How to unzip exe file on Windows and Mac

Users of computers based on the Windows operating system quite often encounter EXE files. This is an installer file that allows you to install a game or program into the system. There are several ways to unzip files from an EXE. This article has collected information on how to do this on Windows and Mac.

Unpacking EXE files in Windows

There are two ways to unzip files:

1. Traditional, which involves the use of standard Windows tools.
2. With help programs.

These methods are fundamentally different from each other.

So how do you use these methods to unzip the .exe file in Windows?

Method One: Traditional Unpacking

Traditional unpacking does not require any auxiliary programs installed in the system. All you need is already preinstalled on Windows.

So, the process of unpacking the EXE file is as follows:

1. Open the file manager "Explorer".
2. Go to the folder where the file with the .exe extension is located.
3. Run it. To do this, just double-click on its icon with the left mouse button. Sometimes, administrator rights are required to start - in this case, you must first click the right mouse button, and then select the appropriate item from the menu.
4. The installer window will start. It is in it that you will need to set the unpacking parameters.
5. In the first window, you will be asked to select the language of the installer.
6. Then a welcome window will appear. It usually indicates what kind of program will be installed in the system.
7. Next, you will need to accept the user agreement.
8. Then select the folder into which all files will be unpacked.
9. After that, you will be prompted to create additional shortcuts in the Start menu and on the desktop.
10. After this step, unpacking all the installer files will begin.

You just have to wait for the completion of this process, after which it will be possible to close the window of the Setup Wizard. This is how simple it is to unzip the program .exe files.

Method Two: Extract Installation Files

The second method is fundamentally different from the first. If in the first case it was necessary to unzip the program files in order to run it on the computer after that, then in this case you need to extract the files of the installer itself in order to manipulate them. The example shows a special program called ResourcesExtract. It works as follows:

1. Download, install and run the application.
2. A window will appear in which you first need to specify the EXE file that you will unpack. This is done in the Filename field.
3. After that, you will need to specify the folder into which the files will be unpacked. This is done in the Destination Folder field.
4. After that, you can proceed to unpacking. To do this, click the Start button.
5. If desired, you can specify additional parameters. For example, specify which files to unpack. This is done in an area called Resource types to extract.

As a result, the installer files will be in the folder you specified. You can edit them at any time.

How to Unzip EXE Files on Mac

Unpacking in the Mac operating system is a completely different way. In order to get the files themselves with the EXE, you can use a simple archiver. The principle of unpacking is the same as with archives. The article shows how to unzip exe files, so that after you run the program on your computer. This is how you can run Windows programs on the Mac operating system.

So, in order to carry out the declared actions, you need to do the following:

1. In the operating system, click on the magnifying glass icon, which is located on the upper right.
2. In the box that appears, enter "Boot Camp Assistant."
3. In the results, select the row of the same name.
4. Next, the program will start, in which you need to put a checkmark in front of the item "Download the latest Apple Windows support software."
5. Insert the USB flash drive into the computer - it is on it that additional software will be downloaded.
6. Prepare an empty partition on the disk with at least 50 GB of space.
7. Click Continue.
8. Select the pre-prepared partition on which Windows will be installed.
9. At this point, you need to insert the Windows operating system disc into the drive and click the "Start Installation" button.
10. The computer will restart - do not worry, this is quite normal.
11. Again, indicate the section that was prepared for Windows.
12. Select the type of file system. If you install Windows above XP, then choose NTFS.
13. Next, the section formatting process starts. This can take a long time.
14. Insert the USB flash drive into which the additional software was downloaded. The process of installing all drivers from a flash drive will automatically start.
15. The computer will restart again.

After that, you can run the EXE file without any problems. Next, the installer will start, and further actions are similar to those that were in Windows.

Conclusion

It’s so easy to unzip the .exe file on Windows and Mac. All these methods are completely different: especially on a Mac, unpacking is much more complicated and longer than on Windows. This is due to the fact that EXE files were created exclusively for Windows.