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I'm new to this type of programming, but proficient in web development... looking to expand my palette a little.

I have this file. In Windows 7 the file properties window claims its a 'system file', my assumption is that this is a generic description and isn't particularly useful, no file extention. This file resides on a usb drive which Windows machines can boot to to run various scripts and applications.

How can I determine what type of file this is and is it possible to de-compile it to view its code or even if that's possible? Sorry for two separate questions, a point in the right direction would be very helpful!

Thanks!

Joe
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1 Answers1

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  1. File extensions normally tell the end user and the operating system what type of file it is. In your case, maybe the file extension was hidden by windows(in this case, it is a SYS file), or maybe it was flagged with a "System" File Attribute(Thanks to Hellion for the added info). If your case was the former, Here is a description for the SYS File Format for windows devices. Although to be fair, There are also cases where the file type doesn't necessarily speak the truth of the file's file type as mentioned by FrustratedWithFormsDesigner. i.e. You can change the file extension of an XML file and fool the computer and probably other users, but it does little to hide that its still an XML file when you open it with a text editor nor does it magically turn your XML file into an executable or C file etc. (Thanks to FrustratedWithFormsDesigner for the example.) This isn't always the case, but it does happen.

  2. Decompiling executables and binaries are normally ill advised as they don't produce a 100% copy of the original source code. It might give you a hint on what the code does if documen1tation doesn't already exist but there also lies a chance that the output will just confuse you especially if you are not proficient in the source language you are decompiling the binary to.

So in case you wanted to study system programming, I would suggest looking for opensource applications and binaries instead of trying to decompile the internals of your flash drive's driver files. Probably try using linux as well, being an opensource OS, you can take a look at how everything was built from the source instead of trying to pull your hair out trying to figure out how to get a decompiler to give you more readable code. Not to mention that linux is also well documented so that should save you a lot of time trying to understand what a line of code means and/or does.

Maru
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