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How to Open RAR Files Without WinRAR

WinRAR is an outdated application in 2023

5 min. read

Updated onOctober 13, 2023

updated onOctober 13, 2023

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Key notes

Extracting your .rarfiles inWindows 10can be a task that will take you no more than five minutes of your time but you will have to be aware of the software needed for you to be able to extract your files.

The software available forWindows 10to extract your files can be free if you use a trial version, or you can buy the full version depending on your needs.

Usually, the best application suitable forWindows 10is the WinRAR app, which you can buy from any available Windows Store, or you can download the WinZip application.

The guide below also covers some of the following topics as well:

How do I extract RAR files in Windows 10 without WinRAR?

1. Decide what software you will use

If you don’t want to use WinRar to extract files, you can use an alternative solution.

Despite the file format’s name and the fact that we associate RAR files by default with WinRAR, there are certainly better alternatives out there.

While WinRAR is indeed free to use, it is somewhat dated and hasn’t seemed to have evolved past the basic archiving and unzipping phase.

That being the case, and given this guide’s topic, here are two tools that can certainly handle RAR files just as better as WinRAR.

2. Use WinZip

There are plenty of tools out there that can handle archiving, and unzipping files, but few of them are reliable and error-free. As such, we’ve decided to recommend WinZip in the case at hand.

It is a modern file archiver and compressor that is very easy to use. This product offers unparalleled compression capabilities, allowing you to store data and files in a lossless manner at almost half the storage space as other file compression tools.

More so, it runs very fast when it comes to compressing and unzipping large amounts of data. All in all, if you want a tool that will extract RAR and ZIP files fast and efficiently, WinZip is the solution for you.

We will explain how you can use WinZip and get your files extracted in no time. Follow the tutorial below for detailed explanations on how to extract the .rar files in Windows 10.

Download and install Winzip.
Open the folder where you store your .rar file.
Right-click on the .rar file.
Hover your cursor over the WinZip option to open the menu.

5.Now, you will have a series of available options to choose from. For viewing the contents of the .rar folder you only have to double click (left click) on the folder.

Moreover, if you want to extract the files, you have multiple options at your disposal.

Note:For viewing the contents of the .rar folder you only have to double click (left click) on the folder.

So now that you have your .rar file extracted, you can go ahead and carry out your work on the Windows 8 and Windows 10 device without any issue.

If you have any questions regarding the extraction of the .rar file, please write us below and we will see what we can do to help you further.

WinZip

3. Use Directory Opus

There are other alternatives to WinZip that you can use. For example, you candownload Directory Opus, a very powerful file manager for Windows 10.

Many users believe that thebest file managersshould be versatile and powerful enough to handle any file management needs and requirements that users may have. However, not all file managers can handle archiving and unarchiving files.

Directory Opus brings many useful features and options to your computer and can easily replace WinRAR’s archiving functionality.

Can I extract RAR files without a password?

Some .rar files may be password protected. The good news is that you can extract them even if you forgot the password.

The easiest way to do that is to download and install a dedicated RAR password recovery tool, such as theRAR Password Geniusdeveloped by iSunShare Software.

This small, yet powerful password recovery utility can help you recover lost or forgotten passwords for RAR archives created by various file compression tools.

RAR Password Genius can recover complex passwords within minutes. The tool comes in two versions: a free version and a premium version. You can use the free version to recover passwords of up to three characters.

What to do if I get the access denied error?

Sometimes, even if you have the most reliable RAR extractor and you recovered your password, the error messageAccess deniedoccurs.

This issue may be triggered by access permission limitations, among other things. The good news is that you can fix that by taking ownership of the respective folder.

You have now taken ownership of the folder. Now you need to get permission to access it.

There you go, we hope that this guide helped you extract your RAR files. If you’re interested in other file types, we have a guide on how tounzip files on Windows 11.

If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to use the comments section below.

How to Open RAR Files Without WinRAR#

How do I extract RAR files in Windows 10 without WinRAR?#

1. Decide what software you will use#

2. Use WinZip#

WinZip#

3. Use Directory Opus#

Can I extract RAR files without a password?#

What to do if I get the access denied error?#