Sometimes users, having downloaded a file, are surprised to find that it is in the bin format, which cannot be opened or launched with the means available on the computer. You can open it with a notepad and admire the slender rows of icons and symbols that are understandable only to a computer and programmers. Some users, in particular game lovers, have to deal with such formats, so it is useful for them to know what this extension is, how to work with it.
A BIN file is used to store binary data that a computer needs to perform certain actions. He cannot directly perceive text, audio or visual information. They first need to be formatted as a binary code that he understands. That is why you have to create such files using special programs.
Types of files with the bin extension
Before you start working with this format, you need to study its main types. This is necessary for the correct choice of programs with which they can be opened. By content, they are divided into:
- Optical disc, CD or DVD image. This view is similar in structure to an ISO image and works in conjunction with a cue extension file that contains a description of the sequence and structure of the image.
- Video files containing data in binary format.
- Images of game archives (often used in games recorded on discs, as part of games, etc.).
- Compressed files containing resources and data for Macintosh.
- Game data for game consoles.
- Configuration files for routers.
- Files for Unix and similar systems.
First of all, you should make a copy of the file, since during the opening process it can be damaged if a program that does not correspond to its type is selected. Insofar as there is no universal program that would open all bin files, than to open this or that type is selected from the list of means corresponding to it. For example, to work with many views, you can use the FileViewPro or Free Opener programs.
Bin disk images
If files of this format large volume, then, most likely, they are images of CD or DVD disks. The following programs are designed to work with them: PowerISO, Ultraiso, Smart Projects IsoBuster, Alcohol 120... To improve their efficiency, you can change the original extension to i so.
Since the sequence of actions when working with these programs is the same, then for example PowerISO it looks like this:
- starting the program;
- selection of the "File" tab;
- click on "Open" (opening), in the drop-down window find the required file, click on it;
- click on "Exract", in the window that appears, specify the folder into which the content will be extracted;
- select "All Files" if necessary and click "OK".
After a while, all the contents of the processed image will be in the folder specified during setup.
Video file
If there is 100% certainty that a video is placed in the resulting bin-file, “VLC Player” will be able to play it without additional manipulations. According to numerous users, this is the best program for this purpose.
Sega Game Images
Images of this type are reproduced on a computer by simulation programs: Gens Plus !, Gens Plus Rewind, Kega Fusion, Pico Drive. The capabilities of emulators, due to the power of the computer, significantly exceed what game consoles can give, so it is more interesting to play on them. You can even record your gameplay. Images of popular games for Sega consoles can be found and downloaded on the Internet.
Images of computer games
Most often, weighty games posted on the Internet can be downloaded in bin or iso formats. To open them and launch games, it is most often used free version of DAEMON Tools Lite... It creates a virtual drive with the game mounted on it, ready to use. After starting the drive, you can start installing the game. That is, it turns out a complete analogue of a physical disc with a game inserted into a computer drive. Despite the fact that the number of drives created can go up to 30, this should not be overused. It is better to delete the played games with the same program.... To do this, you need to point it to the game to be deleted and click on "Unmount".
Opening other types of bin-files (system, router settings, for Macintosh, etc.) is undesirable for ordinary users, since even the slightest change in the code will cause the program with which they are associated to malfunction. Editing of such files is done by professionals using special hex editors, for example, WinHex.
How to create bin file
There are times when we try to open a file, but the operating system cannot determine which program to open this file. Most likely, such a program is not installed or the operating system cannot associate the file with the installed program. In this lesson, you will learn how you can open a file, or rather what program to open the file with.
When we try to open an unknown file, a window appears:
In the window We see the name of the file (in this example “12.bak”) and the inscription that Windows cannot determine with which program to open this file. We are offered to choose one of the actions: search for a program on the Internet or select a program from all those installed on your computer. How many times I didn’t try to select “search for a match on the Internet,” I didn’t get a positive result. It remains only to find the program that is already installed on the computer. But first, you need to install such a program.
To understand which program you need to install in order to open the file quite easily, you just need to know the file extension (file format).
- a set of characters that are separated by a period from the file name. With the help of the extension, you can understand what type this file is and with which programs it can be opened.
Determining the extension of an unknown file is fairly easy. In our case, the file name is “12” and its extension is “.bak”. We learned all this from the window that appeared when we tried to open an unknown file.
It is very convenient to make the system show file extensions next to its name. By default, we only see the file name. To display the file extension next to the name, open absolutely any folder.
There is a menu in the upper left corner of the folder window. In it, select the "Organize" item, and then select the "Folder and Search Options" section.
In the window that appears, select the "View" tab.
Scroll to the bottom of the list and uncheck “Hide extensions for registered file types”.
Click “Apply”. The extension will now be displayed next to the name of all files.
How to open a file of ...
There are a huge number of file formats (extensions). It is simply impossible to indicate all of them. Below you will see the most common and frequently encountered file formats and programs that can open these files.
.avi, .mp4, .mov, .mkv, .wmw, .mpeg, .divx
These are all video file formats. Movies, clips, and other videos are usually stored in one of these formats. You can open these files with any video player, but you need the necessary codecs to be installed in the operating system. Install the “K-Lite Codek Pack” and all the codecs required for your computer will be installed.
.mp3, .wav, .ac3, .wma, .aac, .flac, cda
These are audio file formats. You can open it with any audio player. As in the case of video files, it will not be superfluous to pre-install the K-Lite Codek Pack.
.bmp, .gif, .jpg / jpeg, .png, .tiff, .ico
Image format. Various pictures and photographs are stored in these formats.
.rar, .zip, .7z, .gzip, .tar
Archive formats. Any files can be zipped to a file with a similar extension.
.iso, .mds, .mdf, bin, .img, .vcd, .nrg
Disk image format. You can make an image from a physical disk (such as a CD or DVD). An image is an electronic copy of a physical disk.
.html, .htm, .php
These files refer to the pages of the Internet sites. If you save the site page on your computer, then this page will have one of these extensions. You can open the downloaded page through any Internet browser.
.doc (docx), .xls (xlsx), .ppt (pptx), mdb, accdb
These files are created using Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, Power Point, Access. Install Microsoft Office and easily open files with these extensions.
.txt, .rtf
Plain text documents. You can open and edit them by means of the operating system, without installing additional programs.
.swf, .flv
The format of videos and animations that are displayed on sites on the Internet (Flash-animation). Such files can be opened by any browser with a Flash player installed.
.fb2
The most popular e-book format. If you like to read electronic versions of books, you must have met him.
The format of electronic documents intended for storage and transmission of electronic versions of printed materials. Scanned versions of various documents (books, magazines, articles, etc.) are very often saved in the .pdf format
.djvu
Just like the .pdf format, it is intended for storing and transferring scanned electronic documents, but here compression is applied to the data.
What to do after installation
So, you have found and installed the required program, knowing the file extension. As a rule, if you have installed the program, then by clicking on the file, it will automatically open through this very program. But there are times when the operating system is unable to associate the file type with the installed program. Here we will need to help her.
We are trying to open the file, but we see a window with a choice of actions, while you know for sure that the program that can open this file is installed on the computer. Select "Select a program from the list of installed programs" and click "OK".
A window will appear in which the icons of various programs are presented. In the “Recommended programs” section, the system will offer you programs that are most suitable for this file, but if there is none, then simply select the icon from the “Other programs” section.
If there is no icon for the desired program, then click on the "Browse" button and manually specify the path to the program.
All programs are usually installed on the "C" drive in the "Program Files" (or "Program Files (x86)") folder. Select the file with the .exe extension and click the "Open" button.
The icon for this program has appeared in the list. Click on it once with the left mouse button and press the "Ok" button.
Conclusion
It is quite easy to find out which program to open the file with. The main thing is to know its extension. But in order not to search for the program every time, it is better to immediately install the entire set of necessary programs for the computer.
If you think that I did not pay attention to some file format, write about it in the comments.
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In the operating system, each file is opened by some program. But there are files that can be opened with different programs.
For example, a web document in .html format can be opened by any browser, text editors, and other programs.
If a program is not installed on the computer with which you can open this file, then Windows prompts you to search for the application on the Internet.
In general, the settings for the "default programs" are located in the Control Panel (section "All Control Panel Items", "Default Programs", "Select Default Programs"). But to open any file, you can install the program at any time and specify that all such files should be opened this way.
For example, gif pictures, by default, in Windows 8 opens the built-in image viewer. To change the program, you need to open the Windows Control Panel.
But you can make everything easier - when opening a file, do not left-click it, but click on the file icon right click and select "Open with".
We select in the menu "Open with" and under the list of offered programs - the item "Select program".
In Windows 8, a window will open where you need to check "Use this application for all files ..."
In Windows 7, for example, the window looks different. It should be noted "Use the selected program for all files of this type"
If the list of programs does not contain the one that you want to assign to open such files, then click the "Browse" button and select the required program on your computer.
After that, click "OK" (in Windows 7) - now when you double-click the left button on files of this format, they will open in the program of your choice.
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
PDF is one of the most common formats for documentation, e-books, and how-tos. You can save information in PDF format in any form, and it will be displayed the same everywhere, i.e. the formatting and markup of the document will always be the same. This is why the PDF format has earned its recognition.
To begin with, I want to make it clear right away that the programs in question open PDF files only FOR VIEWING, i.e. it is IMPOSSIBLE to change something in the document with their help. Some programs only allow or modify the text, but not the content. The PDF format itself is quite specific, and even with the help of editors, the process of editing it is not at all similar to working with a Word document.
In the simplest case, the file can be read in any modern browser: Google Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Internet Explorer, Edge. The functionality will be limited: only viewing content and printing. To do this, just drag the file to an empty browser tab. But if this does not open the PDF file, then try installing one of the programs.
Uncompromising Acrobat
In order not to have any problems with displaying PDF files, it is best to install the program of the format developer itself - Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Just select the language of the program "Russian" if the download page itself has not correctly identified. The installation process is trivial, click "Next" all the time.
Adobe has a complete package for working with PDF documents, including creating and editing - but it's paid.
Acrobat Reader provides a good set of features and customization flexibility for ease of use. It is completely free, both for home use and for commercial use, is on my list. At the first start, you will need to confirm the use of the free license. Most likely, you don't even have to go into the settings, because by default the program works great.
In the latest versions of Adobe Reader, there is still a very small opportunity to change the file. These are tools for highlighting text and inserting comments. The title "Text Highlighting" is probably not a very good Russian translation, since more suitable "Highlight text". To highlight the text, click on the icon in the toolbar and select the text, and the add comment icon is located immediately to the left.
By default, the text is highlighted in yellow. You can only change the highlight color after highlighting with the default color. To do this, double-click on the selection and in the window click on the icon and select "Properties". From there, you can remove the highlight and add or change a comment.
Alternative programs for PDF
Acrobat Reader, of course, is far from the only PDF reader. The developers have managed to make the usual viewer a relatively heavy product. Basically, there are no problems, but the program takes a long time to install and sometimes slows down.
Foxit Reader
The program is lightweight and has a simple interface. As a result, Foxit Reader launches quickly and is less demanding on computer resources.
Particular attention is paid to security, namely, at the first start, it is proposed to set the safe mode, in which attachments in the document do not open and scripts do not run. Foxit Reader allows you to select text, insert comments, graphics, multimedia files (video and audio), but you can edit text only in the paid Foxit PDF Editor package.
However, over time, Foxit Reader also got heavier, so I advise you to run its portable version.
Portable versions differ in that they are lighter, and installation is very quick or not required at all. At the first start, a window with two buttons will pop up, select "Not Now". For the program to become in Russian, you need to go to the menu "File -> Preferences -> Language -> select Russian"
And restart the program with the "Restart Now" button.
Lightest - Sumatra PDF
This is already an open source project, the program is the lightest and not at all resource-intensive. Can open not only PDF, but also CHM, XPS, DjVu, CBZ and CBR files.
There are two versions available: for installation and portable (works without installation). Since Sumatra PDF is already very lightweight, I advise you to download the full version, so you can immediately install the program to open all PDF files by default.
The program has practically no settings, everything is easy and simple.
All users who work in the operating system constantly open certain data. In most cases, there are no problems with their launch, it is enough use any from launch methods:
- double click with the left mouse button;
- highlighting the icon with the mouse, the tab button or arrows, and then pressing enter;
- right-clicking, and then choosing: open or open with.
This is the case in most cases, because the system has a default mapping for the most common files, and it knows which program to use to open items with similar extensions.
However, sooner or later, the user will be faced with the fact that the system will not be able to recognize some data and will give a similar message.
Here you should pay attention to the extension, because in the future you will have to search and install an application in order for the OS to learn how to work with them. The extension can be recognized in another way. For example, you can right-click on an element and select its properties, in the main window you can see the type, you can also go to the tab In detail and see it expand there. The extension itself is written with a dot after the name. 
In this case, the application is already associated with the extension and you can see it on the main page; in the case of an unknown element type, the application will not be displayed. You can just turn on display extensions in the explorer. To do this, you need to go to the control panel, then go to the folder settings and uncheck the required item. 
What program to open the file
Now that the user knows the type, you can start opening it. Of course, the easiest way is to copy the type name into the search bar and write "How to open", however, there is an opportunity to get to not the most reliable sites. Below are the types that used most often, as well as utilities with which you can work with them.
Rar, 7z - these are archives and can be opened by archivers that are similar in name to the. Winrar, 7zip - they can also work with most other archives.
Pdf can store documents, drawings, pictures and many more different data. You can open them with foxit reader or acrobat reader.
DJVU also represent scanned documents, often entire books are stored in this format. You can open it using the DJVU reader, in some cases the data is not matched, then you should run the utility, select the open file and specify the path to the element.
Flv, mkv, avi, mp4 and so on are video data... Some can be opened through a standard player, while for others you will have to download another player. In any case, it will be better to download and install K-Lite Codec Pack... It is capable of playing almost all known video formats.
Wav, mp3, etc are audio format files, any player, even the built-in one, is suitable for playing them. For some more specific types, you will have to search and install additional utilities.
Fb2, mobi, this type includes e-books... They are understood by most of the readers and programs for reading books on the android. In Windows, you can install the FB2 reader extension and open it through it.
Docx, these files are capable of open utilities Microsoft Word 2007 and newer. Before this version, there was the .doc type, the old format is opened with new utilities, and the new one, of course, not with the old ones, so you should pay attention to the office version.
Xls, xlsx - maps to Excel 2007 and newer utilities. Junior versions only open the first format.
Ppt - in this format presentations are stored created in powerpoint.
The txt format stores text files, which can be easily opened with a regular notepad.
Files with an unknown extension
A situation may arise that the required file is not in the list above. In this case, you will have to search for the necessary utilities through search engines, or you can use one of the search services by data type. For example, http://formats.ru, the user will need to enter the type and click on search. Further, the site will show the application that is required to run such an extension. 
You can still use the service http://www.filetypes.ru/. Here you can search by file type or just type the extension into the search bar. The site will show not only the program you need, but also provide a download link. 
To view video information, even in not the most common format, it is worth using video players, for example, the one presented on the page https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.videolan.vlc&hl=ru.
To unpack archives should be used by everyone that is also available in the mobile version.
Working with exe format
To open and use the standard executable files for windows exe, you will have to use one of the emulators.
BOCHS
First you need to download the application (https://trashbox.ru/link/bochs-android), and give your permission to install from unverified sources and install it. In addition to it will need to download the SDL_for_BOCHS.zip archive, the contents of which are the utilities necessary for emulation. The user will need create at the root sdl directory and extract the contents of the archive into it. Next, you need to open the marked file in this directory. 
AND write inthere ata0-slave: type = disk, mode = vvfat, path = / sdcard / HDD, journal = vvfat.redolog
You will also need to add the HDD directory to the root, all files should be placed in it. The device should now be restarted. After launching the application, to call the keyboard, you need to click on the lower left corner, and to emulate pressing the LMB / PCM, you should use the volume keys.
QEMU
In this case, you should download SDLapp.apk, install it, and then download and install the Qemu Setting utility (https://trashbox.ru/link/qemu-android), in which you can easily configure all the system parameters without a lot of unnecessary actions. 
DosBox
There is also such an excellent program as dosbox (https://trashbox.ru/link/dosbox-manager-android). She emulates command line and will allow you to run old DOS games and some other files. 
