Is there a way to know from an .exe file, which Windows version(s) can we run it?

I'm asking about Windows .exe setup files.

Is there a way to know on which Windows version(s) we can run it ?
Is there by example some informations inside it where we could find the list of Windows version(s) it is certified.
Is there a tool that can analyse an .exe file and tell us if it is compatible or not for each Windows version ?

ManWithNoName

Posted 2018-06-04T10:49:37.347

Reputation: 29

The most correct solution is to look at the developer's website or in the attached description. – Akina – 2018-06-04T10:53:08.930

1This is one manual solution in case of the file is enough recent to be available on the developer's website. It needs lot of search time in case we have lot of older program we would like to check. I'm looking for an "automatic" solution. – ManWithNoName – 2018-06-04T11:05:01.917

2Windows has very good backward compatibility support, so in most cases simply use the latest Windows – phuclv – 2018-06-04T11:58:43.073

Answers

No, this is not possible.

Although there are only a few cases, it is not easily found out.

An executable can be compiled for a specific architecture, such as x86 (32-bit) and x64 (64-bit), but old executables can be made for older architectures, such as 16-bit.

Windows XP still had support for 16-bit applications in the form of emulation, but Windows Vista and up dropped support for 16-bit applications all together.

From Windows XP, there is a 64-bit edition. If you run a 64-bit version of your OS, you can run x64 editions of an executable.

A developer that builds an x64 and x86 version of their app can enforce this by displaying an error when you try to run an x86 version on an x64 OS.

Just from the executable, its not possible to query for which architecture it was designed without using some external tools.

In addition to the above, software may require certain frameworks, such as .net. Given that these frameworks are updated, support for older operating systems are dropped at some point which in terms mean that that executable can no longer be run on that older operating system unless you already have an older version of that framework installed.

That said, unless you are dealing with software that is potentially really old, you can safely assume that software will run on windows 7 and up. If in doubt, contact the developer, or check their website.

LPChip

Posted 2018-06-04T10:49:37.347

Reputation: 42 190

With depends.exe you see information about the Exe files. It shows the PE Header which shows the minimum version of Windows:

So the USBView.exe from Windows 8.1 SDK in x64 version requires 64Bit Windows 5.2 and this is Server 2003 or the 64Bit Windows XP.

if you see 16Bit as CPU type, it only runs on 32Bit Windows systems.

magicandre1981

Posted 2018-06-04T10:49:37.347

Reputation: 86 560