Complete Guide: How to Install a CAB File in Windows With regard to software distribution, CAB files ensure that the right features and updates are installed in your PC. In this video, we'll explain what they are and how to install them. Before we begin, be sure to subscribe to NinjaOne's IT Video Hub and our YouTube channel for more tech content like this. What is a CAB file? The acronym “CAB” stands for “cabinet,” and the .cab extension is an archive format native to Windows. Think of CAB files as containers used by Microsoft to distribute various software components. Important preparations before CAB file installation Before proceeding with the installation of any software, especially those downloaded from the internet, you should take certain precautions. First, perform a full system backup. Second, ensure that you understand the impact of any command- line scripts you intend to run. How to extract a CAB file in Window To extract a CAB file in Windows 10 and 11, simply double-click on it to open it in File Explorer. From there, you can drag and drop the chosen files to a location of your choice. How to install a CAB file in Windows Now let’s explore the different methods to install a CAB file in Windows: using the DISM tool, using the Command Prompt, and using PowerShell. Method 1: Installing CAB files using the DISM tool To install a compatible CAB file using DISM, open the Command Prompt as an administrator and execute this command: dism /online /add-package /packagepath:"MY_FILE.cab". Replace this part, MY_FILE.cab, with the complete path to the CAB file you wish to install. Method 2: Installing drivers from CAB files using the Command Prompt If you want to use the Command Prompt, again, you'll need to open the tool with administrative privileges. The difference with this method, however, is that you’ll need to open or extract your CAB file first. To do so, double-click the file to open it in File Explorer and drag files out of it to decompress it. With that done, the command to add and install drivers from an extracted CAB file is as follows: pnputil /add-driver "[Extracted CAB File]\*inf" /install /subdirs. Replace this section, [Extracted CAB File], with the path to the folder containing your extracted CAB file’s contents. When you're done, reboot your system. Method 3: Installing Windows features from CAB files using PowerShell PowerShell can also be used to install Windows updates and features from CAB files. Open PowerShell as an administrator and run this command— Add-WindowsPackage -Online -PackagePath "MY_FILE.cab" —before making the necessary replacements. How to uninstall a CAB file Since CAB files are archives, they can’t be directly “uninstalled.” To remove files that you extracted from a CAB archive, you just need to delete them. If you want to uninstall a driver, locate the device in the Device Manager, right-click on it, and select Uninstall device. If you installed a Windows update or feature, you can remove it by navigating to Settings > Windows Update > Update history > Uninstall updates. In summary, understanding how to install and manage CAB files using built-in tools like the Command Prompt, PowerShell, and DISM can be valuable for various IT tasks. For more information, check out our official blog post on installing CAB files, linked in the description below.