If you’re using a file sharing site then chances are it will have limitations on the file size for uploading. The popular file sharing site RapidShare has removed maximum file size limitations, but there are limitations on some other file sharing sites like MegaUpload. For e.g. Megaupload free users (non members) have a limitation to upload a file of maximum 500MB in size. That means a single file shouldn’t be more than 500MB in size. Ever wanted to split a large file into several small files? If yes, then you’re at the right place. Splitting a big sized file is not an alien task and this can be done easily using Peazip or HJSplit. What’s more, these applications will not only split big files but will also compress them.
After splitting a file, you can upload those files to online file sharing service or share it with your friends. Uploading smaller chunks of files won’t take much time and also user’s who are going to download those files won’t face many problems with it. Those who are on slow internet connection may get disconnected and then they have to download that big file again but if it is a small file, then downloading it again won’t waste much time. Therefore its a good idea to split a large file and then share it online.
Split Large File With Peazip
Let’s first discuss how to split files using PeaZip. PeaZip is a freeware utility to zip and unzip files. It can compress and extract many popular zip formats and is compatible with 32 and 64 bit Windows (2k, XP, Vista, 7) and Linux.
Download and install PeaZip. If you don’t want to install, then you can also download the portable version of this program.
Right click the file which you want to split and then go to PeaZip and click on Add to archive.
Notice the options in “Format options“. Click on that drop down menu and then click on the size in which you want to split the file.
E.g. if you want to split the files in 700MB parts each, then click on 700MB. And if you want to split the files in 100MB, then select Custom size and then enter the size in MB. Finally click on OK.
PeaZip will now compress the file and split the files with the specified size.
The outcome of this will be some zipped (archive) files, depending on the file size. E.g. if there are 5 zipped files, then now you can upload these files or share them with your friends. If you’re wondering how to merge all these zipped files back, then doing this is also very easy. Just extract the first archive and this will extract all the archive files and merge them into one. Thus, your original file is back. Many people use this method to split large files like HD movies and then merge them. The best part – PeaZaip is a freeware and besides splitting, it can also compress the files.
Split Files with HJSplit
HJSplit is another useful tool to split large files into small files. This tool is a freeware file splitter which is compatible for all 32 bit and 64 bit edition of Windows. HJSplit is also portable, that means there is no need to install it. Just extract the contents of the zip and run the hjsplit.exe, it can be easily carried in USB flash drives or CD/DVD.
This tool can split files and then can also join/merge files. So in short it means that this tool is an all in one tool for splitting, comparing, creating MD5 checksums and joining files. You may have seen some files with avi.001, avi.002, avi.003 as file names. And if you’re wondering how to join avi.001 and avi.002, then HJSplit is the answer.
To split files using HJSplit, run the tool and click on Split button.
In the second screen, specify the input file and then output file. Also notice the Split file size area. Select “Mbytes” from the dropdown menu and then enter the size in which you want to split each files. E.g. enter 100, to create files of 100MB each.
Finally click on Start button and wait for the process to finish. When this process completes, your small sized files are ready.
To join these files again, the user will need to use this same program and click on Join button from the main screen. Also ensure that all the split parts (e.g. .001, .002, .003, etc.) are in the same folder. (You will need to instruct the person whom you are sharing these files to use HJSPlit to join files)
When selecting the input file to join, you will be able to see just the first .001 part. Don’t worry, just select this first part and let this process complete. Click on “Start” to start merging all the files into one.
Download HJSplit from here.
Related: How to Mirror Files
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