Editing Cabinet (file format) (section)

== Uses ==

A variety of [[Microsoft]] installation technologies use the CAB format: these include [[Windows Installer]], [[Windows Setup]] (from [[Windows 95]] to [[Windows Server 2003]]), [[Setup API]], [[Device Installer]], [[Features new to Windows 7#Themes|Theme Pack]] and [[AdvPack]] (used by [[Internet Explorer]] to install [[ActiveX]] components). CAB files are also often associated with self-extracting programs like [[IExpress]] where the executable program extracts the associated CAB file. CAB files are also sometimes embedded into other files. For example, [[Windows Installer|MSI and MSU]] files usually include one or more embedded CAB files.

Windows uses the cabinet format to archive its [[Management features new to Windows Vista#Component Based Servicing|Component-Based Servicing]] (CBS) log, which is kept in the folder {{mono|C:\Windows\Logs\CBS}}. A bug in the compression process can cause run-away generation of useless log files both in that folder and in {{mono|C:\Windows\Temp}}, which can consume disk storage until completely filling the hard drive.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/38259.clean-up-component-based-servicing-logs.aspx|title=Clean Up Component-Based Servicing logs|date=7 July 2017|website=Microsoft TechNet}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.computerworld.com/article/3112358/microsoft-windows/windows-7-log-file-compression-bug-can-fill-up-your-hard-drive.html|title=Windows 7 log file compression bug can fill up your hard drive|last=Leonhard|first=Woody|date=2016-08-25|website=Computerworld|language=en|access-date=2019-01-08|archive-date=8 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190108145549/https://www.computerworld.com/article/3112358/microsoft-windows/windows-7-log-file-compression-bug-can-fill-up-your-hard-drive.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Deletion of the files without following a specific procedure<ref name=":0" /> can cause the deleted files to be regenerated at an increased pace.

On [[Linux]] systems, CAB archives are used by [[fwupd]] to distribute [[firmware]] updates from hardware vendors<ref>{{cite web |title=LVFS: Hardware Vendors |url=https://fwupd.org/lvfs/docs/vendors |website=Linux Vendor Firmware Service Project |access-date=3 May 2022}}</ref> that can be flashed on [[non-volatile memory]].