Poorly named exe program files

Question

I have a TON of exe type files, all for various programs. Half are going in the trash, half I wish to save. 80% are abbreviated or some acronym that means nothing to me. Without attempting to install every one, I am looking for a foolproof way to know the program name from those exes alone. I'm sure the vast majority will end up saved for no reason, but I cant lose the ones that matter. Storage space is not a concern really, but organization for ease of procurement is. I will be indebted and ever thankful!

Answer 1

Looking at the metadata normally helps, such as file description, product name, copyright, original filename and any certificates associated with the file.

You can do this by right clicking on the exe and selecting properties.

You can do this with windows explorer search by:

1. Searching for *.exe
2. Changing the view to details (From view -> Details in the ribbon at the top)
3. Adding the above columns (From view -> Add Columns also in the ribbon)

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Answer 2

Microsoft includes the Filever.exe tool in the Support\Tools\Support.cab file on the Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Microsoft Windows XP, and Microsoft Windows 2000 CDs.

Sample output:

> filever filever.exe /V
--a-- W32i   APP ENU      5.0.2134.1 shp     13,584 11-30-1999 filever.exe
        Language        0x0409 (Englisch (Vereinigte Staaten))
        CharSet         0x04b0 Unicode
        OleSelfRegister Disabled
        CompanyName     Microsoft Corporation
        FileDescription Microsoft Version Resource Dump Utility
        InternalName    filever.exe
        OriginalFilenam filever.exe
        ProductName     Microsoft(R) Windows (R) 2000 Operating System
        ProductVersion  5.00.2134.1
        FileVersion     5.00.2134.1
        LegalCopyright  Copyright (C) Microsoft Corp. 1981-1999

        VS_FIXEDFILEINFO:
        Signature:      feef04bd
        Struc Ver:      00010000
        FileVer:        00050000:08560001 (5.0:2134.1)
        ProdVer:        00050000:08560001 (5.0:2134.1)
        FlagMask:       0000003f
        Flags:          00000000
        OS:             00040004 NT Win32
        FileType:       00000001 App
        SubType:        00000000
        FileDate:       00000000:00000000

In PowerShell you can use Get-Command to gather information:

> Get-Command filever.exe | Format-List *


HelpUri            :
FileVersionInfo    : File:             C:\Sys\filever.exe
                     InternalName:     filever.exe
                     OriginalFilename: filever.exe
                     FileVersion:      5.00.2134.1
                     FileDescription:  Microsoft Version Resource Dump Utility
                     Product:          Microsoft(R) Windows (R) 2000 Operating System
                     ProductVersion:   5.00.2134.1
                     Debug:            False
                     Patched:          False
                     PreRelease:       False
                     PrivateBuild:     False
                     SpecialBuild:     False
                     Language:         Englisch (Vereinigte Staaten)

Path               : C:\Sys\filever.exe
Extension          : .exe
Definition         : C:\Sys\filever.exe
Source             : C:\Sys\filever.exe
Version            : 5.0.2134.1
Visibility         : Public
OutputType         : {System.String}
Name               : filever.exe
CommandType        : Application
ModuleName         :
Module             :
RemotingCapability : PowerShell
Parameters         :
ParameterSets      :

Answer 3

I am looking for a foolproof way to know the program name from those exes alone

I don't know if this is foolproof but the details tab might give you enough information:

1. Select exe file

2. Right click > Properties

3. Click "Details" tab

Some random examples from my downloads folder (in all cases the the program name is there):