expand works like this source destination.
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Expand
Extracts a file from a compressed file. Use this command to extract a driver
file from a cabinet (.cab) or compressed file.
The expand command with the parameters listed below is only available when
you are using the Recovery Console. The expand command with different
parameters is available from the command prompt.
expand source [/F:filespec}] [destination] [/d] [/y]
Parameters
source
Specifies the file to expand. Use this if the source file contains a single
file. Source can consist of a drive letter and a colon, a directory name, a
file name, or a combination. You cannot use wildcard characters.
/f:filespec
If the source contains more than one file, this specifies the name of the
file you want to extract. You can use wildcards for the files you want to
extract.
destination
Specifies both the destination directory and file name for the extracted
file, or each individually.
/d
Lists the files contained in the cabinet file without expanding it or
extracting from it.
/y
Suppresses the overwrite prompt when expanding or extracting files.
Examples
The following example extracts the file Msgame.sys from the Drivers cabinet
file on a Setup CD and copies it to C:\Windows\System\Drivers:
expand d:\i386\driver.cab /f:msgame.sys c:\Windows\system\drivers
The following example expands the compressed file Access.cp_:
expand d:\i386\acces.cp_ c:\Windows\system32\access.cpl
The following example lists all the files in the Drivers cabinet file on the
Setup CD:
expand /d d:\i386\driver.cab
Important
a.. The Driver cabinet file, which contains most of the drivers provided
by Windows, includes thousands of files. Expanding all of the files from
this cabinet file onto your hard disk will take time and a lot of disk
space. It is recommended that you extract only the file you need from this
file.
Notes
a.. If the destination is not specified, the file is copied to the current
directory.
b.. You cannot specify removable media such as a floppy disk drive or a
CD-ROM as the destination.
