Extract text from Windows cabinet archives (CAB)
To convert CAB archives to another format, you need Windows Explorer or other Compressed software.
To convert other file formats to the "Cabinet Archive" file type, you need software like Windows Explorer or a similar tool.
A .CAB file is a Windows Cabinet compressed archive developed by Microsoft. These files are primarily used by the Windows operating system to store software installation files, system updates, and device drivers. You will frequently encounter them bundled within MSI installers or standalone Windows update packages. Another common variant is the InstallShield cabinet archive, used by legacy installation wizards.
While native to Windows, .CAB files pose significant usability challenges. The format is heavily optimized for Windows infrastructure, making it exceptionally difficult to open on macOS or Linux without third-party utilities. Furthermore, InstallShield .CAB files use a different internal structure than standard Microsoft .CAB files. This discrepancy frequently causes standard extraction tools like WinRAR or 7-Zip to fail silently or return error messages. They are strictly distribution containers and are not meant for general-purpose file sharing.
To access the contents of a .CAB file reliably across any platform, converting it or extracting it to a standardized archive format is highly recommended. For universal access and easy sharing across web and mobile, convert your files to ZIP. For maximum compression when archiving the contents locally, use 7Z. If you are migrating the extracted files to a Unix-based system, use TAR.
Convert.Guru analyzes your CAB file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted MUM, EXE, ETL, SDI, CAP, ONLINE, ZIP, IM4, WSP, AR, INF, FRM and DICOMDIR files.
If you want to convert CAB file to MSU, EXE, ZIP, MSI, ISO, PDF, INF, CSV, SYS, DLL, DRV or VXD, you can use Windows Explorer or similar software from the "Software Installation Archive" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert MSI, EXE, REG, MST, LNK, CAT, DRV, INF, SYS, MSU, DLL or PIF files to CAB, try Windows Explorer or another comparable tool in the "Software Installation Archive" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our CAB converter.