Decode windows .dat file

ETC Microsoft Windows
1

I have received a file from a Windows server that in Linux hexedit shows the following first few characters.

AA 18 3C 2B  60 56 03 00  00 01 01 00

The Windows program may have received this via RS232.
I need to "understand" this on a Linux machine.
Please suggest where I may start decoding this?

2

Hi Alf,

You're going to have to give us a bit more to work with I think.

You say that you have received a file from a Windows machine a ".dat" file, you also say the Windows machine may have received the file by RS232.

You don't say what the source of the file is;

  • Was it generated by an application? If so what was it?
  • What have you done in respect of "decoding" the file?
  • What do you need to understand on a Linux machine?

There are many ways of looking at this problem, as to decoding the file - there are lots of tools available if you want to just have a look at the file. Fewer if you want to manipulate the contents of the file, you'll have to give a bit more information.

Regards

Gull04

3

I agree with gull04...

A .dat extension is meaningless unless you know what app created it, and even then one might not be able to decode it easily because the file is _binary_...

The fact that it was sent from a Windows server is immaterial it is the app that created it that is important...

So please give us more HEX hexdump to look at AND also use code tags as per forum rules...

TIA.

4

A .dat is quite a commonly used extension to mean "data", it can be generated by many programs and although I've seen many .dat file headers, I've never seen that header at the start.

it doesn't have an ascii fourcc at the start, so that gives me no clues. I would guess its just data from the start as the values as longs or shorts are very high, unless there are about 43k records or size? i'm just guessing now.

�.<+`V

Can you provide the data originator application name?

Is it possible it could be compressed, and headers are omitted (ie a gz stream)

5

Try the file utility if you have it. file filename.dat It may tell you if it recognizes the kind of file.

In all likelihood you will have to ask whoever built this arrangement, what it is.