Extract text from PAR2 files
To convert your PAR2 file to another format, you need QuickPar or other Backup software.
To convert other file formats to the "Parity Archive Volume" file type, you need software like QuickPar or a similar tool.
The .par2 file is a Parchive 2.0 index or volume file, a sophisticated data recovery format primarily used to protect multi-part archives (like RAR or ZIP sets) widely distributed on Usenet. Unlike standard files, a .par2 does not contain the actual user content (video, software, or images) but rather Reed-Solomon checksums and parity blocks.
The primary constraint for users is that .par2 files are not "viewable" documents; they are strictly utility files that require specialized, often dated software like QuickPar or MultiPar to function. A common frustration is attempting to "convert" a .par2 directly into a video format (like MP4). This is impossible because the file acts only as a repair kit for damaged downloads. If you possess a .par2 file without the corresponding damaged data files, it is functionally useless.
To access the content protected by this format, you do not convert the .par2 file itself. Instead, you use it to verify and repair the associated archive volumes. Once repaired, the target archives (usually RAR) can be extracted to your desired format. For long-term archiving, creating .par2 redundancy files is excellent practice, but for access, the goal is always to process the repair and discard the parity files once the primary data is verified.
Convert.Guru analyzes your PAR2 file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted PAR, RAR, DJVU, XRF and INK files.
If you want to convert PAR2 file to ZIP, RAR, 7Z, TAR, GZ, BZ2, XZ, LZMA, CAB, ACE, ARJ or LHA, you can use QuickPar or similar software from the "Archive Recovery & Error Correction" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert XXE, 7Z, Z, PAK, LHA, DEB, UUE, TAR, LZH, ZIP, PKG or RAR files to PAR2, try QuickPar or another comparable tool in the "Archive Recovery & Error Correction" 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 PAR2 converter.