CAB File
Definition
A Microsoft Cabinet archive used to compress and group files.
Detailed explanation
A CAB File is a Microsoft Cabinet archive that compresses and groups files. Windows Update and the Microsoft Update Catalog often distribute driver INF files, catalogs, and binaries inside CAB containers. The archive format packages content but does not itself establish signature trust or hardware compatibility. CAB supports file compression, checksums, and multi-file sets, and Windows servicing tools understand it as a transport container. Driver trust normally comes from the catalog inside the extracted package, whose hashes bind the INF and binaries; changing any bound file invalidates that integrity relationship.
Where you are likely to see it
This term usually appears in Device Manager, Windows recovery tools, Event Viewer, or the installation details for a device package. The definition above gives the short meaning; the detailed explanation describes the term's role in the operating system and hardware stack.
Device status, hardware IDs, and event text identify which Windows subsystem produced a label. This glossary is informational and does not provide repair, installation, or technical-support services.
Related vocabulary
Explore connected concepts and nearby entries in the Windows hardware vocabulary.
- WHQLWindows Hardware Quality Labs, Microsoft’s certification program for drivers.
- INF FileA Setup Information file that declares package installation and hardware support.
- ChipsetPlatform controllers connecting the processor with buses, storage, and peripherals.
- Clean InstallAn informal label for replacement with little retained configuration.