Problems with WinRAR / SelfExtracting files as they relate to disk images

If you understood the terms in the titles perhaps you can help!

about a year or two ago i got a high speed connection, and was likek a kid in a candy factory. I downloaded everything that I thought was too good to pass up. I am convinced I have a treasure trove of great programs the problem is that most of the large files are compressed, and some are "images" of CD's.

The problem comes when a file I have downloaded has the extention .exe These files can either be executable install programs, or they can be self-extracting compressed files, or (i think) they could even be disk images made with software i am not too familar with.

BTW I use Nero and am used to seeing *.nrg. I have dealt successfully with *.iso. There are several other forms that I have occasionally seen, but the most confusing is when the "iso" is type .exe. Now, as I write this, I am just remembering that occasionally I have simply changed the extension from .exe into .iso, and was then able to load it onto a "virtual drive" and install the program.

Okay here comes the question:
When I see *.exe and it does not seem to execute...how am i supposed to know what program to use on it?

Also, can someone explain this: i have a program, say 20 mb in size, and it has extension .exe. I right click, and WinRAR offers to extract it (which it normally only does for a compressed file that it can decompress) I do so and it does extract the files as a number of folders, one of which is called "disk 1"
there is also a file called setup.exe, but it doesn't work.
Okay you with me so far? Instead of extracting the file with WinRAR, if I simply double click the original 20 mb .exe file, then it self extracts, there is no "disk 1" folder, and the setup.exe file works! Question: Why did WinRAR think it should extract this?

and finally, I am looking at a 1.7 mb file that is .exe.
when I double click it, i get a message that decompression has failed, maybe there is not enough space in my temp file (impossible).
When I extract it with WinRAR the only produck is a file called "disk1 ID" which is 1 kb in size.
What does this mean?

I am not so much interested in this program as I am in knowing what is going on. I get a lot of files that don't install or extract, but seem like they are not corrupt. I have simply not understood what the files are telling me.

- HandsOff

 

If you see *.exe and cannot get it to run, then remove the program and reload it from the internet.

There is NO need to decompress *.exe. Just click on the *.exe and it will do ALL the work.

The other problems could be related to windows. Best advice is to backup important data, wipe the HD, and reload windows.

Do not use windows as a test bed. Bad applications can foul up critical windows files and corrupt the registry. Keep the number of installed applications to an absolute minimum if you want a stable and reliable OS.

If you want to test software, then use an image file to backup the OS prior to testing. Restore the previous good image file at the end of the test and you will be able to completely remove all traces of the test software.

 

Hi

I agree with the idea of backing up the system, and actually, most of the time if something doesn't work right, rather than spending time tracking down the problem, I will just restore the last image.

The reason I described the scenarios where a file or folder appeared called "disk 1" is that is suggestive that a disk image is involved. I used to be a little more knowlegable about using images, but I have been using Nero so much that i cannot remember for sure.

It seems to me that there were a couple of programs possibly IsoBuster (?) that could tell you what program created an image. as to the exe thing, i can only guess. maybe some compression software will not compress an image, but the process of telling it to compress one will change its extension from iso to exe. It's a wild guess, i admit. Still hoping someone out there has dealt with these things and can explain.

- HandsOff