How to Open Windows EXE Files With a Mac

Some EXE files are archives that can be extracted under Mac OS.

EXE files are Microsoft executables; using them runs a Windows or DOS program. Mac OS does not support such programs, but sometimes Mac-supported files (like images or sound) are stored within EXE files, and the format is often used on Windows computers as a "self-extracting archive," the contents of which are readable on a Macintosh.

Instructions

1. Open your Mac's terminal by going to "Applications," "Utilities" then "Terminal."

2. Navigate to the location of the EXE file using the "LS" command to list directories and the "CD [directory]" command to enter them. (If your file is on the desktop, simply typing "cd desktop" from the Terminal prompt should be sufficient.)

3. Type "unzip [filename.exe] -d [directory]" and press "Enter." For example, to unzip the archive "foo.exe" to the new directory "unzippedfoo," type "unzip foo.exe -d unzippedfoo."

4. The contents of the archive will now be in the directory you created. If the Unzip utility returned an error, the EXE file was probably not a self-extracting archive, but an actual program executable that is not compatible with Mac OS.

Tips & Warnings

• Windows programs can be run on an Apple computer by installing a copy of the Windows operating system using Apple's Boot Camp utility. See Resources for a link to Apple's official guide to Boot Camp.

References

• Mac OS X Hints: Unzip a Windows self-extracting EXE file

Resources

• Apple Support: Boot Camp