DOS ain't dead

system~1 RESTO~1: Delete Them? EXE headers (Users)

posted by Arjay, 20.01.2013, 19:49
(edited by Arjay on 20.01.2013, 23:53)

> > A quick check of the EXE
> > header should show which is the case.

> "EXE header"?
> That's a new one on me. What is that? And how do I display it?
.COM files can only be up to 65,280 bytes in size and had no header. To support larger executable files one of the core DOS developers at Microsoft was tasked with coming up with a new file relocable format which had a header.

The developer was Mark Zbikowski and what he came up with is of course the .EXE file format. The first 2 bytes of all EXE files contain Mark's initials which is how various software determines if the file is an EXE or NOT. e.g. Does the first 2 bytes of the file consist of "MZ" or "ZM" which is also valid. You will need a hex editor to view the files such as Hiew 6.50 for DOS including reviewing the EXE header itself.

Additional trivia: Mark also designed DOS's MCB (Memory Control Block) used for memory management hence why M is used as a marker for items within the linked list and Z on the terminator on the last item. Windows 95 also used his initials as parameters on WIN.COM and elsewhere...

> So, I just held my breath and deleted the whole works. I hope I don't
> regret it.
You should be fine.

Complete thread:

• system~1 RESTO~1: Delete Them? - CluelessInSeattl, 17.01.2013, 17:44 (Users)
  • system~1 RESTO~1: Delete Them? - Zyzzle, 17.01.2013, 23:26
  • system~1 RESTO~1: Delete Them? - Rugxulo, 18.01.2013, 18:09
    • system~1 RESTO~1: Delete Them? - CluelessInSeattl, 20.01.2013, 15:46
      • system~1 RESTO~1: Delete Them? EXE headers - Arjay, 20.01.2013, 19:49
        • system~1 RESTO~1: Delete Them? EXE headers - bocke, 20.01.2013, 22:32
          • system~1 RESTO~1: Delete Them? EXE headers - Arjay, 21.01.2013, 00:10