How do you open a file with the .bin extension?

[ljsbjs]

How do you open a file with the .bin extension? XP Pro OS.

 

[Herb Tyson [MVP]]

It depends. Bin is used by a number of different applications for different
purposes. What's in the .bin file you want to open, and what do you want to
do with it? Bin usually means "binary", which really isnt' binary at all.
Rather, it's come to me a file that makes sense to your computer, but not to
you. I.e., bin files usually don't contain plain text. If you open such a
file with a text editor and then close it, you will invariably loose all of
the non-text characters, making the file unusable for its original purpose.
So, when/if you open such a file with an editor of some kind, it's generally
best to make a copy of it rather than opening it directly.

If you just want to look at it, you might make a copy and then try using
either WordPad (for large files) or Notepad (for smaller files). There are
some binary editors out there, but I've lost track of what they are in
Windows XP. There also are various programs designed to display "binary"
files. You might Google "binary editor" or "binary display" and see what you
come up with.

 

[ljsbjs]

Thanks. The .bin files are log files stored in a tape back up system. I need
to convert it to text so I can read them.

 

[Bob I]

You will need to run the "backup program" to restore the item of
interest. I suggest the documentation for said program will be useful at
this point.

 

[Harlan Grove]

Herb Tyson [MVP] wrote...
....

If you just want to look at it, you might make a copy and then try using
either WordPad (for large files) or Notepad (for smaller files). There are
some binary editors out there, but I've lost track of what they are in
Windows XP. There also are various programs designed to display "binary"
files. You might Google "binary editor" or "binary display" and see what you
come up with.

Windows doesn't come with a decent file lister. Fortunately, there are
decent freeware ones. One example is WinBrowse,

http://www.ngthomas.co.uk/wnbrowse.htm

And "hex editor" would be a better search term in Google.

 

[JD]

When you mention a bin file I think of a file that could be opened through
some sort of CD burning software. Roxio, Nero, Iso Buster, etc... that can
open and view *.bin files. Not sure if this helps, just throwing it out
there.