What is a *.tar file??

[nasttcar]

I am trying to run a program called MythTV and it is in the format of *.tar.tar

What the heck is that and how do I run it?

 

[tjaisv]

It's a compressed file format, like .zip

To open it u can use WinRAR

You may need to delete the last .tar extension if it doesn't open up, because there should only be one .tar at the end of the filename.

 

[monzie]

.tar files are compressed files usually (always?) used for Unix and Linux based OS's.

 

[DannyBoy]

Originally posted by: tjaisv

You may need to delete the last .tar extension if it doesn't open up, because there should only be one .tar at the end of the filename.

If that doesnt work then delete the last tar on the end and change it to gz

so "filename.tar.gz"

 

[Matthias99]

A .tar (Tape ARchive) file is an ancient but still common format first (and mostly) used by UNIX machines. It is actually *not* compressed -- it's just the multiple files strung together back to back. It was originally used to turn a whole bunch of files into a single file that could be backed up onto tape more easily (hence the name).

It's most often seen as a .tar.gz file (sometimes mangled into a .tgz or .tz or something like that), which is a .tar file that's been compressed by GZip. WinRAR (and, I believe, WinZip) can uncompress them.

On a Unix machine, you would use the following commands:

to uncompress if you have a .tar.gz: gunzip <filename>
to unpack the files from the .tar: tar xvf ./<filename>

To create one:

first pack the files: tar cvf <tarfile name> <input file names>
then zip the archive: gzip <tarfile name>