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EXE is the common filename extension
Filename extension

A filename extension is a substring to the filename of a computer file applied to indicate the encoding convention of its contents.In some operating systems it is optional, while in some others it is a requirement....
 denoting an executable
Executable

In computing, an executable causes a computer "to perform indicated tasks according to encoded instruction ," as opposed to a file that only contains data ....
 file (a program
Computer program

Computer programs are Instruction for a computer. A computer requires programs to function. Moreover, a computer program does not run unless its instructions are executed by a Central processing unit; however, a program may communicate an Algorithm#Formalization of algorithms to people without running....
) in the DOS
DOS

DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is a shorthand term for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Me....
, OpenVMS
OpenVMS

OpenVMS , previously known as VAX-11/VMS, VAX/VMS or VMS, is the name of a high-end computer server operating system that runs on the VAX and DEC Alpha families of computers, developed by Digital Equipment Corporation of Maynard, Massachusetts, Massachusetts , and most recently on Hewlett-Packard systems built around the In...
, Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows is a series of software operating systems and graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. Microsoft first introduced an operating environment named Windows in November 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces ....
, ReactOS
ReactOS

ReactOS is a computer operating system intended to be Application binary interface with application software and device drivers made for Microsoft Windows NT versions 5.x and up ....
, and OS/2
OS/2

OS/2 is a computer operating system, initially created by Microsoft and IBM, then later developed by IBM exclusively. The name stands for "Operating System/2," because it was introduced as part of the same generation change release as IBM's "IBM Personal System/2 " line of second-generation personal computers....
 operating systems. Besides the executable program itself, many EXE files contain other components called resources
Resource (Windows)

In Microsoft Windows, resources are read-only data embedded in EXE or Dynamic-Link Library files.The Windows API provides for easy access to all applications' resources....
, such as bitmaps and icons which the executable program may use for its graphical user interface
Graphical user interface

A graphical user interface is a type of user interface which allows people to human-computer interaction such as computers; hand-held devices such as MP3 Players, Portable Media Players or Gaming devices; household appliances and office equipment....
.

DOS
DOS

DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is a shorthand term for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Me....



des these, there are also many custom EXE formats, such as W3 (a collection of LE files, only used in WIN386.EXE), W4 (a compressed collection of LE files, only used in VMM32.VXD), DL, MP, P2, P3 (last three used by Phar Lap
Phar Lap (company)

Phar Lap was a software company specializing in software development tools for DOS operating systems. They were most noted for their software allowing developers to access memory beyond the 640 KiB limit of DOS and were an author of the VCPI standard....
 extenders), and probably more .

When a 16-bit or 32-bit Windows executable is run by Windows, execution starts at either the NE or the PE, and ignores the MZ code.






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Encyclopedia


EXE is the common filename extension
Filename extension

A filename extension is a substring to the filename of a computer file applied to indicate the encoding convention of its contents.In some operating systems it is optional, while in some others it is a requirement....
 denoting an executable
Executable

In computing, an executable causes a computer "to perform indicated tasks according to encoded instruction ," as opposed to a file that only contains data ....
 file (a program
Computer program

Computer programs are Instruction for a computer. A computer requires programs to function. Moreover, a computer program does not run unless its instructions are executed by a Central processing unit; however, a program may communicate an Algorithm#Formalization of algorithms to people without running....
) in the DOS
DOS

DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is a shorthand term for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Me....
, OpenVMS
OpenVMS

OpenVMS , previously known as VAX-11/VMS, VAX/VMS or VMS, is the name of a high-end computer server operating system that runs on the VAX and DEC Alpha families of computers, developed by Digital Equipment Corporation of Maynard, Massachusetts, Massachusetts , and most recently on Hewlett-Packard systems built around the In...
, Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows is a series of software operating systems and graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. Microsoft first introduced an operating environment named Windows in November 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces ....
, ReactOS
ReactOS

ReactOS is a computer operating system intended to be Application binary interface with application software and device drivers made for Microsoft Windows NT versions 5.x and up ....
, and OS/2
OS/2

OS/2 is a computer operating system, initially created by Microsoft and IBM, then later developed by IBM exclusively. The name stands for "Operating System/2," because it was introduced as part of the same generation change release as IBM's "IBM Personal System/2 " line of second-generation personal computers....
 operating systems. Besides the executable program itself, many EXE files contain other components called resources
Resource (Windows)

In Microsoft Windows, resources are read-only data embedded in EXE or Dynamic-Link Library files.The Windows API provides for easy access to all applications' resources....
, such as bitmaps and icons which the executable program may use for its graphical user interface
Graphical user interface

A graphical user interface is a type of user interface which allows people to human-computer interaction such as computers; hand-held devices such as MP3 Players, Portable Media Players or Gaming devices; household appliances and office equipment....
.

EXE file formats


There are several main executable file formats:

DOS
DOS

DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is a shorthand term for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Me....

  • 16-bit DOS MZ executable: The original DOS executable file format, these can be identified by the letters "MZ" at the beginning of the file in ASCII.
  • 16-bit DOS COM executable: DOS executable files having the ".COM" extension.
  • 16-bit New Executable
    New Executable

    The NE, abbreviation for New Executable, is an executable file format that was introduced with MS-DOS 4.0 , and that was also used later in OS/2 and 16-bit Microsoft Windows....
    : Introduced with Multitasking MS-DOS 4.0, these can be identified by the "NE" in ASCII. These never became popular or useful for DOS and cannot be run by any other version of DOS, but can usually be run by 32-bit Windows and OS/2 versions .


OS/2
OS/2

OS/2 is a computer operating system, initially created by Microsoft and IBM, then later developed by IBM exclusively. The name stands for "Operating System/2," because it was introduced as part of the same generation change release as IBM's "IBM Personal System/2 " line of second-generation personal computers....

  • 32-bit Linear Executable: Introduced with OS/2 2.0, these can be identified by the "LX" in ASCII. These can only be run by OS/2 2.0 and higher . They are also used by some DOS extender
    DOS extender

    Developed in the 1980s to cope with the memory limitations of MS-DOS and its derivatives, DOS extenders are programs which enable software to run under the protected mode environment initially introduced with the Intel 80286 processor and later expanded upon with the Intel 80386, even if the host operating system is only capable of operating...
    s.
  • Mixed 16/32-bit Linear Executable: Introduced with OS/2 2.0, these can be identified by the "LE" in ASCII. This format is not used for OS/2 applications anymore, but instead for VxD
    VxD

    VxD is the device driver model used in Windows 2.1x, the 386 enhanced mode of Windows 3.1x and Windows 9x. They have access to the memory of the kernel and all running processes, as well as raw access to the hardware....
     drivers under Windows 3.x
    Windows 3.1x

    Windows 3.1x is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers. The line began with Windows 3.1, which was released in March 1992 as a successor to Windows 3.0....
     and Windows 9x, and by some DOS extenders.


Windows
Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows is a series of software operating systems and graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. Microsoft first introduced an operating environment named Windows in November 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces ....

  • 32-bit Portable Executable
    Portable Executable

    The Portable Executable format is a file format for executables, object file, and Dynamic-link librarys, used in 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Microsoft Windows operating systems....
    : Introduced with Windows NT, these are the most complex and can be identified by the "PE" in ASCII (although not at the beginning, these files also begin with "MZ"). These can be run by all versions of Windows NT
    Windows NT

    Windows NT is a family of operating systems produced by Microsoft, the first version of which was released in July 1993. It was originally designed to be a powerful high-level-language-based, processor-independent, multiprocessing, multiuser operating system with features comparable to Unix....
    , and also Windows 95
    Windows 95

    Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft, and was a significant progression from the company's previous Microsoft Windows products....
     and higher, partially also in DOS using HX DOS Extender
    HX DOS Extender

    HX DOS-Extender is a free DOS extender with built-in Win32 Portable Executable support. Usually the purpose of a DOS extender is to make protected mode features, especially large memory and 32-bit addressing, available for DOS applications....
    . They are also used in BeOS
    BeOS

    BeOS was an operating system for personal computers which began development by Be Inc. in 1991. It was first written to run on BeBox hardware. BeOS was optimized for digital media work and was written to take advantage of modern hardware facilities such as symmetric multiprocessing by utilizing modular I/O bandwidth, pervasive multithreading,...
     R3, however the format used by BeOS somewhat violates the PE specification as it doesn't specify a correct subsystem .
  • 64-bit Portable Executable: Introduced by 64-bit versions of Windows, these are PE files with a CPU type corresponding to a 64-bit instruction set such as x86-64
    X86-64

    x86-64 is a superset of the x86. x86-64 Central processing units can run existing 32-bit or 16-bit x86 programs at full speed, but also support new programs written with a 64-bit address space and other additional capabilities....
     or IA-64. These can only be run by 64-bit editions of Microsoft Windows, such as Windows XP 64-Bit Edition or Windows Server 2003 64-Bit Edition
    Windows Server 2003

    Windows Server 2003 is a Server operating system produced by Microsoft. Introduced on 24 April 2003 as the successor to Windows 2000 Server, it is considered by Microsoft to be the cornerstone of its Windows Server System line of business server products....
    , running on machines with the CPU type specified in the file.


Other

Besides these, there are also many custom EXE formats, such as W3 (a collection of LE files, only used in WIN386.EXE), W4 (a compressed collection of LE files, only used in VMM32.VXD), DL, MP, P2, P3 (last three used by Phar Lap
Phar Lap (company)

Phar Lap was a software company specializing in software development tools for DOS operating systems. They were most noted for their software allowing developers to access memory beyond the 640 KiB limit of DOS and were an author of the VCPI standard....
 extenders), and probably more .

When a 16-bit or 32-bit Windows executable is run by Windows, execution starts at either the NE or the PE, and ignores the MZ code. On the other hand, DOS cannot (except using HX DOS Extender
HX DOS Extender

HX DOS-Extender is a free DOS extender with built-in Win32 Portable Executable support. Usually the purpose of a DOS extender is to make protected mode features, especially large memory and 32-bit addressing, available for DOS applications....
, supports PE files only) execute these files. To prevent DOS from crashing, all Windows executable files should and usually do start with a "working" DOS program called a stub. , simply displaying the message "This program cannot be run in DOS mode" (or similar), but there are a few dual-mode programs (MZ-NE or MZ-PE) (such as regedit
Windows registry

The Windows Registry is a directory which stores settings and options for Microsoft Windows operating systems. It contains information and settings for all the hardware, operating system software, most non-operating system software, and per-user settings....
 and some older WinZIP self extractors) have a usable DOS section

See also

  • Executable and Linkable Format
    Executable and Linkable Format

    In computing, the Executable and Linking Format is a common standard file format for executables, object code, shared libraries, and core dumps....
  • EXE packer
  • Executable
    Executable

    In computing, an executable causes a computer "to perform indicated tasks according to encoded instruction ," as opposed to a file that only contains data ....
  • List of file formats
    List of file formats

    This is a list of file formats organized by type, as can be found on computers. Filename extensions are usually noted in parentheses if they differ from the format name or abbreviation....


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