Convert ARC to TAR

Understanding ARC and TAR file formats

ARC is a legacy archive file format developed in the 1980s for compressing and bundling multiple files into a single file. It was widely used on DOS systems but has since been replaced by more modern formats. TAR (Tape Archive) is a popular archive format in Unix and Linux environments, used to collect multiple files into one archive file without compression by default. TAR files are commonly used for backup and distribution purposes.

Why convert ARC to TAR?

Converting ARC files to TAR format is useful for compatibility with modern systems and software, as TAR is widely supported on Unix-like operating systems. This conversion also helps in preserving old data in a more accessible format.

How to convert ARC to TAR

Since ARC is an outdated format, you will first need to extract the contents of the ARC archive and then repackage them into a TAR file. Here’s how you can do it:

• Step 1: Extract the ARC file using a tool that supports ARC, such as 7-Zip (Windows) or unar (Linux/Mac).
• Step 2: Once extracted, use a TAR utility to create a TAR archive from the extracted files.

Recommended software for ARC to TAR conversion

7-Zip is a free and open-source file archiver for Windows that can extract ARC files and create TAR archives. For Linux and Mac, unar can extract ARC files, and the tar command can create TAR archives.

Using 7-Zip on Windows

1. Open 7-Zip File Manager.
2. Navigate to your ARC file and select it.
3. Click Extract to extract the contents to a folder.
4. Select the extracted files, right-click, and choose 7-Zip → Add to archive....
5. In the archive format dropdown, select tar and click OK.

Using command line on Linux/Mac

1. Install unar if not already installed.
2. Run unar file.arc to extract the ARC archive.
3. Run tar -cvf archive.tar extracted_folder/ to create a TAR archive from the extracted files.

Online converters

There are few online converters that support ARC to TAR directly due to the rarity of ARC files. It is generally safer and more reliable to use desktop software like 7-Zip or command-line tools.

Summary

Converting ARC to TAR involves extracting the ARC archive and then repackaging the files into a TAR archive. 7-Zip is the best choice for Windows users, while Linux and Mac users can use unar and the tar command.