So I understand basic file conversion/compression etc. However in my experience I've heard that attempting to use anything but WinRAR archives in things like Wrye Bash and mod managers would end badly, i.e. you cannot use the .7zip format. Now I've always used the WinRAR program to extract and create archives as well as peruse their contents, but now it is telling me that my trial has run out and I have to par or remove the service. This has happened before and all I had to do was reinstall and the timer would reset and I would have about 30 days or so before the message appeared again. The message doesn't prevent you from doing anything, but it does pop up an annoying message that has to be clicked off before you can proceed. What I'm wondering is if there is a free service I can use to do what WinRAR does and maintain the same compression type. Also how I would go about switching to this program, i.e. would it screw up my current archives. Thanks for any help you can provide.

Use 7zip, I find it's a lot better than Winrar