Extract text from Windows Backup catalogs (WBCAT)
To convert WBCAT catalogs to another format, you need Windows Backup or other Backup software.
To convert other file formats to the "Backup Catalog File" file type, you need software like Windows Backup or a similar tool.
The .WBCAT file is a proprietary Windows Backup Catalog file generated by Microsoft Windows and its native Backup and Restore utility. It functions as a master index, mapping out the folder structures, timestamps, and exact locations of files stored within a system backup archive. Other enterprise backup and recovery solutions, such as Acronis True Image or Veritas Backup Exec, rely on similar indexing methods to track archived data.
The main disadvantage of the .WBCAT format is its rigid, closed nature. It is a highly proprietary metadata file that does not contain your actual documents, photos, or system files. Users often transfer this file expecting to open their backed-up documents on another computer, only to discover it requires the original Windows Restore environment to be read. It is completely unreadable in standard text editors or web browsers.
Because this file format is difficult to open or convert, standard online converters fail to process it. Converting a .WBCAT file into a PDF or DOCX is impossible because the actual media payload simply does not exist within the catalog. Often, only the original Windows operating system can properly read or export the underlying data via the restore utility.
Despite these limitations, just drag and drop your file to identify the format, view it, and convert it when possible. convert.guru can still identify the file format, inspect the file, and show text or internal content. If our analysis detects a supported underlying or embedded format, viewing or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your WBCAT file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted WBK, 1-STEP, TIBX and KGP files.
If you want to convert WBCAT file to BAK, BACKUP, OLD, TMP, TEMP, ARC, ZIP, TAR, GZ, 7Z, RAR or ISO, you can use Windows Backup or similar software from the "Backup Index and Metadata Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert SNAPSHOT, OLD, IMG, RESTORE, ISO, COPY, VMDK, TMP, VHD, BAK, ARCHIVE or BACKUP files to WBCAT, try Windows Backup or another comparable tool in the "Backup Index and Metadata Storage" 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 WBCAT converter.