Rajith Perera

PowderCell

PowderCell is a classic Windows application by W. Kraus & G. Nolze for
visualising crystal structures and computing X-ray/neutron powder diffraction patterns.
Although unmaintained, it remains useful for teaching, reproducing older analyses, and
testing structure/phase hypotheses on modest hardware.

Why archive this tool?

While searching for the original PowderCell resources, I found that all official mirrors and download sites were no longer accessible. To preserve this valuable piece of scientific software, I used the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine to recover the original files and documentation. This blog post serves to maintain access for educational and research purposes.

Links

Official information

IUCr software catalogue: Powder Cell

http://www.ccp14.ac.uk/ccp/web-mirrors/powdcell/a_v/v_1/powder/details/powcell.htm (Not Working – 11.12.2025)

Archived vendor page (Wayback)

BAM PowderCell page (archived)

Download (mirror)

pcw23 

Password: pcw23
SHA256: 49f156c3a341e530ce0142a1ef78cf86dbfef1a718ef1c00bf94b4f31c19d479

The downloaded archive is password-protected, extract it with 7-Zip or another archive utility (WinRAR, PeaZip); enter the provided password when prompted.

Step-by-step (7-Zip)

1. Install 7-Zip from https://www.7-zip.org/ if needed.

2. Right-click the downloaded .zip/.7z file → 7-Zip → Extract Here (or open with 7-Zip File Manager).

3. When prompted, enter the password : pcw23

Usage notes

• For Linux/macOS, it may run under Wine; use an emulated desktop if needed.
• Legacy software can pose security risks—scan and execute in a sandboxed environment.
• Check original licence terms before redistribution; this listing is for preservation and educational use.

Technical metadata