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How can you read the contents of a BIN file?

Luigi Oppido
Computer & Tech Specialist
Luigi Oppido is the Owner and Operator of Pleasure Point Computers in Santa Cruz, California. Luigi has over 25 years of experience in general computer repair, data recovery, virus removal, and upgrades. He is also the host of the Computer Man Show! broadcasted on KSQD covering central California for over two years.

Luigi Oppido

Computer & Tech Specialist

Expert Answer

Open it in a simple text editor like WordPad or Notepad. It's just going to be a lot of unreadable data in programmer's English.

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What is the .bin file extension?

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.bin is a binary file, that is, it is just the raw binary data of a given file. Binary files are often compiled computer programs, but they can be any type of file, images, video, audio, a CD image, installation file, etc. So if you don't have any context for what the file is, it might be difficult to figure out.

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Question

Is a BIN file an ISO?

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A .bin file can be an ISO, but not necessarily. It can actually be any type of file at all. If you have reason to think it's an ISO and intend to burn it to a disc, you will want to check the disc you burn and make sure it is what you thought it was. You can also try mounting

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Can you delete a BIN file?

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Sure, you can delete .bin files all you want. The real question is whether or not you know exactly what the file is and what it is for. You should never delete a file whose purpose you don't understand as this could potentially cause your computer to malfunction.

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How do I open a bin file on Android?

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Usually you'll be dealing with BIN files on Android when an error causes a .apk file (a program installation file) to be mislabeled as one. If this is the case, you can use nearly any file manager program to rename the file. Just navigate to the file in the file manager and find the "rename" function. Then simply delete ".bin" and replace it with ".apk" and then you can run the file normally if it is indeed a .apk file. Be careful about installing .apk files and only do so if you are sure you know what it is.

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Question

How do I install a game having many bin files and is without setup?

Community Answer

Those type of games have their setups in the first .bin file. The icon differences are also a big hint, look for a unique .bin file.

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Question

I have 3 bin files but the setup is missing so I decided to extract them. I get an error message saying "The file format is invalid or unsupported." What should I do next?

Community Answer

It's because they can only work with a specific installer. They are programmed to work with proprietary software only.

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How do I open a .bin file on my Android tablet?

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You will have to convert it to APK since you can't run a non-Android file on Android.

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Question

I have 2 BIN files for a game. I made CUE files for each one and put them in a new folder. I burned the image to disc. All the files are now showing. How do I mount or run the disc?

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If the procedure was done properly, you should just be able to double-click on the CD or DVD and install from there.

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How do I convert a .bin file to a folder?

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First, convert the .bin file to an iso, then convert the iso file to a folder.

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