October 29, 2010 (Almost 14 years ago)

Microsoft Cabinet SDK (Software Development Kit)


The original Microsoft Cabinet SDK (Software Development Kit) is no longer available at the Microsoft website. However, the documentation from the Cabinet SDK is still there. The reason probably is because the Cabinet resources found in the SDK are redundant in other SDK's such as the Windows SDK.

Download the Microsoft Cabinet SDK version 4.71.410.0

Cabarc

The Microsoft Cabinet SDK is most downloaded for its cabinet file compression and decompression utility called Cabarc. Users have used this utility to extract and modify files from .cab files found in Windows installers. The Windows XP Setup CD has been successfully modified to allow installation into external USB hard drives and memory sticks with the help of Cabarc.

How to Install the Microsoft Cabinet SDK

True to itself, cabsdk.exe is a self-extracting cabinet archive. Installation consists only of extraction to a folder that you specify so the program is completely portable. You can install it to a removable drive.

  1. Open cabsdk.exe.
  2. A license agreement window appears. Click Yes button.
  3. You will be asked for the location where you want to place the extracted files. You can type D:\cabsdk, for example, or click Browse... button to select an existing folder in your computer. It is best to choose a location where it is easy to access the program from the command line window. Do not type more than two directory levels of none-existing folders such as D:\DOS\cabsdk where DOS and cabsdk folders are not created yet. Otherwise, create the first folder first and type the second. Click OK
  4. If you typed a location folder in the previous step which does not exist yet, you will be asked if you want to create it. Click Yes.
  5. A prompt appears advising to refer to README.TXT for more information. Click OK