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Find out why a program wont run on Windows

Exe Properties is a lightweight program for Microsoft Windows devices that displays the architecture (32-bit or 64-bit), and minimum Windows version of executable files and dlls.

Did you ever run into programs on Windows that would seemingly do nothing when run? You double-click on the file and nothing happens.

You check the Windows Task Manager and it is not running either. Or, you run a program only to get a prompt stating that the application is not compatible with your version of Windows.

Maybe because you are running a 32-bit version and try to launch a 64-bit program, or because the Windows version of your device is too old or new.

Windows File Compatibility

exe properties

Exe Properties is a free program for Windows that adds a new tab to the properties dialog of Windows Explorer / File Explorer.

The program is compatible with all versions of Windows starting with Windows XP and including the latest version Windows 10.

Exe Properties needs to be installed, and when that happens, adds the new tab to Explorer's properties dialog.

The new entry is added to the properties dialog of exe files and dlls. Simply right-click on a supported file, select properties from the context menu, and switch to the Exe/DLL Info tab when the properties window opens to display compatibility information.

exe compatible windows

The program lists the following information there:

  • The architecture supported by the file. This can be x86 (32-bit) or x64 (64-bit).
  • The minimum Windows version the program is compatible with.
  • The development environment it was compiled under.

Information is not provided for all files. You may get no information depending on the file in question, but for many, the information are listed.

This may help you understand why a program won't run on a particular machine, or if you have downloaded a 32-bit or 64-bit version of the program.

For instance, if you want to find out if Firefox or Google Chrome executable files are 32-bit or 64-bit, you would simply look that up using the new Explorer tab.

Exe Properties may be especially useful for portable apps to find out about the supported architecture as these programs are not placed in the program directories which often highlight that fact.

Verdict

Exe Properties is a handy tool to display compatibility information of exe or dll files on Windows devices. Its use is limited though; first, because it does not work on all exe or dll files, and second, because it may only be useful to most users in rare cases unless new software is downloaded and run all the time.

 

This article was first seen on ComTek's "TekBits" Technology News

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