Executable can be programs, applications or install files and double clicking on the file should be enough to start it running. Besides the executable program itself, many EXE files contain other components called resources, such as bitmaps and icons which the executable program may use for its GUI (Graphical User Interface is the part with which the user of a particular software application interacts with).

An executable file is basically another name for a program. Virtually all programs that run under Windows or DOS are in the.EXE, MSI or COM format. All of the EXE files start with MZ when viewed with an ASCII code editor (like Notepad). EXEs will not run in Mac OS X, but can be run using emulation software.

Most tasks, and processes on a computer are .exe however there can be some processes which use a different file extension like for example the (.dll) format. Some errors involving exe files are when they are assigned some other program to the.EXE extension. This is a file association error, meaning that when you double click an EXE file, it will not run, but instead, the application which is associated with EXE files will start and attempt to process that file.

A symptom of this often appears as shortcuts become.LNK files where the.LNK extension shows up and when clicked, none of them work. File associations are stored in the registry. The best way to solve this type of problem is to download a good registry cleaner. The registry should not be tampered with by someone who doesn’t know what he’s doing. A mistake in the registry can be fatal to your computer, resulting in loss of data, and system failure.

Since EXE files are executables and run upon clicking them, most viruses, Trojans and other malware are compiled and sent in EXE format. Thus one should be wary when they are downloading files from the internet, as to where they are downloading from. You should ask, is this source trustable enough to download from? What am I downloading exactly? Sometimes exe files are attached to emails and presented as presentations.