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When the function for testing archives is invoked via the shell context menu (PowerArchiver > Test) then all the files in the archive get extracted to the current folder.
The test dialog reports as many errors as there are files in the archive but it fails to give any hint as to which files are supposed to be erroneous or what the nature of the problem might be. Comparing the extracted files to the originals shows no differences at all.
The .7z in question was produced with maximised compression settings in 7zip (taking forever but resulting in smaller archives than .7z produced by PowerArchiver with maximised settings). Therefore I wanted to see whether PowerArchiver can at least test .7z that it produced itself. Hence I had PowerArchiver convert a .pa with the same contents to .7z. There weren’t any errors reported but the resulting .7z contained fewer than half of the files contained in the .pa (137 of 366), so I scratched that test.
Performance is abysmal when testing via the context menu (e.g. almost 2 minutes for testing a .7z that 7zip tests in 4 seconds), but that is most likely due to the fact that the extracted files are written to disk. Testing the same .7z in the PowerArchiver GUI takes only 8 seconds but causes the mysterious appearance of a UAC dialog, as reported elsewhere.
The testing function is vital because PowerArchiver has a history of producing archives that it cannot unpack without errors or that do not conform to the respective file format standards (e.g. ZIP) so that other programs report them as erroneous.
The point of creating archives is that the files in them will most likely have to be extracted at some point. If the extraction cannot be guaranteed to produce correct results then the whole program is absolutely pointless. Actually, worse than pointless - it causes data loss and hence damage.
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In PowerArchiver 2023 22.00.06 configuration, the option labelled “Start PowerArchiver 2023 Starter when my computer starts” seems to be redundant.
I am only allowed to change this option when PA Starter is disabled, and then it seems to be ignored.
When I enable PA Starter this option is forced to the enabled state.
I think it’d be good to remove “Start PowerArchiver 2023 Starter when my computer starts” completely. I’ve always found it confusing having both options.
Added later: However i don’t particularly want to use queue but I do like having the PAStarter icon in my tray area.
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W10 Pro 22H2 - 64 -bit
PA 22.00.06 (PA 2023)
It has been the case with previous versions of PowerArchiver, but I had hoped that the latest might behave differently. Not so, I’m afraid.
I have, for various obscure reasons, created a few .pa archives, mainly in the hope that they will save me some more space. From time to time, I use the “Test” option to check that important archives are OK and uncorrupted.
With every .pa archive I’ve tested, the process runs through OK but then reports that there are errors. This is always the number of files in the archive e.g. if 11 files, then 11 errors reported.
In the .pa, I can:-
preview the files (usually PDF) extract some or all files and look at or use them convert the .pa to a .zip or .zipx archive, which then works fine and tests without errorsIs it the case that the Test routine isn’t designed for .pa archives, or is there another reason? Although the .pa seems to function properly, despite the test reporting errors, I would like to be sure that every .pa is OK and not “broken”.
Some of the .pas are quite old and produced with earlier PA versions (they are truly “archives”). If I extract all the files in the old .pa, create a new, fresh .pa and add back the files to that, then test the new, no errors (at least in the .pa I’ve tried this on) are reported. This would suggest a mismatch between old .pas and newer versions of PA itself.
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Clipboard02.jpg
See the, supposedly, blank space where the green box is? It’s like that in Modern Light theme too. I can toggle it, but it’s missing text or shouldn’t be there I guess?
Thanks :)
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Dear @Alpha-Testers and all of our users,
time has come for testing of PowerArchiver and PACL for macOS.
Please let us know here if you have Mac and can test latest builds.Features implemented:
PowerArchiver 2020 - tabbing, opening, extracting, adding, testing, favorite folders, support for multiple languages, opening via Finder, explorer mode, installer.
PACL 10 - support for most formats and features in Windows version.Upcoming: Tools such as archive converter, batch zip, multi-extract.
To start testing, please sign up here in this thread, and we will send you latest build.
thank you!
Ashampoo_Snap_Wednesday, November 20, 2019_12h54m56s_008_.png Ashampoo_Snap_Wednesday, November 20, 2019_12h55m05s_009_.png Ashampoo_Snap_Wednesday, November 20, 2019_12h55m14s_010_.png Ashampoo_Snap_Wednesday, November 20, 2019_12h55m30s_011_.png Ashampoo_Snap_Wednesday, November 20, 2019_12h55m39s_012_.png Ashampoo_Snap_Wednesday, November 20, 2019_12h55m49s_013_.png Ashampoo_Snap_Wednesday, November 20, 2019_12h56m00s_014_.png Ashampoo_Snap_Wednesday, November 20, 2019_12h54m43s_007_.png
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For some reason, the PowerArchiver functions in the Windows 11 context menu no longer work after the last Windows Update. Only the functions in the classic context menu function as they should.
I’ve tried uninstalling PowerArchiver and using RevoUninstaller to remove all bits and pieces that were left behind and did a clean install of PowerArchiver, it didn’t fix the issue. Other items in the Windows 11 context menu work.
Compression Forensics
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I having been using Power Archiver exclusively for several years. Recently I have run into a problem that required me to reload WinZip along side Power Archiver. I’ll explain the situation in hopes that it is possibly a configuration issue and if not a configuration issue then an idea for future functionality.
At the heart of the problem is that part of my job requires forensic examination of digital information. One of the techniques used for opening password protected .zip files is called a Known plaintext attack.
As described in the above article the plaintext version of the archive must match the encrypted version of the archive minus the encryption. The problem I have discovered is that the same file compressed with Power Archiver and WinZip yields two different resulting files. I have tried every setting that I can image that would effect the creation of the file but in the end I can not get a file encrypted with WinZip to be attacked with a plaintext version compressed with Power Archiver.
It has been my experience that programs that enable this type of attack check the CRC value of the encrypted file against the CRC value of the compressed plaintext file and the values between Power Archiver and WinZip do not match.
So basically what I am seeking is a way to have Power Archiver compress a file so that it is identical (forensically the same) as a file compressed with WinZip. Is this possible today via some combination of settings? If not possible today is this (check box for WinZip forensic compatibility) something that could likely be added in a future version?
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I would think that is was not possible unless PowerArchiver and WinZip both use the same compression engine. Yet, I’m no software programmer.
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It is not possible because of several reasons - zip engines are not the same which means that when you compress both files, you will end up with different results. Even more important, they use different encryption. PA uses PkWare’s standard while WZ uses WinZip standard. Both can read each other though but they differ.
thanks
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Just to be clear how encryption is implemented in either program is not the issue. The need is to have the non-encrypted files be the same between the two programs.
Specifically I need a way to create a standard non-encrypted ZIP file with Power Archiver that would have the same CRC (and I suppose MD5 & SHA-1 hashes) as a standard non-encrypted ZIP file created with WinZip.
In my naivety I am thinking that the ZIP format would allow for two programs to compress the same file in the same way thereby ending up with the same compressed file as a result.
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As already stated by spwolf, PA and WZ use different Zip engines - so this is not likely to be possible for “real world” situations (by which I mean actually using compression as opposed to just “store”).
The same would apply for other utilities such as 7-zip, which also uses a different zip engine.I have not checked but I would not be surprised if this could be a problem even using the same utility, but in different versions e.g. PA V7.0 vs PA V9.0 (or WZ V7.0 vs WZ V10.0).
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there is one way ond only one which would be impractical but fesiable have two zip engines in the same program not worth it though. might as well install two programs but just a thought.
winzip is solid but not upgraded regualy and if you look at winzip the features are a lot like powerarchives and pa came out with some of them when it was freeware.
but each program have their benifts.
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You may not vote on this poll
:(
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