.rar .zip .ace .r01 .001 .7z

These extensions are quite common and mean that your file(s) are compressed into an "archive". This is just a way of making the files more compact and easier to download.

To open any of those archives listed above you can use WinRAR (Make sure you have the latest version) or, the most flexible, PowerArchiver. If you are working with a .zip file, you can also try WinZip. Likewise, with an .ace or .001, you can also try WinAce.

.cbr .cbz

These are generally comic books in an archive format. What this really means is that one .cbr/.cbz is actually a collection of .jpegs (usually scans of each page of a comicbook), collected into a .rar or .zip archive. That archize is then renamed to .cbr/.cbz so you can ......ociate that file type with your comic book reader (such as FFview or CDisplay). If you find a corrupted archive, you can rename the file into its original type and either a) attempt to fix the error or unzip the archive to see where the error(s) are located.

.txt .doc

Basic text files. The first, .txt, can be opened with Notepad or any default text editor you have on hand. Documents (.doc) files are generally opened with Microsoft Word but there are open-source alternatives, such as OpenOffice and NeoOffice.

.nfo


NFO (or Info) files contain information about the file you just downloaded. They are always included with scene releases and it is HIGHLY recommended that you read them. Despite what Windows wants to tell you, they are not System Files but, rather, merely plain text files, often with ASCII-art. You can open them with Notepad, Wordpad, DAMN NFO Viewer, UltraEdit or whatever text editor you have laying around.

.pdf

These files are popular in the E-Books section and are opened with Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you can download for free from there or buy a Professional version of.

.jpg .gif .tiff .tga .psd

These files are basic image files – meaning, they generally contain pictures, and can be opened with whatever your default image viewer is. The last one, .psd, is specifically ......ociated with Adobe Photoshop but there are other programs which can open them (for example, Gimp).

.sfv

These files check to make sure that your multi-volume archives are complete. This just lets you know if you've downloaded something complete or not (something which is not really an issue when downloading via BitTorrent). You can open/activate these files with SFVChecker (Trial version) or hkSFV. They are generally included in most .rar archives.

.par

This is a parity file, and is often used when downloading from newsgroups. These files can fill in gaps when you're downloading a multi-volume archive and get corrupted or missing parts. Open them with QuickPar.

.avi

Probably the most popular video container you will find, AVI (Audio Video Interleave) files are able to support multiple audio and video streams. They can generally be played in applications such as Windows Media Player, but VLC is generally more recommended since it has almost all the plug-ins you will need built-in already. This container is built around the ability to play multiple different encodings (such as XviD and DivX for video, and mp3/AAC/AC3 for audio).

.mov

These are QuickTime files. You can usually find a torrent for QuickTime Pro, but if you’d like, there are other options. Google QuickTime Alternative.

.ra .rm .ram

These are RealPlayer files. In all seriousness, you may want to avoid these files at all costs. The official RealPlayer installs a significant number of security vulnerabilities on your system and never really goes away when you want to uninstall it. Still if you insist, there are non-corporate alternatives… like Real Alternative… that will do the trick.

vcd/svcd

Basically the vcd format was designed to be able to play on home DVD players – not your computer screen. They are generally 1-2 CD rips that are designed to be burnt directly to CD. However, they are not playable on all DVD players – check to see if yours is compatible before going through all the h......le. If you don’t have a compatible DVD player… they are still viewable on your computer using VLC Media Player but the quality is generally mediocre. You can also use VCDGear to extract the mpeg contents out of a SVCD or VCD image file such as bin/cue. For any further VCD inquiries, check out www.dvdrhelp.com. These guys know their stuff, and can help you with all kinds of media related questions.

.mp3 .mp2

99.5% of the time, these are music files. Play them with WinAmp, iTunes, Foobar… Your music player of choice.

.ogm .ogg

Ogg Vorbis media files are another music file format, but, unlike mp3, it is a non-patented form of compression. You will probably want to download the DirectShow Ogg filter to play back OGM files but most modern media players should also be able to handle them. According to our resident Anime master, you will run into .ogm files often if you start to download anime or other movies/TV shows that have dual audio.

The .ogm format is like a shell that can hold various pieces together. For example it can hold an .avi video file and two .ogg audio files together to make a movie in which you can switch languages (they can also incorporate subtitle files). One of the best players for .ogm files is BSplayer as it supports all of the features that a .ogm file can contain.

.mkv

An .mkv container works in a similar “shell� fashion as an .ogm. VLC is able to play these files.

.bin and .cue

Bin and Cue files are standard images of a CD or DVD. Basically, if opened properly, you will be able to burn a disc that is 100% identical to the original. The goal here is to make perfect clones. To open them you have a couple options: You can burn them using a program such as Nero or Alcohol 120%. The end result of this process is a 1:1 copy of the original software disc, except on a burned CD/DVD.

Another alternative is to use Daemon Tools, which lets you mount the image to a "virtual disc image". This means that it basically tricks your computer into thinking that you have another CD-ROM drive and that you have put the CD with your image file into this drive. It is handy because you don’t have to worry about burning the disc or scratching it.

Finally, if you're still struggling to access the files contained within any given image file, you can use CDMage to extract the files and then burn them, or just access them from your hard drive. See this FAQ entry for more detailed instructions on using .bin and .cue files.

.iso

An .iso is another type of image file that follows similar rules as .bin and .cue, only you extract or create them using WinISO or ISOBuster. Sometimes converting a problematic .bin and .cue file to an .iso can help you burn it to a CD. ISOs are extremely easy to burn with most burning software (just select “CD-copy; From ISO� when starting the procedure).

.ccd .img .sub

All these files go together and are in the CloneCD format. CloneCD is like most other CD-Burning programs, see the .bin and .cue section if you're having problems with these files.

Final Note: this list is not exhaustive and definitely will be updated in the near future. If you find that you have a movie file that you cannot play, try using the fantastic GSpot app. It should be able to tell you what codec’s are required.