The .SYS file, as the acronym suggests, stands for system file. These files are usually the files and folders used by Windows operating systems. Optionally, this extension is used as a system file Device Drivers, which contains driver information.
How to open a .SYS file extension
The .SYS file extension can be opened in any basic text editor – even Note. Some of the most common .SYS files that can be seen in the Windows operating system are IO.SYS, CONFIG.SYS, and MSDOS.SYS. It is possible to open these files to peek inside, but it is strongly recommended.
Finish the .SYS Files
The .SYS file, as mentioned earlier, is used for settings and configurations. MSDOS.SYS, for example, contains the code for the DOS operating system. This is also known as the DOS kernel, which uses the ability of Windows users to run DOS commands, even while in the graphical user interface (GUI).
The IO.SYS drive is another good example, as it works with computer drivers and hardware. The acronym IO stands for Input/Output in this site, which directly indicates common usage for device drivers.
Although it’s nice to see what kind of .SYS file ticks, it can be very disastrous to open and edit these files. If something was put out of place, or if extraneous characters were added to the .SYS file, the system could fail as a result. For this reason, no one should ever edit .SYS files unless they are sure they know what they are doing.
Edit .SYS Files
For those who can’t help but be curious, Microsoft displays the contents of these files on their website. Even more interesting this Microsoft more detailed tutorials that explain how to edit the .SYS file to configure the Windows environment. The file MSDOS.SYS, for example, is listed in the Microsoft knowledge base and the configuration boot and driving directions options are listed.
The instructions on Microsoft’s website should be followed very carefully. One bit of important information, for example, is that MSDOS.SYS must be over 1,024 bytes in size, or some programs and functions will cease to exist altogether.
If you absolutely need to edit the .SYS file, be sure to use a text editor that doesn’t add extra characters. in the file. Microsoft Word is one example of a text editor that will give programmers a headache. Instead use a simple one like Note or even HTML editor.
Final Thoughts About .SYS Files
The average computer user will probably never need to work with a .SYS file. Even more advanced computer users will need a little more than a little curiosity when working with a .SYS file. The configuration contained in the .SYS files should never be edited – and therefore it is recommended that they not be.
There are some instances where one can profit from editing these files, but make sure to be very careful in the process – or the whole system will crash as a result.
