WinHex 21.4

Overview

Power users definitely need to have a tool installed which will allow them to view and edit hex data in disks and the RAM, in a way that is convenient and doesn’t make things more complicated than they already are. WinHex promises to fill the position of such a software, since it has many features and an easy to use interface that tries to minimize the effort of analyzing hex data in files, disks and physical memory.

Installation

What you download initially is an archive that contains several files, including the setup package. These files are essential if you want to use the portable version of the program, which is found in the archive (WinHex.exe). If, on the other hand, you want to install this program, just run the setup package and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation procedure. The only configurations you’ll have to make are set the installation directory and choose a language. The installation process is really quick and you will be asked if you want the program to be launched once it’s over.

There are no malicious scripts bundled with the main program (viruses, Trojans, etc.) and there are no 3^rd-party advertised software in it either.

Supported operating systems are Windows XP, 2003, Vista, 2008, 7, 8, 8.1, 2012 (32/64-bit). Note that under Windows Vista, 2008 Server and 7 physical RAM cannot be opened, and WinHex is unable to write sectors on the partitions that contain itself and Windows.

Interface

The program’s interface is simple and neat, without many graphics and a confusing layout. WinHex is divided into 3 main panes: the Case data pane (located on the left side) for displaying directory trees for a case, the pane in the middle for displaying hex data, and the pane on the right for displaying general information about the open file/device/memory.

Pros

WinHex has a wide range of features.

First of all, its main functionality is that of a disk editor. It can extract data from disks (and other storage devices, such as CD-ROMS, Flash disks, etc.) and display them hex format. It has native support for FAT12/16/32, exFAT, NTFS, Ext2/3/4, Next3, CDFS and UDF, plus built-in interpretation of RAID dynamic disks. Disk cloning and creation of disk images and backups is possible too.

Additionally, it can also access physical and virtual memory and display the data in hex format as well.

One of its most useful features is that it knows 20 data types (8/16/32-bit integer signed/unsigned, 64-bit integer signed, binary, float, real, double, long double, intel assembler opcodes, etc.) and can interpret data between them easily.

WinHex can also allow you to edit data structures using templates, for repairing a partition table/boot sector for example.

Moreover, it can concatenate, split, analyze and compare files.

Secure data wipe is another feature of the program; it can fill sectors of the disk or files with certain byte values (depending on the selected mode) in order for the old data to become completely erased and unrecoverable.

The user manual is very detailed and covers every single feature of the program in great depth.

Cons

No cons here.

Alternatives

Other alternatives with similar (but not so extended) functionality are HxD (free), PE Explorer (paid), wxHexEditor (free), 010 Editor (paid), Hiew (paid), Hex Workshop (paid) and DMDE (freemium).

Conclusion

WinHex is a very comprehensive disk and RAM editor that includes countless tools for managing data in various ways. Highly recommended app.