Navigation

    • Register
    • Login
    • Search
    • Categories
    • Recent
    • Tags
    • Popular
    • Search
    • Missing virtual driver in Patchbeam

      pirrbe

      PA 2023 22.00.08
      Long time no seeing. So I start up the new year with a first problem : the virtual driver cannot be installed. Reason : it is missing in the Fast Ring PatchBeam Update Service…
      Virtual driver PA 2023-01-28 152607.png
      It seems a standard problem with new releases :-)
      Can I have a link or can it be fixed. Thank you. CU later

      Tech Support
    • PA 21.00.18 testing via context menu causes extraction of files

      D

      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.

      Tech Support
    • Start PowerArchiver 2023 Starter when my computer starts

      Brian Gregory

      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.

      Tech Support
    • Testing .pa archives

      PA_Fan

      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 errors

      Is 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.

      Tech Support
    • PA 21.00.18 Action / Test behaves oddly for me on .PA files

      Brian Gregory

      PA 21.00.18 running on Windows 7 64 bit.
      I made a big .PA file and thought I’d check it was made correctly with Menu / Actions / Test.
      Discovered:
      a) PA always issues a UAC prompt to do this!
      b) PA always says there are many errors in PA files.

      Tech Support
    • Small UI / Theme bug in 2023

      Z

      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 :)

      Tech Support
    • PowerArchiver and PACL for macOS

      spwolf

      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

      76e97ab9-8d75-4175-9ce8-446500031f38-image.png

      Tech Support
    • Functions in Windows 11 context menu no longer work after last Windows Update

      T

      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.

      Tech Support

    Does not support RAR 5.0 archives

    Tech Support
    6
    15
    6712
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • J
      joakim_46 Alpha Testers last edited by

      Latest PowerArchiver 2012 does not support RAR 5.0 archive format. It does not extract any files, and does not present any error message.

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • I
        Innuendo last edited by

        I can’t peer into spwolf’s mind, but I’m thinking we won’t see support for this until WinRAR 5.0 is out of beta.

        But yeah, there should be an error message stating WinRAR 5 archives aren’t supported yet.

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • spwolf
          spwolf conexware last edited by

          PA 2013 Alpha already supports RAR 5.00… obviously, older versions can not :-).

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • spwolf
            spwolf conexware last edited by

            if you want to Alpha test, let us know… more the better.

            S 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • S
              Socrates Banned @spwolf last edited by

              If a PA user also owns WinRar, and has PA configured to use WinRar, then I assume 2012 will open WinRar files (as long as the user has the beta version of WR installed).

              Correct?

              RJWaring 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • RJWaring
                RJWaring @Socrates last edited by

                @Socrates:

                If a PA user also owns WinRar, and has PA configured to use WinRar, then I assume 2012 will open WinRar files (as long as the user has the beta version of WR installed).

                Correct?

                Hi Socrates, If you are using the Latest Version of PA 2012 v13.03 it is capable of running WinRAR’s Engine “rar.exe” v4.20.00 including prior versions.

                If you wish to use the latest version of WinRAR V5.00 , then PowerArchiver 2013 v14 is compatible as well as prior versions.

                So if you have a Demo of WinRAR , you will need to ensure it’s a demo for v4.20.00 or prior for it to work with 2012. And if you want to test the latest Beta Version of WinRAR V5.00 then the new version of PowerArchiver currently in alpha testing v14.

                As WinRAR are still developing version 5 and are treating this as a brand new engine from the ground up which has required the PA team to develop a new script in PA v14 to handle it. I doubt PA 2012 will ever be compatible with anything above V4.20.*

                But I could be wrong.

                S spwolf 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • S
                  Socrates Banned @RJWaring last edited by

                  THIS COMMENT REALLY CUTS BETWEEN AN ALPHA COMMENT AND A MORE GENERAL COMMENT ABOUT FORMATS . . .

                  1. I fear my last message was unclear . . . or perhaps I misunderstand what the RAR Support option in PA does . . . I was wondering if (a) I owned WINRAR, and (b) had installed beta 5, and © had set the RAR support option in PA (even in 2012), if PA would use the WINRAR Beta, and thus be able to open WinRAR 5 archives.

                  2. It appears the WinRAR 5 engine is very impressive. I did a quick comparison test. Using PA from the shell, I compressed an entire folder (mostly PDFs and docx files). zipx (highest compression) took 13 sec. 7z took 12 sec.; and RAR5 took 6 seconds! The 7Z and RAR archives were the same size; the zipx was slightly larger.

                  I thought that perhaps one relevant difference might have been that the two PA tests were done from within the shell while the RAR was created within the RAR window.

                  Maybe that is the difference. But in trying to make a more adequate comparison, I tried to create the archives from within the open PA window; unfortunately, I had some trouble figuring out how to compress an entire folder, at least with a simple click or two.

                  Given the results of this admittedly one-off test, it seems like the RAR5 format blew the field away (although another relevant issue is the time it takes to decompress said archives — and that I didn’t test).

                  Finally, I added compress to RAR to my shell, and did the same test. That took 9 seconds.

                  This makes me think that I should continue to use PA because of its ability to work with some many archives, but start to use the new RAR 5 format as my default.

                  Or is this single test an aberration?

                  BTW, having set the default RAR format (within WinRAR) to RAR 5, PA’s “compress to RAR option” in the shell formed the archive in 8 seconds.

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • spwolf
                    spwolf conexware last edited by

                    in Config> RAR Support, you have command line calls for RAR engine… you need to add one for rar 5 format. PA will not use what you set in the GUI (it is not possible). It will use command line version of RAR.

                    Although I dont think they really changed much there, they just cleaned it up… RAR was always fast, but lesser compression. Basically to compare it to other formats, you would need to test others at lesser strenght.

                    S 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • spwolf
                      spwolf conexware @RJWaring last edited by

                      @Sir:

                      Hi Socrates, If you are using the Latest Version of PA 2012 v13.03 it is capable of running WinRAR’s Engine “rar.exe” v4.20.00 including prior versions.

                      If you wish to use the latest version of WinRAR V5.00 , then PowerArchiver 2013 v14 is compatible as well as prior versions.

                      So if you have a Demo of WinRAR , you will need to ensure it’s a demo for v4.20.00 or prior for it to work with 2012. And if you want to test the latest Beta Version of WinRAR V5.00 then the new version of PowerArchiver currently in alpha testing v14.

                      As WinRAR are still developing version 5 and are treating this as a brand new engine from the ground up which has required the PA team to develop a new script in PA v14 to handle it. I doubt PA 2012 will ever be compatible with anything above V4.20.*

                      But I could be wrong.

                      well, things are getting confusing:

                      1. All versions of PA 2012/2013 will work if you are using rar.exe of any kind.
                      2. If you are just using PA to extract RAR files, like 99% of population, then PA 2012 works with 4.xx, and PA 2013 will work with 5.xx and below.

                      What Joakim asked was about was #2… so support for that was added in PA 2013 already, works great, and we will have it out as soon as beta is done.

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • S
                        Socrates Banned @spwolf last edited by

                        @spwolf:

                        in Config> RAR Support, you have command line calls for RAR engine… you need to add one for rar 5 format. PA will not use what you set in the GUI (it is not possible). It will use command line version of RAR.

                        Although I dont think they really changed much there, they just cleaned it up… RAR was always fast, but lesser compression. Basically to compare it to other formats, you would need to test others at lesser strenght.

                        Generally all this helps. One more question and one comment.

                        The question. You said I need to add a special command line for rar 5 format. But the command line (in PA’s RAR Support) calls “rar.exe.” Since I have version 5 installed, I assumed that would create an archive with the rar5 format. If not, what special line or switch would I need?

                        The comment – and again I realize the files (more PDF than docx) might be atypical – but WinRar 5 created it much faster with the same size as 7z and slightly smaller than zipx.

                        spwolf 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • spwolf
                          spwolf conexware @Socrates last edited by

                          @Socrates:

                          Generally all this helps. One more question and one comment.

                          The question. You said I need to add a special command line for rar 5 format. But the command line (in PA’s RAR Support) calls “rar.exe.” Since I have version 5 installed, I assumed that would create an archive with the rar5 format. If not, what special line or switch would I need?

                          The comment – and again I realize the files (more PDF than docx) might be atypical – but WinRar 5 created it much faster with the same size as 7z and slightly smaller than zipx.

                          thats because those are already compressed files, so doesnt really matter that much what are we compressing them with… for trully compressible files, rar is not as strong.

                          i assume that rar.exe does not automatically create rar 5.x archives for compatibility reasons… usually we all leave defaults alone when it comes to console tools, since it is important for administrators to be able to simply update application and nothing should change if they dont change the script themselves.

                          Checking their help for you, i think you should add -ma5 to each line and it will be created in RAR5 format.

                          S 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • S
                            Socrates Banned @spwolf last edited by

                            Thanks for the clarification and the parameter.

                            Apologies that I didn’t manage to find it on their site.

                            BTW, most of the files I compress are PDFs and DOCXs. But you are right. They only average about a 10% compression. So none of the formats compress them much further (will PAF best this a good bit). Inasmuch as that is right, then speed is critical. so having RAR as an option in PBS would be VERY helpful since that is the way I move files from home to work and back.

                            spwolf 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • spwolf
                              spwolf conexware @Socrates last edited by

                              @Socrates:

                              Thanks for the clarification and the parameter.

                              Apologies that I didn’t manage to find it on their site.

                              BTW, most of the files I compress are PDFs and DOCXs. But you are right. They only average about a 10% compression. So none of the formats compress them much further (will PAF best this a good bit). Inasmuch as that is right, then speed is critical. so having RAR as an option in PBS would be VERY helpful since that is the way I move files from home to work and back.

                              if you really want fast, maybe zip at maximum? all of it really depends on kind of data you compress.

                              as to paf, yes, hopefully.

                              S 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • S
                                Socrates Banned @spwolf last edited by

                                Obviously there is a trade off. For me I do want smaller files since I then have to ftp them – and size does matter. But if it takes much longer to compress the file in the first place (the first step in pbs before FTPing the file), I may actually gain more time than I lose in transfer.

                                So I tried all three on an outlook.pst file (which is the one outlier to what I normally archive). it’s a 65mb file.

                                The results:

                                zipx (strongest compression) 24 sec 7.3mb
                                7zip (strongest compression) 26 sec 6.7 mb
                                rar5 8 sec 9.2mb

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • P
                                  PBMCMLXXI last edited by

                                  Great work with RAR5 support in PA 2013 :) Great how PA goes from strength to strength. :)

                                  Windows 10 *64 - Latest TP (Fast)

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • First post
                                    Last post