# Is it safe to put a 500GB folder into 1 big zip/rar?



## boobymilk (Jan 15, 2021)

Hello.
My question is obviously if it is safe to take a big folder, and then create 1 big rar file out of it.

I want to do this, to keep the structure of the folders.


Is this ok, or is there big risk of getting a useless, broken file? I want to keep this in on a backup HDD.
Thanks


*EDIT:* I did it, and yes, it is totally safe. I even put a 800GB into 1 big .rar file, and it works perfectly. 
I have average compression, and the file extracts also the same speed as other .rar files do. I tested many of the files after compression, and they are fine.


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## Corday (Mar 3, 2010)

That's supposedly the advantage of .rar format. To be sure if you're worried, backup to a flash drive, then from the original do what you intend. Now see if it expands back to original. If so, .rar format again. You can discard flash drive insurance copy, or keep if you wish.


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## boobymilk (Jan 15, 2021)

So you think it should be safe?

And how can I check if it expands back to original? Will it be enough to open the .rar file, and then randomly pick some samples to check if they still unzip?
Or do I have to unzip the whole archive?

As far as I remember, if a .rar file has corrupted files in it, it will already give an error message when opening it.


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## SpywareDr (Jun 15, 2013)

How to Use FC (File Compare) from the Windows Command Prompt


There is a great command line tool that can be used to compare files to see if there are any content or binary code differences that you can access if you are using a PC. File Compare or FC as we will refer to is from here on out, is a simple program that will compare the contents of text or...




www.howtogeek.com


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## boobymilk (Jan 15, 2021)

It seems like using WinRAR on a 500GB folder is working perfectly fine.
Conclusion is, I got average compression, and an answer to my question: *Yes, it is safe to compress a 500GB folder into 1 big RAR archive.*

Thank you for your answers!


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