Herbalist Dr MziziMkavu
JF-Expert Member
- Feb 3, 2009
- 42,299
- 33,082
File extensions (inc .daa!!!) What to do with .rar/.bin/.srt/.daa etc.
Many files have a file extension. A file extension is a tag (usually of three letters), preceded by a period, which gives information about the file's format or the application used to create the file.
For example, when you have a file called "CD1.iso", then "iso" is the file extension.
This topic shows a list of the most common file extensions, ordered by type.
BitTorrent file
Example: .torrent
All files you can download from mininova are BitTorrent files.
These files are small metadata files. Metadata here means that the file contains information about the data you want to download, not the data itself.
You can open these files with any BitTorrent client. For more information, read the CODE
Frequently Asked Questions - Mininova
.
Archives
Example: .rar .zip .ace .r01 .r02 .001 .002
These extensions tell that the actual data you downloaded is compressed into an "archive".
This is a way of making the files more compact and easier to download.
In order to access the data in the archive, you have to extract the archive.
You can extract any of the archives listed above with the program CODE
WinRAR archiver, a powerful tool to process RAR and ZIP files
.
Other well-known alternatives are CODE
PowerArchiver 2011 | Create and Open Zip, Zipx, Iso, Tar, Cab and 7-zip files, open and extract Rar, Ace and backup your files with PowerArchiver – award winning multicore compression utility.
, CODE
WinZip - Windows Zip Utility - Zip Files, Unzip Files
and CODE
WinAce - your archiving companion
.
Multimedia files
Example: .avi .mpg .mpeg .divx .xvid .wmv
These files are usually movies or TVshows, or a host of other types of media. They can be viewed using various media players. We suggest using VLC Media Player, Windows Media Player Classic, BSPlayer or Zoomplayer. Also, you'll need to make sure you have the right codecs to play each individual file. Codecs are a tricky business sometimes so to help you out with your file and what exact codecs it needs try using CODE
GSpot Codec Information Appliance
. It tells you what codecs you need. Below are some common codecs and their links for quick reference:
These are CODE
Apple - QuickTime - Download and watch videos, movies, and TV shows.
files. QuickTime is Apple's media player. There are some good alternatives to the original program and we suggest you to use them. Please check out CODE
Final Builds Site
.
Example: .ra .rm .ram
These are CODE
Media Player: Download the Best Media Player Free | RealPlayer
files. Most users don't like RealPlayer, because it installs many "extras" that are difficult to remove from your system.
There are however alternatives to the original program, check out CODE
Final Builds Site
.
Example: .vcd .svcd
These can be a pain on some peoples setups, but more so, on your stand-alone DVD player. For all your vcd needs check out VideoHelp.com - Forum, Guides, Tools and hardware lists. These guys know their stuff, and can help you with all kinds of media related questions.
Example: .mp3 .mp2
These files are music files. Play them with CODE
Winamp Media Player - MP3, Video, and Music Player - Winamp
.
Example: .ogm .ogg
Ogg Vorbis media files. You can find out more about them and download applications here. This filetype is another music file format, but can be used for various media. You will probably want to download the CODE
everwicked.com
to play back OGM files. Any new version of CODE
Winamp Media Player - MP3, Video, and Music Player - Winamp
will also do.
CD/DVD image files
Example: .bin .cue
These are your standard images of a CD or DVD, and are used quite alot these days.
To open them you have a couple options. You can burn them using CODE
Nero - CD DVD Burning, Video Editing Software, Backup Software - Official Site
or CODE
CD and DVD Burning Software - Alcohol Soft copy and virtual drive software Alcohol 120 and 52% Free Edition
, but this proves to be problematic for a lot of people.
You can also use CODE
Home page :: DAEMON-Tools.cc
, which lets you mount the image to a "virtual CD/DVD-rom", so basically it tricks your computer into thinking that you inserted the disk into your CD/DVD drive. Alcohol 120% also sports a virtual cd-rom feature.
Finally, if you're still struggling to access the files contained within any given image file you can use CODE
CDmage - CD image handling tool
to extract the files and then burn them, or just access them from your hard drive. You can also use CODE
Welcome to WWW.VCDGEAR.COM
to extract the mpeg contents of a SVCD or VCD image file such as bin/cue.
Example: .iso
Another type of image file that follows similar rules as .bin and .cue, only you extract or create them using CODE
WinISO - Extract ISO, BIN to ISO, Edit, Create, Bootable ISO
or CODE
CD Recovery | CD DVD Data Rescue software, featuring BD HD DVD
. Sometimes converting a problematic .bin and .cue file to an .iso can help you burn it to a CD or DVD.
Example: .ccd .img .sub
All these files go together and are in the CODE
SlySoft CloneCD | clone cd, backup cd, cd copy, copy music cd, copy navigation cd, copy protected cd, safe disc
format. CloneCD is like most other CD-Burning programs, see the .bin and .cue section if you're having problems with these files.
Other files
Example: .txt .doc
These are text files. .txt files can be opened with notepad or watever you default text editor happens to be, and .doc are opened with Microsoft Word.
Example: .nfo
These contain information about the file you just downloaded, and it's HIGHLY recommended that you read these! They are plain text files, often with ascii-art. You can open them with Notepad, Wordpad, CODE
Download DAMN NFO Viewer 2.10.0032.RC3 Free - The BEST utility for viewing text files containing ASCII Art (NFO/DIZ/TXT) - Softpedia
or CODE
UltraEdit Text Editor | UltraCompare file compare | UEStudio | UltraSentry
.
Example: .pdf
Can be opened with CODE
PDF reader, protected mode | Adobe Reader X
.
Example: .jpg .gif .tga .psd
Basic image files. These files generally contain pictures, and can be opened with CODE
Digital picture editor, Photo editor | Adobe Photoshop CS5
or whatever your default image viewer is.
Example: .sfv
Checks to make sure that your multi-volume archives are complete. This just lets you know if you've downloaded something complete or not. (This is not really an issue when DL:ing via torrent.) You can open/activate these files with CODE
SFV Checker
or CODE
hkSFV Overview/Features
for example.
Example: .par
This is a parity file, and is often used when downloading from newsgroups. These files can fill in gaps when you're downloading a multi-volume archive and get corrupted or missing parts. Open them with CODE
QuickPar for Windows
.
And more...
If you have problems opening a file with an extension that isn't on this list, take a look at this page: CODE
FILExt - The File Extension Source
.
Source: File extensions (inc .daa!!!) - Mininova
Official mininova File Extensions Guide
Many files have a file extension. A file extension is a tag (usually of three letters), preceded by a period, which gives information about the file's format or the application used to create the file.
For example, when you have a file called "CD1.iso", then "iso" is the file extension.
This topic shows a list of the most common file extensions, ordered by type.
BitTorrent file
Example: .torrent
All files you can download from mininova are BitTorrent files.
These files are small metadata files. Metadata here means that the file contains information about the data you want to download, not the data itself.
You can open these files with any BitTorrent client. For more information, read the CODE
Frequently Asked Questions - Mininova
.
Archives
Example: .rar .zip .ace .r01 .r02 .001 .002
These extensions tell that the actual data you downloaded is compressed into an "archive".
This is a way of making the files more compact and easier to download.
In order to access the data in the archive, you have to extract the archive.
You can extract any of the archives listed above with the program CODE
WinRAR archiver, a powerful tool to process RAR and ZIP files
.
Other well-known alternatives are CODE
PowerArchiver 2011 | Create and Open Zip, Zipx, Iso, Tar, Cab and 7-zip files, open and extract Rar, Ace and backup your files with PowerArchiver – award winning multicore compression utility.
, CODE
WinZip - Windows Zip Utility - Zip Files, Unzip Files
and CODE
WinAce - your archiving companion
.
Multimedia files
Example: .avi .mpg .mpeg .divx .xvid .wmv
These files are usually movies or TVshows, or a host of other types of media. They can be viewed using various media players. We suggest using VLC Media Player, Windows Media Player Classic, BSPlayer or Zoomplayer. Also, you'll need to make sure you have the right codecs to play each individual file. Codecs are a tricky business sometimes so to help you out with your file and what exact codecs it needs try using CODE
GSpot Codec Information Appliance
. It tells you what codecs you need. Below are some common codecs and their links for quick reference:
- CODE
ffdshow | Download ffdshow software for free at SourceForge.net
(recommended! plays many formats: XviD, DivX, 3ivX, mpeg-4) - CODE
Xvid.org: Home of the Xvid Codec - CODE
DivX - CODE
http://ac3filter.sourceforge.net/
(for AC3 soundtracks, aka "5.1") - CODE
Xiph.org: Ogg
(for .OGM files)
These are CODE
Apple - QuickTime - Download and watch videos, movies, and TV shows.
files. QuickTime is Apple's media player. There are some good alternatives to the original program and we suggest you to use them. Please check out CODE
Final Builds Site
.
Example: .ra .rm .ram
These are CODE
Media Player: Download the Best Media Player Free | RealPlayer
files. Most users don't like RealPlayer, because it installs many "extras" that are difficult to remove from your system.
There are however alternatives to the original program, check out CODE
Final Builds Site
.
Example: .vcd .svcd
These can be a pain on some peoples setups, but more so, on your stand-alone DVD player. For all your vcd needs check out VideoHelp.com - Forum, Guides, Tools and hardware lists. These guys know their stuff, and can help you with all kinds of media related questions.
Example: .mp3 .mp2
These files are music files. Play them with CODE
Winamp Media Player - MP3, Video, and Music Player - Winamp
.
Example: .ogm .ogg
Ogg Vorbis media files. You can find out more about them and download applications here. This filetype is another music file format, but can be used for various media. You will probably want to download the CODE
everwicked.com
to play back OGM files. Any new version of CODE
Winamp Media Player - MP3, Video, and Music Player - Winamp
will also do.
CD/DVD image files
Example: .bin .cue
These are your standard images of a CD or DVD, and are used quite alot these days.
To open them you have a couple options. You can burn them using CODE
Nero - CD DVD Burning, Video Editing Software, Backup Software - Official Site
or CODE
CD and DVD Burning Software - Alcohol Soft copy and virtual drive software Alcohol 120 and 52% Free Edition
, but this proves to be problematic for a lot of people.
You can also use CODE
Home page :: DAEMON-Tools.cc
, which lets you mount the image to a "virtual CD/DVD-rom", so basically it tricks your computer into thinking that you inserted the disk into your CD/DVD drive. Alcohol 120% also sports a virtual cd-rom feature.
Finally, if you're still struggling to access the files contained within any given image file you can use CODE
CDmage - CD image handling tool
to extract the files and then burn them, or just access them from your hard drive. You can also use CODE
Welcome to WWW.VCDGEAR.COM
to extract the mpeg contents of a SVCD or VCD image file such as bin/cue.
Example: .iso
Another type of image file that follows similar rules as .bin and .cue, only you extract or create them using CODE
WinISO - Extract ISO, BIN to ISO, Edit, Create, Bootable ISO
or CODE
CD Recovery | CD DVD Data Rescue software, featuring BD HD DVD
. Sometimes converting a problematic .bin and .cue file to an .iso can help you burn it to a CD or DVD.
Example: .ccd .img .sub
All these files go together and are in the CODE
SlySoft CloneCD | clone cd, backup cd, cd copy, copy music cd, copy navigation cd, copy protected cd, safe disc
format. CloneCD is like most other CD-Burning programs, see the .bin and .cue section if you're having problems with these files.
Other files
Example: .txt .doc
These are text files. .txt files can be opened with notepad or watever you default text editor happens to be, and .doc are opened with Microsoft Word.
Example: .nfo
These contain information about the file you just downloaded, and it's HIGHLY recommended that you read these! They are plain text files, often with ascii-art. You can open them with Notepad, Wordpad, CODE
Download DAMN NFO Viewer 2.10.0032.RC3 Free - The BEST utility for viewing text files containing ASCII Art (NFO/DIZ/TXT) - Softpedia
or CODE
UltraEdit Text Editor | UltraCompare file compare | UEStudio | UltraSentry
.
Example: .pdf
Can be opened with CODE
PDF reader, protected mode | Adobe Reader X
.
Example: .jpg .gif .tga .psd
Basic image files. These files generally contain pictures, and can be opened with CODE
Digital picture editor, Photo editor | Adobe Photoshop CS5
or whatever your default image viewer is.
Example: .sfv
Checks to make sure that your multi-volume archives are complete. This just lets you know if you've downloaded something complete or not. (This is not really an issue when DL:ing via torrent.) You can open/activate these files with CODE
SFV Checker
or CODE
hkSFV Overview/Features
for example.
Example: .par
This is a parity file, and is often used when downloading from newsgroups. These files can fill in gaps when you're downloading a multi-volume archive and get corrupted or missing parts. Open them with CODE
QuickPar for Windows
.
And more...
If you have problems opening a file with an extension that isn't on this list, take a look at this page: CODE
FILExt - The File Extension Source
.
Source: File extensions (inc .daa!!!) - Mininova
