# How do I convert a "bin" file? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 10, 2002, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-convert-a-bin-file/118267 "2002-07-10T16:14:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2002, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-convert-a-bin-file/118267/1 "2002-07-10T16:14:04Z")
I downloaded a rather large file in “bin” format. I looked it up and it said this is a binary file? I thought it would be a rather large zip format. The file itself is about 650 mg. What do I have to have to change this file into whatever format it is supposed to be(or to extract whatever is inside)? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2002, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-convert-a-bin-file/118267/2 "2002-07-10T16:20:49Z")
this is a mac II compressed file. On the mac you would need stuffit expander. On windows? ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2002, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-convert-a-bin-file/118267/3 "2002-07-10T16:21:38Z")
IIRC .bin is short for “Binhex” which is a type of document compression, similar but much more primitive than .zip. There’s a piece of (I think) freeware called the Stuffit Expander that can do .bin files. I believe I downloaded that fun tool off of U of M’s Merit Archive in 1993. Anyone’s guess whether its still there. All About BinHex: [http://www.natural-innovations.com/boo/binhex.html](http://www.natural-innovations.com/boo/binhex.html) ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2002, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-convert-a-bin-file/118267/4 "2002-07-10T16:30:25Z")
oh wait, I might be wrong, it suddenly popped into my brain that the suffic for BinHex was .hqx (where did THAT come from?) But the above link contains info on where to find the Stuffit Expander for Windows. ---
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2002, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-convert-a-bin-file/118267/5 "2002-07-10T16:30:43Z")
apparently the program “Wincode” will do it. I will leave it to you to find a copy ---
**Author:** ![Ankh\_Too](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3ab097/32.png) [@Ankh\_Too](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ankh_Too)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2002, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-convert-a-bin-file/118267/6 "2002-07-10T16:37:34Z")
Actually, at 650 mb, it could be a bin/cue file. It might be a disk image for burning a CD. [CDRWin](http://www.goldenhawk.com/download.htm) from [Golden Hawk Technology](http://www.goldenhawk.com/) and [Nero](http://www.ahead.de) can both burn a cd from a bin/cue image. Both have a demo program you can download to see if you they work with the file you have. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2002, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-convert-a-bin-file/118267/7 "2002-07-10T16:38:29Z")
AAARGH! You’re confusing binary and binhex. Binhex (extension HQX) is a Macintosh compression scheme. Binary (extension BIN) is the basic machine coding. From [Webopedia](http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/B/binary_file.html): > [@](#): > > A binary file is computer-readable but not human-readable. All executable programs are stored in binary files, as are most numeric data files. In contrast, text files are stored in a form (usually ASCII) that is human-readable. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2002, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-convert-a-bin-file/118267/8 "2002-07-10T17:41:53Z")
It is almost certainly a CD-ROM image. If your burning software cannot handle .bin, I’m pretty sure there is a utility out there to convert it to .iso, which your software might be able to handle. Do a Google search for bin2iso. When you burn it, make sure you use an option on your software like “make disk from IMAGE”. You don’t want to end up with a disc with one .bin file on it. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2002, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-convert-a-bin-file/118267/9 "2002-07-10T17:43:43Z")
Well, it is a cue/bin file. I have the cue that goes with it. I’ve used CD-Mage to look at the file. I allows me to look and see that the file itself it solid and whole and even see what is on the file(or in the file, as it is). It doesn’t have an option to burn it. I have the full registered version of Nero, but I don’t see how to open a bin or cue file. Any advice? Should I convert it to iso? I see a program that can do that, but I have no idea what iso is. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Horseflesh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horseflesh/32/7502_2.png) [@Horseflesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horseflesh)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2002, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-convert-a-bin-file/118267/10 "2002-07-10T18:06:35Z")
> [@](#): > > The “ISO 9660” format is the standard for cross platform CD-ROMs. discs created in this format can be read by many different operating systems, including Macs, Windows, Unix, etc. > > However, since ISO 9660 does not support long file names, custom icons, or saved directory settings (ie. view by icon) it is less than ideal for discs intended only for Mac use. You can extract the files with CDMage by highlighting the files/directories in the right windows, right-click, and choose Extract Files. I use Daemon Tools which creates a virtual CD drive that you can load several image types (including bin/cue) into and use the image without actually burning. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2002, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-convert-a-bin-file/118267/11 "2002-07-10T18:07:49Z")
BinHex is **not** a compression scheme. BinHex is an encoding scheme. You folks who are of the Windows (or Unix) world would be more familiar with UUEncode. Both UUEncode and BinHex convert binary files to plain text in which the text is chock full of hexadecimal (you say: “aha!”) strings which represent the same data as the binary file. BinHex files are **larger** than the binary source that they encode. In the early 1990s, back when I was a Mac newbie, downloads were generally first stuffed (to make them smaller) then BinHexxed to convert them to 7-bit ASCII text that the primitive file-transfer systems (including email attachments and newsgroups) could handle without garbling them. Why BinHex? Why not UUEncode? Because BinHex specifically preserves the Macintosh resource fork (which UUEncode does not). Which brings us to .bin files. MacBinary (.bin) is a format for preserving both forks of a Macintosh file for storage in non-Macintosh environments. Unlike BinHex, MacBinary doesn’t swell up the file size because you aren’t converting binary to the less efficient hexadecimal. On a Mac, Stuffit Expander will decode .bin files into regular Macintosh files. On a PC, although there is a Windows version of Stuffit Expander I don’t think it handles this format. **scm1001** may be correct about Wincode, but it isn’t listed on tucows or versiontracker. The only PC software that I know for sure will decode a .bin file is DataViz’s ConversionPlus, which is nice s/w but commercial, not free. (There may be a demo of the product on their site, though). ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2002, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-convert-a-bin-file/118267/12 "2002-07-10T18:15:10Z")
Since I did not preview ☹ I did not notice that you had figured out that the .bin file was a CDROM archive file. [hijack] The PC world of 3-letter file extensions being what it is, there are invariably more than one file type utilizing the same extension, and this is an example thereof. (.pdf being another). [/hijack] So never mind. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Horseflesh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horseflesh/32/7502_2.png) [@Horseflesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horseflesh)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2002, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-convert-a-bin-file/118267/13 "2002-07-10T18:27:17Z")
I believe you’re right **AHunter3** , Aladdin Stuffit Expander for Windoze will extract files from .sit but won’t do .bin files. **Maoloth** , try [Fireburner](http://www.fireburner.com/downloads.shtml) for burning the image. It’s shareware I believe. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2002, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-convert-a-bin-file/118267/14 "2002-07-10T20:22:27Z")
try searching [www.vcdhelp.com](http://www.vcdhelp.com) for information on how to use Nero to burn from bin/cue. They’ve got all kinds of useful information there. ---
**Author:** ![Ankh\_Too](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3ab097/32.png) [@Ankh\_Too](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ankh_Too)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2002, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-convert-a-bin-file/118267/15 "2002-07-11T02:18:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mahaloth \* > \*\*Well, it is a cue/bin file. I have the cue that goes with it. > > I’ve used CD-Mage to look at the file. I allows me to look and see that the file itself it solid and whole and even see what is on the file(or in the file, as it is). It doesn’t have an option to burn it. > > I have the full registered version of Nero, but I don’t see how to open a bin or cue file. Any advice? > > Should I convert it to iso? I see a program that can do that, but I have no idea what iso is. > > Thanks \*\* Afterdawn has a [tutorial](http://www.afterdawn.com/articles/archive/bin_cue_with_nero.cfm).