A hex dump is a way to display computer memory as text using hexadecimal numbering. It is used to analyze what a computer was doing before a crash. Hexadecimal is a base-16 system that simplifies binary code. Hex dumps display memory addresses and values in columns of two or four digits.
A hex dump is a snapshot of computer memory, usually displayed as text on a screen or in a printout. Hexadecimal, or hexadecimal, is a base-16 number system used by computers to represent binary code when people need to read it. Computer dumps are the common name for writing information into memory to a file, often before a software failure. With that in mind, a hex dump is typically used by people to work out exactly what a computer was doing right before it crashed.
To understand a hex dump, you need to understand a little about how alternate numbering systems work. Number systems are notated as base-(value). The value in a number system determines how many digits of numbers there are in the system. For example, most people typically use a base-10 system that has ten numbers, from zero to nine. While it can be difficult to understand number systems other than base 10, it is very easy for computers. Different base count systems allow for faster programs and better filing methods than a standard base 10 system.
Most computer code works in binary, a series of 1s and 0s that represent power on and off in the computer’s magnetic memory. As a base 2 system, binary has very large numbers that represent relatively small base 10 numbers. For example, “1001” in binary equals nine in base 10. When computers store binary data, they do so in two blocks of four digits, called bytes, each representing a number. A block reading “0100 1101” would be “4 13” in base 10 notation.
Hexadecimal is a base 16 number system that contains the values from zero to 15. Since the largest number that can be written in four binary digits is “1111” or “15” in base 10, then the four digit binary number is easier and shorter to write in hexadecimal. Writing values in hexadecimal reduces each eight-digit byte to two digits.
A typical hexadecimal value may look slightly different than a base 10 digit. While the values zero through nine remain the same, 10 through 15 get a single representative value. These values are represented by AF. In base 10, this would be a basic math problem: 4+11=15. In hexadecimal, the same problem would look like this: 4+B=E.
Hex dumps use all of these conversions and numbers to spit out a textual representation of what was written to the computer’s memory at the time of the dump. A typical hex dump has row after row of numbers in narrow, consistent columns, all written in hexadecimal. The first column is the memory address of the line and consists of seven digits. After the memory address are the values of that space converted to hexadecimal from binary. These are typically groups of two values, representing one byte, or four values, representing two. The last column is the address checksum, a value used to verify the accuracy of the information, and is usually six digits long.
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