Whether you play a game or open up a program, you are sure to see .exe files. The .exe extension of any file refers to an &qout;Executable File&qout;. Some .exe files also contain other data like resources and icons, but largely, they are the program format files. EXE is a file which can be directly executed by the computer. You can easily run a file with the .exe extension in Microsoft DOS or Windows through double-click of the mouse. The other types of executable files, other than .exe, are the COM and BAT files. So, if you have a file named Fifa.exe, it is the executable file for opening the Fifa game application.
Virtually, it can be inferred that all the programs running with the Windows are with .exe extension. Now, there are many formats which can be used with the .exe extension file. In DOS, the 16-bit DOS MZ executable and 16-bit new executable are used. In OS/2, the formats used are 32-bit linear executable and mixed 16/32-bit linear executable. Similarly, for Windows, the concerned formats are 32-bit Portable Executable and 64-bit Portable Executable (PE32+).
The Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIMEs) associated with such .exe files are application/octet-stream, application/x-msdownload, application/octet-stream, application/x-msdownload, application/exe, application/x-exe, application/dos-exe, vms/exe, application/x-winexe, application/msdos-windows and application/x- msdos-program. The .exe files are very easily executable through these different formats in different systems like Windows and Mac OS. Thus, it is important that all such files should be scanned properly before being accessed as they might contain harmful data and malware .
All the programs running on a computer system are due to EXE files. This is because these files are the most important ones in the system. When a file with .exe extension is clicked on to be accessed, it directs the user to the program which it is pertaining to. They contain step by step instructions which can be understood by the computer to open and access that particular file, program or software.
No computer can be used without using the EXE files. All the application, software, data and programs are the results of their respective executable files. However, it is important to be cautious against the unsolicited executable files which are harmful for the system. Such files fall in the categories of viruses, worms and Trojans and should be checked and deleted.
Open EXE File on Windows OS
- Look for an EXE 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 EXE file
- If you have a program which can open EXE file installed on your computer then launch that program and select “File” and then “Open” or similar options from its menu to open the EXE file
- If you don’t have the program installed then you need to try searching for “EXE wiki”, “how to open EXE file” in the search engine.
- Once you find the application, install it on your computer
- After the program is installed double-click on the EXE 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 EXE file is not installed, then Windows will show ‘Windows can’t open EXE 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 EXE file.