challenged individual... advice re .exe file

[rob nexus]

Just cannot seem to get a file to open with an .exe extension.
Any thoughts on how to fix... or is there an app I need to download to run an .exe?

(works fine on Windows 7 on my laptop - but can't get it to load/open on my Nexus 10).

Thanks.

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Exe files are for Windows only, not Android. What exe file are you trying to run? Perhaps there's an equivalent Android app.

 

[cadzilla74]

Just cannot seem to get a file to open with an .exe extension.
Any thoughts on how to fix... or is there an app I need to download to run an .exe?

(works fine on Windows 7 on my laptop - but can't get it to load/open on my Nexus 10).

Thanks.

As B. Diddy mentioned. .exe is a Windows executable file extension. Android is a completely different operating system. Android executables end in .apk normally. What app are you trying to run/install?

 

[crxssi]

Android executables end in .apk normally.

Technically speaking, Android executables are Linux executables (Android is Linux, afterall). They typically have no extensions. APK files are installable Android packages. A package is an archive (which is usually also compressed) that contains the files necessary to support running a program or component; one or more files inside it will be executable, but the package itself is not. The package also contains information about the program, its files and attributes, checksums, sizes, and descriptions. Linux typically uses RPM and/or DEB packages.

Package format - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[rob nexus]

Thanks for the feedback...
What I am trying to open is a "catalogue" that has tabs so I can flip through the pages - much like reading an ebook.
So I gather that I need to download an app from the play store that will "convert"?? the .exe to .apk? Correct??
I did download APKinstaller 2.6 for Android... but not sure if that is the correct... or what to do after the install to actually open the file.
Thinking maybe that's not the correct one...
If someone could chime in and point me a bit further in the right direction?
All help appreciated....
True confession - pretty good with Windows, IOS, even Blackberry (7, not 10) but my Nexus 10 is increasingly sharing the load for work and pleasure... and a rookie for sure on Android stuff.

 

[B. Diddy]

I don't think there's an app that will convert an exe file. The file has to be designed for Android.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[crxssi]

True confession - pretty good with Windows, IOS, even Blackberry (7, not 10) but my Nexus 10 is increasingly sharing the load for work and pleasure... and a rookie for sure on Android stuff.

It isn't an Android "problem". An "EXE" file is useless on any other platform than an MS-Windows desktop. It can't be "converted", it is 100% proprietary and platform/OS specific. If the publisher had any clue, they would have used an open standard, like PDF.

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

Technically speaking, Android executables are Linux executables (Android is Linux, afterall). They typically have no extensions. APK files are installable Android packages. A package is an archive (which is usually also compressed) that contains the files necessary to support running a program or component; one or more files inside it will be executable, but the package itself is not. The package also contains information about the program, its files and attributes, checksums, sizes, and descriptions. Linux typically uses RPM and/or DEB packages.

Package format - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Absolutely 100% correct. Having said that though, I think that for simple explanations to the novice user, making a comparison between an .exe and an .apk is a valid one. Many EXE files are, in fact, built as packages in a similar manner.

Thanks for the feedback...
What I am trying to open is a "catalogue" that has tabs so I can flip through the pages - much like reading an ebook.
So I gather that I need to download an app from the play store that will "convert"?? the .exe to .apk? Correct??
I did download APKinstaller 2.6 for Android... but not sure if that is the correct... or what to do after the install to actually open the file.
Thinking maybe that's not the correct one...
If someone could chime in and point me a bit further in the right direction?
All help appreciated....
True confession - pretty good with Windows, IOS, even Blackberry (7, not 10) but my Nexus 10 is increasingly sharing the load for work and pleasure... and a rookie for sure on Android stuff.

Several others have already commented, so you've probably got the answer you need, but if an application is built for Windows (.exe file), than there's no way to simply "convert" it to run on Android. Two completely different systems. Perhaps the publisher/developer of the Windows app has an Android version available on the Play store? Perhaps there are similar apps on the play store that you could use instead?

What you are asking is similar to if you were having an issue with your car and needed to repair the engine, and your friend brought you parts from a Soyuz rocket with instructions in Russian. Besides the fact that the instructions would have to be completely translated for you to understand them, the parts themselves aren't even compatible.

 

[B. Diddy]

What you are asking is similar to if you were having an issue with your car and needed to repair the engine, and your friend brought you parts from a Soyuz rocket with instructions in Russian. Besides the fact that the instructions would have to be completely translated for you to understand them, the parts themselves aren't even compatible.

Unless you got Jim Lovell from Apollo 13 to work on it. Failure is not an option!

 

[patruns]

An "EXE" file is useless on any other platform than an MS-Windows desktop.

Doesn't anyone use OS/2 anymore?