder into the window, and it’ll detect the archives available. The only difference is Scene Unpacker (1.0.0.1) is portable, meaning you can carry it anywhere on your USB thumbdrive.

Scene Unpacker (1.0.0.1) also requires NET Framework 2.0 to run, which you can download it here.

My favorite of them all is Unpacker as it does it’s job with no frills, albeit it not being portable. If you know of any related programs, why not post it in the comments below?

This article is written and contributed by xje4bv