EXE

EXE is the executable file format developed by the Microsoft company for the following operating systems: Windows, DOS, OS/2.

The EXE file contains series of instructions for the processor to be executed.

Magic number of the EXE file format is: 0x4d 0x5a

Summary of EXE File Formats by Operating System

DOS

• 16-bit DOS MZ Executable (MZ)

 * The original DOS executable format, identifiable by the ASCII letters "MZ" at the start of the file.
 * Later formats retain an MZ DOS stub header for backward compatibility.

• 16-bit New Executable (NE)

 * Introduced in multitasking MS-DOS 4.0.
 * Used in 16-bit OS/2 and Windows, identifiable by "NE" in ASCII.

OS/2

• 32-bit Linear Executable (LX)

 * Introduced in OS/2 2.0 and identifiable by "LX" in ASCII.
 * Runs only on OS/2 2.0 and higher.

• Mixed 16/32-bit Linear Executable (LE)

 * Introduced in OS/2 2.0, identifiable by "LE" in ASCII.
 * Used for VxD drivers on Windows 3.x, OS/2, and Windows 9x.

Windows

• 32-bit Portable Executable (PE)

 * Introduced with Windows NT, structured as "fat binaries" with a DOS-specific and Windows-specific section.
 * The DOS stub (a minimal DOS program) displays "This program cannot be run in DOS mode." Custom DOS stubs can be created.
 * The Windows part starts with "PE\\0\\0" (ASCII for "PE" with two null bytes).

• 64-bit Portable Executable (PE32+)

 * Introduced with 64-bit Windows, an extended PE format with wider fields.
 * Often allows code to run in either 32-bit or 64-bit mode.
 * Includes a DOS stub for compatibility.

Other Formats

• Additional EXE formats include W3 (used in WIN386.EXE), W4 (compressed LE files in VMM32.VXD), and others like DL, MP, P2, and P3 (used by Phar Lap extenders).

External links

https://eshagalawatta.medium.com/analyzing-structure-of-executable-programs-exe-files-821b2d531a4

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.exe