Open BIN File

Well, technically speaking, a bin file is a Binary File. T he binary files are a type of the computer files but they are not simple text files. They contain encoded data, which is converted to the binary form for the storage in the computer and for processing the data. The BIN files are used by many programs, for example, the generic binary files which store the binary data for different programs. Also, the Macintosh binary files are used to transfer the files via the internet.

Though the binary files are primarily associated with the computer languages, but some of these files contain data which can be interpreted in the form of text. For example, some of the computer document files which contain formatted text just like the older Microsoft Word files. Generally, the BIN files only contain codes and computer language s which cannot be interpreted into simple text. There are many different uses of a .bin extension file. It is generally used by the virus scanner programs and the anti-malware software to download the update files.

Why are .bin format files so much in demand?

Currently, one of the main reasons why the files with the .bin extension are used is for creation and burning of the CD images. It is highly recommended that while creating such CDs, the creation of the .bin files should take place. This is why this BIN is the most used one for the CDs. If a hard drive of a system is checked, a lot of files with the .bin extension can be easily located. They are the important files related to all the different programs installed in the computer and deleting any of them might lead to the respective program getting corrupted.

Which applications use this file format the most?

The applications which generally use the .bin extension files are AVG (by AVG Technologies), CDRWin (CD Image File), the Linux Executable program, MacBinary Archive Format (generally used for Apple Macintosh), Micrografx Designer 7 Project Image, MTK Chipset (used for GPS Tracking) and Perceptron Scanner File program. For viewing the .bin extension files, a hex editor or viewer can be used. It helps to view the data as a sequence of hexadecimal values according to the bytes in a binary file.

Open BIN File on Windows OS

  • Look for an BIN file you need to open in Windows Explorer and double-click on it
  • If the file doesn’t open automatically and you see a “Windows can’t open a file” message then you should search for a program which can open BIN file
  • If you have a program which can open BIN file installed on your computer then launch that program and select “File” and then “Open” or similar options from its menu to open the BIN file
  • If you don’t have the program installed then you need to try searching for “BIN wiki”, “how to open BIN file” in the search engine.
  • Once you find the application, install it on your computer
  • After the program is installed double-click on the BIN file to open it

File extensions are used by Windows operating system to specify what kind of information is stored in the file. Every file in Windows OS needs to have file extension and file extensions are used by Windows to determine which application it should use to open the file. Every application installed on Windows OS places information about which extensions it could open into the Windows registry and Windows uses this information to determine which application it should launch when user double-clicks on the file. If application which can open BIN file is not installed, then Windows will show ‘Windows can’t open BIN file’ message and buttons to either select an application on the computer which can open the file or to search the web for the application which can open BIN file.