Bin file. How to open bin? Images for emulators

Some users may need to open a file with a bin extension. Such files can be of a different nature (for example, on your PC you can find many files with the same extension), so you are unlikely to be able to open such files with any one special program. In this material I will tell you what a bin file is, what types of bin files exist, and how to open a BIN file on your PC.

What is BIN format

Before you open a BIN file, you need to figure out what type of file it is and what it is intended for. The essence of this extension will be clear from the full form of this word, which sounds like “binary" - binary. Files with a similar extension usually store their data in the form of a binary code - 0 or 1, and this data can be of a completely different nature, which I will discuss in more detail below.

Typically, files with the “bin” extension are used as auxiliary software tools and are not intended for ordinary users to view and modify. In previous articles, I have already described the ability to open several formats: and .

Main types of bin files

To know how to open a bin format, you need to take a closer look at the main types of files with the bin extension. They are as follows:

How to open a BIN file

So, how to open the .bin format? I would like to note right away that you will not find convenient online resources on the Internet that allow you to open a bin file online. Not only because such files in most cases are not intended to be opened, but also because they have a diverse essence and purpose.

The most impatient can use programs such as FileViewPro, Free Opener and a number of analogues, which, according to their developers, can open most bin files. I will introduce readers to a number of applications that can open specialized files with the “bin” extension.

Disk images with bin extension

If you have a large file with the “bin” extension, then it is quite possible that this is a CD (DVD) disk image. To open it, use programs such as PowerISO, Ultraiso, Smart Projects IsoBuster, Alcohol 120 and other similar options. You can try renaming the extension of your file from bin to iso, this will allow you to open similar image files on your computer more efficiently.

For example, to use PowerISO to view and extract the contents of a bin file, you would do the following:

• Launch this program;
• Select the “File” tab (Files);
• Click on “Open” (open), find the desired bin file on the hard drive and click on it;
• Click on “Extract” (extract), specify the final directory to extract the files, select “All Files” (all files) if necessary, and then click on “Ok”, this will help in opening the bin format file on the computer.

Video files

If you have a large video file with the bin extension, then, according to user reviews, the VLC Player program does a good job of playing them.

Sega or Nintendo cartridge images

Open using computer emulators for Sega or Nintendo. For example, if you are looking for an answer to the question of how to open a bin file, then for Sega images you can use programs such as Gens Plus!, Ages, Kega Fusion, Pico Drive and others;

Other files

There is no need for an ordinary user to open other files with the BIN extension (router firmware files, various game archives, files for Macintosh, etc.), since you will just see a set of data. Changes in such a set (even accidental) can lead to dysfunction in programs that work with bin files, so such “surgery” of the internals of bin files must be avoided.

How to open a bin image [video]

If you are thinking about how to open a bin file, then, first of all, you need to determine which category this file belongs to (disc image, video, game archive, etc.), and then select the appropriate tool program to open this file. If you don’t know what the contents of the bin file you need are, then you should try one of the universal programs I mentioned just above; it’s quite possible that it will help open the bin extension on your PC.

Files with the BIN extension are a disk image format. Its more famous analogue is the ISO format. The abbreviation itself deciphers the purpose of the binary disc image format. To manipulate it you will need software for working with disks. We will figure out how to open a file with a bin extension on a computer, and also consider online services that can quickly open images.

BIN files have different purposes. As we said, the most common case is when the file is a disk image.

Note! However, there are other data types associated with a similar format. For example, binary data files are found with this extension. They have a different function in the system and you cannot edit them yourself. These include Linux OS executable files, and binary BIN files are also found in the Windows and Macintosh families. We recommend that you be careful when attempting to open or modify a system file.

For what purposes are BIN files usually created? Users want to save a disk image on their computer in case the physical media is lost. Most often, images of computer games, files of game consoles, as well as programs if their file is large (Photoshop, 3DS Max, Microsoft Office) are converted into BIN. Storing large images of games and software is where the bin extension is mainly used. Having found software for working with BIN files, you will learn how to open the firmware, driver or software installer.

Bin file format - description, how to open it

Classic utilities for working with ISO images can open the format:

Note! If it is difficult to open the BIN format, you can use a little trick - change the extension to “.iso”. such a file can be opened by any of the programs discussed below.

Programs for working with bin: top 5 programs

We will look at the 5 best programs, known for their reliability, user-friendly interfaces and decent functionality. You will learn how to open a BIN disk image using free utilities.

Alcohol 120%

Old well-known software for manipulating disk images. It features a significant number of functions. The program not only converts the BIN format, but also creates a virtual disk from them. A function required for using games and software distributed only on physical media: CD/DVD discs. To open the image in Alcohol 120%, we move the file to the workspace and mount it on a virtual disk.

Ultra ISO

A good program for opening bin files. Almost every user has encountered it. It can convert files to other formats, create a virtual disk from a file, write an image to a physical disk, and delete data inside the image. UltraISO is the most functional and simple utility for our purposes. There is a Russian-language interface, so you don’t have to wade through the jungle of a foreign language. When a problem arises: how to open the bin file, the UltraISO program will help you.

Let's look at the process of converting a BIN file using the UltraISO utility. We will change the file format to the usual one (ISO), which will simplify manipulations with the image in the future.

Power ISO

Similar to the application described above. There are even repetitions in the interface. The program is distributed free of charge, but with reduced functionality. To use all the features of the software, you will have to buy a license.

In addition to disk images, movies are saved in the BIN format. Users are accustomed to MP4, AVI, and therefore when they see the name of a movie with the BIN extension, they get lost.

We will look at 2 more applications for playing movies from BIN.

VLC media player

Included in the TOP programs for watching videos. Opens many movie formats, has a clear and visually pleasing interface. The main advantage is that the software is absolutely free. We are interested in it because of the ability to open binary files, which most video players cannot boast of. The program is installed on all existing systems. By installing VLC, you will be able to work with compressed files on MacOS and Linux.

Total Video Player

The program is much simpler, with a nondescript interface. But behind the outdated graphical shell, huge functionality breaks down. In addition to BIN, the utility opens any video. This is the most versatile product that plays movies and audio.

How to open a bin file online

Unfortunately, it is not possible to open a BIN online. Often, these types of files are heavy and editing them, writing them to a disk or flash drive, or unpacking them is the domain of PC programs.

How to copy files to a flash drive if it is write-protected

When transferring images or other important data to a memory card, sometimes an unpleasant message appears - the device is write-protected. The solution to the problem is carried out through working with the registry.

Step 1. Open the Windows Registry Editor (key combination Win+R). Enter the regedit command in the text field and click OK.

Step 2. In the menu on the left, follow the specified path as in the photo below and look for the line StorageDevicePolicies.

Step 3.

Ready! All that remains is to restart the computer.

Video - How to open a bin file

When downloading information from the Internet, you may encounter documents with the bin extension. You won't be able to open them with regular applications. Therefore, the question arises: which program to open the bin file in Windows?

Why are bin files needed?

The bin extension comes from the word “binary” - binary. The document contains information in the form of binary code. They are used as auxiliary files when storing information or in games as installation archives. Some programs create images with this extension when copying DVDs or CDs.

How to open

Files with the bin extension are not intended to be opened by users. They are used by computers in their work. But if such a need arises, install special utilities on your computer.

In Notepad

RMB on the desired document – ​​Open with – Notepad.

Worth knowing! This method will allow you to open the file, but you will see a set of incomprehensible characters that do not carry any information. Therefore, it is used very rarely.

Large file size

Before looking for an application to open this type of file, check its size. If it is comparable to the size of a CD or DVD disc, then it is an image. To open the image, use Ultra ISO, Alcohol 120% or Daemon Tools.

Driver or firmware

If the bin file is small, it probably contains a driver or firmware. You can find out how it opens in the instructions for the device for which it is intended. More detailed information is posted on the equipment manufacturer’s website, where they will also offer to download special applications for opening such files.

Software Installer

If you come across an auxiliary file with the bin extension, intended for installing some program, application or game, there is no need to open it, because it does not contain any important and useful information for the user.

Video

In the video you can see how to open bin files of various types.

Conclusion

The user needs to open a file with the bin extension after downloading it from the Internet or finding it on the computer. To do this, use programs for mounting images (Alcohol, Daemon Tools or UltraISO) or special utilities created by hardware developers (if it contains drivers or firmware). In other cases, there is no need to open such a file.

All files with the .bin extension are program files that the average user does not necessarily need to open. As a rule, such files store binary code, a set of zeros and ones, thanks to which this or that computer program or game works correctly. But due to some problems, sometimes you need to open such a file and make some changes to it. This could be due to a malfunction, or due to banal curiosity, when you get tired of just playing games.

Note: Since these files may contain important information, the violation of which can lead to a complete failure of the program or game to which this file belongs, before opening it, it is better to make a backup copy and save it in a separate place. This will help restore previous settings and parameters if something goes wrong and the file gets corrupted.

Let's look at some of the most popular ways to open files with the .bin extension.

Step-by-step instruction

You can open a file with the .bin extension using many programs, which we will indicate a little later. Now let's look at the general instructions for working with such files:
1. Create a backup copy;
2. Decide which program will be more convenient for you to work with this file;
3. Specify the location of the bin file, i.e. where all its “insides” will be removed;
4. Start working with extracted files
As a rule, the most common reason why you need to unpack this type of file is to install games. Developers very often package game installation files in this way.

Opening a bin file on the Windows 10 operating system

Recent updates to this operating system, which is without exaggeration one of the most popular in the world, have made it difficult for some users to extract such files, so it will be useful to learn how to perform the necessary steps, which are not complicated:
1. A bin file is most often an image of a disk, like a file with the .iso format, so you can open and unpack it using standard disk image mounting programs, such as UltraIso, Alcohol, DaemonTools or any other.
2. After opening the file, you need to click on the unpack button. Its location is different in each program, but the principles of operation are the same: you indicate the location where to unpack the file and press the unpack button. Below is an example of working on the UltraIso program

3. Now you just need to open the folder into which you extracted the necessary files and begin to perform the actions you need.

Opening a bin file on the Windows 7 operating system

Nowadays, many users still use the previous most successful version of this operating system, so it’s worth knowing that unpacking a bin file on Windows 7 is as easy as on Windows 10. In some ways, it’s even easier, because for this operating system More special programs have been developed to solve the problem. Let's look at the list of actions again.
1. Download the desired program;
2. Open the bin file in this program and unpack it;
3. Working with unpacked files.

Note: if you are 100% sure that the file you are opening contains some kind of video, then you don’t have to use third-party programs. Just right-click on it, select “Open with” and select the desired player from the drop-down list by clicking on it. After these steps, the video will automatically play. The procedure is shown in the following screenshots.

Popular programs for opening bin files

Let's look at the 10 most popular programs for working with this type of file:
1.UltraIso;
2. DaemonTools;
3. Alcohol 120%;
4. VCL MediaPlayer;
5.PowerIso;
6. GizmoDrive;
7. AnyToIso;
8.PowerIso;
9. TotalVideoPlayer;
10. MagicIso Maker.

Using any of these programs, you can quickly unpack the bin file, so the further choice is up to you, because preferences in the interface, speed and other nuances are individual for each user.

If you have installed on your computer antivirus program Can scan all files on your computer, as well as each file individually. You can scan any file by right-clicking on the file and selecting the appropriate option to scan the file for viruses.

For example, in this figure it is highlighted file my-file.bin, then you need to right-click on this file and select the option in the file menu "scan with AVG". When you select this option, AVG Antivirus will open and scan the file for viruses.

Sometimes an error may occur as a result incorrect software installation, which may be due to a problem encountered during the installation process. This may interfere with your operating system associate your BIN file with the correct application tool, influencing the so-called "file extension associations".

Sometimes simple reinstalling IsoBuster may solve your problem by correctly associating the BIN with IsoBuster. In other cases, problems with file associations may result from bad software programming developer and you may need to contact the developer for further assistance.

Advice: Try updating IsoBuster to the latest version to ensure you have the latest patches and updates.

This may seem too obvious, but often The BIN file itself may be causing the problem. If you received a file via an email attachment or downloaded it from a website and the download process was interrupted (such as a power outage or other reason), the file may become damaged. If possible, try getting a new copy of the BIN file and try opening it again.

Carefully: A damaged file can cause collateral damage to previous or existing malware on your PC, so it is important to keep your computer up-to-date with an up-to-date antivirus.

If your BIN file related to the hardware on your computer to open the file you may need update device drivers associated with this equipment.

This problem usually associated with media file types, which depend on successfully opening the hardware inside the computer, e.g. sound card or video card. For example, if you are trying to open an audio file but cannot open it, you may need to update sound card drivers.

Advice: If when you try to open a BIN file you receive .SYS file error message, the problem could probably be associated with corrupted or outdated device drivers that need to be updated. This process can be made easier by using driver update software such as DriverDoc.

If the steps do not solve the problem and you are still having problems opening BIN files, this may be due to lack of available system resources. Some versions of BIN files may require a significant amount of resources (e.g. memory/RAM, processing power) to properly open on your computer. This problem is quite common if you are using fairly old computer hardware and at the same time a much newer operating system.

This problem can occur when the computer is having difficulty keeping up with a task because the operating system (and other services running in the background) may consume too many resources to open the BIN file. Try closing all applications on your PC before opening Binary Disk Image File. Freeing up all available resources on your computer will provide the best conditions for attempting to open the BIN file.

If you completed all the steps described above and your BIN file still won't open, you may need to run equipment update. In most cases, even when using older versions of hardware, the processing power can still be more than sufficient for most user applications (unless you're doing a lot of CPU-intensive work, such as 3D rendering, financial/scientific modeling, or intensive multimedia work) . Thus, it is likely that your computer does not have enough memory(commonly called "RAM" or random access memory) to perform the task of opening a file.