Fastest Way To Extract Cab Files 

Windows 95\98\98se

This is my most popular bat file -  the fastest, easiest way to extract cab files in Windows 95 or 98.  I've been using this method to search and extract cab files for years and I have yet to see any easier, faster or more efficient way to do this without the need for any outside utility or program.

Why would you want to extract cab files?  Well, when one of your Windows files is corrupt or missing, this is where they are located on your Windows CD.

I will try to make this easy to understand for even the novice, by giving a step by step guide.

In this demo, I am assuming that your cab files are located on your CD in D:\Win98se.

Make sure to substitute with the path of your own Windows cab files or Windows CD,  if different from in the demo.
 
Ok, here's what to do, step by step.

1.  Open up a new Notepad document  or any other text editor and copy and paste these commands into it.  Once pasted, remember to subsitute the path

@echo off
md c:\windows\desktop\WinFiles
if "%1"=="" goto error
CLS
c:
cd c:\windows\desktop\WinFiles
for %%i in (D:\Win98se\*.CAB) do extract %%i %1
ECHO.
IF EXIST %1 ECHO %1 successfully extracted.
IF NOT EXIST %1 ECHO %1 not found
goto end
:error
echo.
echo Syntax: CabX file-to-extract
echo Example: CabX Control.exe
echo.
:end

Save the file as CabX.bat in your C:\Windows directory. (make sure you use the .bat extension and not the .txt extension that you would normally use in a text editor such as Notepad) 
 
2.  Now create  a shortcut to cabx.bat by right click and dragging it from your Windows folder to your Desktop and choosing "New Shortcut Here" from the context menu that pops up when you release the mouse button.
 
3.  Right click your new desktop shortcut and go to Properties.  Click the Program tab. Enter a space and a ? mark at the end of the command line, ie: C:\Windows\cabx.bat ? 

4.  Click Apply and then click Change Icon to choose a more friendly icon.  Finally, rename the shortcut to CabExtract or whatever you prefer.
 
You now have a desktop shortcut that will almost instantly extract any cab file from your Windows CD by just entering the name. The file will be extracted to a a folder named WinFiles, on your desktop.   Test it out.

Click the shortcut and enter explorer.exe and click ok.  Within seconds, you should have explorer.exe extracted to the newly created WinFiles folder.

Another benefit of this method is that you can see where any cab file is located. You don't have to go looking for it.  Therefore it searches, finds and extracts all in one shot.

TIP: If the scrolling is too fast and you need to know the location of a particular cab file,  extract the file and then enter the name again to extract it a second time. This will cause DOS to stop at the location of the cab file to ask you if you want to overwrite the one you already extracted, and thus give you a clear view of the location of the cab file. Once you note the location, click No. 

You can also enter wildcards and partial names if you're not sure of the name of  a file you need.  For example, say the file you need is comctld32.dll but you're not sure of the  spelling. Just enter something like com*.dll  and it will extract all dll files that begin with com.
 
Or if you don't know the extension either, simply enter com*.* and ALL files that begin with com regardless of extension, will be extracted.
 
You can also extract multiple files.
Say you want to back up all your dll files. Just enter *.dll and every single dll file will be extracted.
 
Say you want to backup ALL your Windows cab files.  Just enter *.* and every single file from every single cab file will be extracted.
 
You can also run the actual bat file (not the shortcut) in native DOS or at the Runbox by entering the name of the bat file followed by the name of the file you  want to extract.

For example:
cabx kernl32.dll would extract kernl32.dll.

Note that you don't have to enter the extension of the bat file. cabx is all you have to enter, not cabx.bat. 

Note: If you are a newbie when it comes to DOS and would like an easy to understand book that will teach you DOS in plain English, there are two books in the popular Dummy series I would recommend -  Dos For Dummies and Dos For Dummies Quick Reference.  Both are excellent and very thorough.

Find out more at my DOS Books page.

Vic Ferri owns the very popular WinTips and Tricks and Registry Answers.  Subscribe to either and receive free Windows and Registry Tips.  He is also in charge of the Printing Tips  pages at Linda's Computer Stop.  Vic has also created a program which allows you to Lock & Hide desktop folders in Windows 9X/ME.  Read more and get the free demo here.  And, he now offers a service to convert PowerPoint presentations to .exe files which can be viewed on computers which do not have PowerPoint installed.