Convert TAR.GZ to R13

Understanding tar.gz and r13 file formats

tar.gz is a compressed archive file format commonly used on Unix and Linux systems. It combines multiple files into a single archive using the tar (tape archive) utility and then compresses the archive using gzip. This format is widely used for software distribution and backup purposes.

r13 is typically associated with split archive files created by the WinRAR compression tool. When a large archive is split into multiple parts, each part is given a sequential extension such as .r00, .r01, ..., .r13, etc. The .r13 file is one segment of a multi-part RAR archive and cannot be used independently; it must be combined with the other parts to extract the original data.

Can you convert tar.gz to r13?

Direct conversion from tar.gz to r13 is not possible in the traditional sense, as they serve different purposes. However, you can repackage a tar.gz archive into a multi-part RAR archive, where one of the resulting files will have the .r13 extension if the archive is large enough to require at least 20 parts (since numbering starts at .r00). This process involves extracting the tar.gz file and then compressing its contents into a split RAR archive.

How to convert tar.gz to r13

1. Extract the tar.gz archive using a tool like 7-Zip or WinRAR:
   • Right-click the tar.gz file and select Extract Here or Extract to <folder>.
2. Compress the extracted files into a multi-part RAR archive using WinRAR:
   • Select the extracted files or folder.
   • Right-click and choose Add to archive....
   • In the dialog, set Archive format to RAR.
   • In Split to volumes, size, enter a value (e.g., 100MB) to create multiple parts.
   • Click OK to create the split archive. If enough parts are created, one will be named with the .r13 extension.

Best software for tar.gz to r13 conversion

The recommended software for this process is WinRAR, as it natively supports both extracting tar.gz files and creating split RAR archives. 7-Zip can extract tar.gz files but does not create RAR archives.

• WinRAR (Windows): Full support for both extraction and multi-part RAR creation.
• PeaZip (Windows, Linux): Can extract tar.gz, but RAR creation requires WinRAR installed.

Summary

While you cannot directly convert a tar.gz file to a standalone r13 file, you can extract the tar.gz archive and repackage its contents into a split RAR archive using WinRAR. The .r13 file will be one part of the resulting multi-part archive, which must be kept together for successful extraction.