How to modify .exe files
In this tutorial, I would guide you to change the .exe files, in 5 simple easy steps:
1) Don't try to modify a program by editing his source in a dissasembler.Why?
Cause that's for programmers and assembly experts only.
Try to view it in hex you'll only get tons of crap that you are not going to understand.
First off, you need Resource Hacker. It's a resource editor and its very easy to use.
2) Unzip the archive, and run ResHacker.exe. You can check out the help file too if you encounter any problem using the tool.
3) You will see that the interface is very simple and clean. Go to the menu File and Open or press Ctrl+O to open a file. Browse your way to the file you would like to edit. You can edit only .exe, .dll, .ocx, .scr and .cpl files, but this tutorial is focused on to teach you how to edit the*.exe files, so open a .exe file.
4) In the left side of the screen a list of sections will appear. The most common sections are
-String table
-RCData
-Dialog
-Cursor group
-Bitmap
-WAV
Icon: You can wiew and change the icon(s) of the program by double-clicking the icon section, chossing the icon, right-clicking on it and pressing "replace resource". After that you can choose the icon you want to replace the original with.
String table: A bunch of crap, but useful sometimes. Some basic programming knowledge are needed.
RCData: Here are where the real hacking begins. Modify window titles, buttons, text, and lots more!
Dialog: Here you can modify the messages or dialogs that appear in a program. Don't forget to press "Compile" when you're done!
Cursor group: Change the mouse cursors used in the program just like you would change the icon.
Bitmap: View or change images in the programs easy!
WAV: Change the sounds in the prog. with your own.
5) In the RCData, Dialog, Menu and String table sections you can do a lot of changes. You can modify or translate the text change links, change buttons, and etc.
Tips
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-To change a window title, search for something like: CAPTION "edit this".
-After all operations press the "Compile Script" button, and when you're done editing save, your work @ FileSave(Save as).
-When you save a file, the original file will be backed up by default and renamed to Name_original and the saved file will have the normal name of the changed program.
-Sometimes you may get a message like: "This program has a non-standard resource layout. This is probably been compressed with an .exe
compressor." That means that Resource Hacker can't modify it because of it's structure.
