OS/2 PACK archive
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OS/2 PACK archive is a compressed archive format used for software installation on OS/2.
This article covers the format with signature bytes a5 96 fe ff. For signature a5 96 fd ff, see OS/2 PACK2 archive.
PACK format is generally associated with the OS/2 PACK.EXE and UNPACK.EXE utilities.
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Format details
Compression scheme
The compression is a kind of LZW with 12-bit codes. Code 0 marks the end of data; codes 1-256 are literals; 257-4095 are dynamic. If the code table is full, the least-recently-used leaf code is reused.
This is the same compression used by LoadDskF/SaveDskF.
Other format details
The format apparently supports OS/2 extended attributes, compressed independently following the compressed file data.
Identification
Files start with bytes a5 96 fe ff.
Software
OS/2 software:
- UNPACK.EXE (Included with OS/2; also found in other packages.)
- OS/2 Shareware BBS Full Collection → 33-VDrivers.zip → cirrus1.zip → UNPACK.EXE
- OS/2 Shareware BBS Full Collection → 10-Tools.zip → warptlk3.zip → TOOLKIT/BIN/PACK.EXE
- Deark
