What is Extract.exe?

Microsoft® Cabinet Extraction Tool

Extract.exe is a process that belongs to the Microsoft(R) Cabinet Extraction Tool and is associated with Microsoft(R) Windows(R) 95, 2000 and XP operating systems.

In Windows 95, the extract.exe utility is included on the Windows installation CD. For information on how to use extract.exe to copy files from the cabinet files in Windows 95, please refer to this Microsoft KB article.

In Windows 2000, extract.exe is a Command Line tool that extracts individual files from compressed cabinet (.cab) files. Extract.exe is part of the Resource Kit and is not a system process. To be able to use the extract.exe utility, the user needs to download extract_setup.exe file from Microsoft’s website and install the tool. Extract.exe needs to be installed in the Windows 2000 Resource Kit directory (usually C:\Program Files\Resource Kit) to avoid an overly complicated system path and maximize upgrade reliability.

In Windows XP, the extract.exe file is part of the Windows Support Tools for Microsoft Windows XP that are intended for technical support specialists and advanced users to help diagnose and resolve computer problems. The extract.exe file is one of the tools that have been updated in Windows XP Service Pack 2. For the complete list of Windows Support Tools for Microsoft Windows XP and installation instructions, please refer to the Microsoft Download Center.

Extract.exe is usually located in the %PROGRAM_FILES% sub-folder and its usual size is 52,736 bytes.

NOTE: The Extract program requires the user to load Himem.sys into memory.

Important: sometimes viruses and malware pretend to be the extract.exe process. Scan your PC with Auslogics Antivirus to make sure it's not infected.