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Frequently asked questions
Answers about editions, formats, passwords, security, and previous downloads.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Can I use Bandizip for free?
Standard may be used for personal, commercial, and noncommercial work. Professional and Enterprise add paid capabilities.
How do the editions differ?
Standard covers everyday archiving; Professional adds advanced single-user tools; Enterprise supports organization and per-device deployment.
Can it extract RAR, RAR5, and 7Z?
Yes. It opens RAR, RAR5, 7Z, ZIP, TAR, ISO, and many more formats, although the list of creatable formats is smaller.
Why won't an archive open?
The download may be incomplete, damaged, mislabeled, unsupported, missing a volume, or protected by a different password.
Can a forgotten password be recovered?
Professional includes recovery tools, but time and success depend on format, algorithm, length, and character set and are never guaranteed.
Should I use ZIP or 7Z?
Choose ZIP for broad compatibility; choose 7Z for stronger compression, AES-256, or filename encryption. Test older recipient tools.
How do I extract multipart archives?
Keep every unchanged part in one folder and open the final `.zip` or first `.7z.001` volume.
Why is the context menu missing?
Review context-menu settings and restart Explorer. Windows 11 may place extensions under Show more options.
Portable or installed edition?
Portable mode avoids installation; the installed edition provides associations, context menus, and integrated updating.
Where are previous versions?
The archive page records earlier releases. Use the latest stable build because old versions may retain fixed security issues.
Is Bandizip available on other platforms?
This site has separate macOS, Android, and iOS pages. Features, formats, and release schedules vary by platform.
Are unknown archives safe?
Test and scan them first, preserve origin information, extract to an isolated folder, and do not run unknown executables directly.