Execute a file from Resources?

Question

I want to open a file directly from the resources without extracting it. Is it possible and how?

Alan · Answer

There are various ways to prevent the user from closing the runner application such as disabling the Close button, cancelling any attempt to close the form unless some condition (which you set yourself) is met or by simply hiding the form. However, none of these prevents the user from closing it using Task Manager. Although (surprisingly) it's possible to disable Task Manager, it's obviously dangerous to do so and it's not something I would recommend. A better idea would be to make the embedded exe self-destructing. A while back I found a clever idea for doing this on this thread: http://www.csharphelp.com/board2/read.html?f=1&i=42249&t=42249 As you'll see, shortly before the application is due to close, a piece of VBScript is created dynamically and then run. After waiting a couple of seconds for the application to close, the VBScript deletes it and then deletes itself. A couple of points: 1. I'd use ProcessWindowStyle.Hidden rather than ProcessWindowStyle.Minimized to prevent the console window from popping up. 2. Rather than putting this code in a Button eventhandler, I'd consider putting it in the embedded exe's Main() method after the call to Application.Run. There's no need then to call this.Close() as the window will have been closed already and the application will be about to terminate naturally.

Sergio Fonseca · Answer

Thank you the hook worked fine now xP Also is it possible to delete current process's file? I'm going to check if the process of runner is still running and if it's not I'll close the application and delete it's own file. It's just because if the person end the Runner's process the executable will stay there vulnerable against Reflectors and Editors.

Alan · Answer

Yes, it's possible to delete the embedded exe after it's run. Try this code in place of the original: using System.Diagnostics; ........... Assembly assembly = Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly(); Stream stream = assembly.GetManifestResourceStream("Runner.Resources.myapp.exe"); BinaryReader br = new BinaryReader(stream); FileStream fs = new FileStream("myapp.exe", FileMode.Create); BinaryWriter bw = new BinaryWriter(fs); byte[] ba = new byte[stream.Length]; stream.Read(ba,0, ba.Length); bw.Write(ba); br.Close(); bw.Close(); Process p = new Process(); p.StartInfo.FileName = "myapp.exe"; p.Start(); p.WaitForExit(); File.Delete("myapp.exe");

Sergio Fonseca · Answer

I wanna protect the application against deflectors and editors and it was the best way I found. Also if it's possible to delete the file once it's closed I could send file to disk and run it.

Alan · Answer

I've traced that error number to an exception called CORSEC_E_MISSING_STRONGNAME which means that your embedded exe is doing something which requires it to be 'strong named' for cryptographic purposes. If the embedded exe works OK on a standalone basis, then a possible explanation is that you've given it a strong name (using the sn.exe tool) but the code is failing because the host assembly which is launching it is not itself strong named. Incidentally, is there are particular reason why you're wanting to launch applications from memory rather than streaming them to disk first and then using the System.Process.Diagnostics class to run them? If you did the latter, then these sort of difficulties should disappear.

Sergio Fonseca · Answer

System.Reflection.TargetInvocationException: Exception has been thrown by the target of an invocation. ---> System.ComponentModel.Win32Exception: Unknown error (0x8013141b) at ActivityHook.UserActivityHook.Start1(Boolean InstallKeyboardHook) at Program.frmMain..ctor() at Program.Program.Main() --- End of inner exception stack trace --- at System.RuntimeMethodHandle._InvokeMethodFast(Object target, Object[] arguments, SignatureStruct& sig, MethodAttributes methodAttributes, RuntimeTypeHandle typeOwner) at System.RuntimeMethodHandle.InvokeMethodFast(Object target, Object[] arguments, Signature sig, MethodAttributes methodAttributes, RuntimeTypeHandle typeOwner) at System.Reflection.RuntimeMethodInfo.Invoke(Object obj, BindingFlags invokeAttr, Binder binder, Object[] parameters, CultureInfo culture, Boolean skipVisibilityChecks) at System.Reflection.RuntimeMethodInfo.Invoke(Object obj, BindingFlags invokeAttr, Binder binder, Object[] parameters, CultureInfo culture) at System.RuntimeType.InvokeMember(String name, BindingFlags bindingFlags, Binder binder, Object target, Object[] providedArgs, ParameterModifier[] modifiers, CultureInfo culture, String[] namedParams) at WindowsFormsApplication1.EmbeddedExe.Open() in C:\Documents and Settings\Sergio\Desktop\Sammy\Runner\Program Starter\WindowsFormsApplication1\EmbeddedExe.cs:line 20 at WindowsFormsApplication1.Form1.Launch() in C:\Documents and Settings\Sergio\Desktop\Sammy\Runner\Program Starter\WindowsFormsApplication1\Form1.cs:line 25 It gets the error when declarating the hook. I'm not sure what causes this otherwise I'd try to fix.

Alan · Answer

I might need to see some code to diagnose this one but a couple of questions first: 1. Does the embedded application always run OK in 'stand alone' mode? 2. What is the actual exception you're getting?

Sergio Fonseca · Answer

I got what you meant it's the Default Namespace of the application I wan't to start. It's working almost fine but the hook I'm using for hotkeys on the other application it giving an error when it tries to load.

Alan · Answer

The reason why I didn't give up is that I knew it worked because I've done it myself. However, I don't think I've done it before with two WinForms applications . At least one was a console application and so I didn't have the 'two message loops on the same thread' problem :) The new problem sounds like it could be the fully qualified name of the Program class. If you recall, this has to be preceded by the namespace in the Program.cs file of the embedded exe which is not necessarily the same as the name of the application itself.

Sergio Fonseca · Answer

Thank you very much dude your the best :-) Thank you for not giving it up and for helping me as long as you could it worked now :-) The problem is fixed with the thread. Thank you for everything :-) I'm getting this error when I try with another application: System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object. at WindowsFormsApplication1.EmbeddedExe.Open() in C:\Documents and Settings\Sergio\Desktop\Sammy\Program Starter\WindowsFormsApplication1\EmbeddedExe.cs:line 36 at WindowsFormsApplication1.Form1.Launch() in C:\Documents and Settings\Sergio\Desktop\Sammy\Program Starter\WindowsFormsApplication1\Form1.cs:line 25 I'm not sure on what's causing it. I've retrieved embedded.GetType from Resources and executable's name is right but somewhy it's not getting it.

Alan · Answer

Doh, I should have thought of that one but the good news is that I think we may finally be there ;) Just make these changes to Form1.cs in the Runner project: private void button1_Click( object sender, EventArgs e) { Retry: try { System.Threading. Thread t = new System.Threading. Thread (Launch); t.Start(); } catch { DialogResult dRT; dRT = MessageBox .Show( "Failed to open the program." , "Error" , MessageBoxButtons .RetryCancel, MessageBoxIcon .Error); if (dRT == DialogResult .Retry) goto Retry; else Console .Clear(); } } Now add a new Launch() method in the same class: private void Launch() { OpenExe.Open(); } After making the above changes, the code is actually working on my machine without the need for the earlier change so it looks like running the embedded program on a separate thread solves that as well :)

Sergio Fonseca · Answer

The error I retrieved was: System.Reflection.TargetInvocationException: Exception has been thrown by the target of an invocation. ---> System.InvalidOperationException: Starting a second message loop on a single thread is not a valid operation. Use Form.ShowDialog instead. at System.Windows.Forms.Application.ThreadContext.RunMessageLoopInner(Int32 reason, ApplicationContext context) at System.Windows.Forms.Application.ThreadContext.RunMessageLoop(Int32 reason, ApplicationContext context) at System.Windows.Forms.Application.Run(Form mainForm) at LotoFacil_Simulador.Program.Main() --- End of inner exception stack trace --- at System.RuntimeMethodHandle._InvokeMethodFast(Object target, Object[] arguments, SignatureStruct& sig, MethodAttributes methodAttributes, RuntimeTypeHandle typeOwner) at System.RuntimeMethodHandle.InvokeMethodFast(Object target, Object[] arguments, Signature sig, MethodAttributes methodAttributes, RuntimeTypeHandle typeOwner) at System.Reflection.RuntimeMethodInfo.Invoke(Object obj, BindingFlags invokeAttr, Binder binder, Object[] parameters, CultureInfo culture, Boolean skipVisibilityChecks) at System.Reflection.RuntimeMethodInfo.Invoke(Object obj, BindingFlags invokeAttr, Binder binder, Object[] parameters, CultureInfo culture) at System.RuntimeType.InvokeMember(String name, BindingFlags bindingFlags, Binder binder, Object target, Object[] providedArgs, ParameterModifier[] modifiers, CultureInfo culture, String[] namedParams) at WindowsFormsApplication1.EmbeddedExe.Open() in C:\Documents and Settings\Sergio\Desktop\Sammy\Runner\Program Starter\WindowsFormsApplication1\EmbeddedExe.cs:line 35 at WindowsFormsApplication1.Form1.button1_Click(Object sender, EventArgs e) in C:\Documents and Settings\Sergio\Desktop\Sammy\Runner\Program Starter\WindowsFormsApplication1\Form1.cs:line 25

Alan · Answer

It needs to be taken out altogether, not changed to true. However, you can leave it in the Runner project as this is the host application. There must be an exception thrown otherwise it wouldn't be caught by the catch statement. If you temporarily comment out the try/catch stuff so that the program will stop dead, you should be able to see the full text of the error in the dialog that pops up.

Sergio Fonseca · Answer

Taking it out and putting as true didn't gave me errors. Everything worked like before stopping at the same spot.

Alan · Answer

When I tried to run this before the alteration, I was getting the following exception: System.Reflection.TargetInvocationException: Exception has been thrown by the target of an invocation. ---> System.InvalidOperationException: SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault must be called before the first IWin32Window object is created in the application. at System.Windows.Forms.Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(Boolean defaultValue) at LotoFacil_Simulador.Program.Main() So Progrem.Main() was definitely being entered and the exception was thrown on the call to Appplication.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false). What exception are you getting now?

Sergio Fonseca · Answer

MyApp is at Resources. I've took out " Application .SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault( false );" of "LotoFacil Simulador" and "Runner" and updated MyApp of "Runner" and still didn't work.

Alan · Answer

Well, I couldn't tell anything from that as the source code for the embedded resource file, myapp.exe, wasn't included. However, I managed to disassemble it using Reflector and discovered that the Program class is in a namespace called LotoFacil_Simulador. So you'll need to change this line: Type t = embedded.GetType("MyApp.Program"); to this: Type t = embedded.GetType("LotoFacil_Simulador.Program"); However, it still won't work when you change that because the Main() method in myapp.exe contains this line which is added automatically by the Visual Studio 2008 designer: Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false); You're not allowed to set this property in an application which is hosted by another one; you can only set it in standalone applications. As the default is 'false' in any case for all Windows Forms 2.0 (or later) controls, it should do no harm to take it out so I'm afraid you'll need to open up the myapp project again, remove that line from the Main method, rebuild it and re-embed the exe in your Runner project as a resource. Hopefully, after you've done all that, it'll work.

Sergio Fonseca · Answer

http://rapidshare.com/files/102651214/Program_Starter.rar It's direct download so you don't have to worry about waiting xP The application is there to it's a game in the language I speak it actualy simulates an local lottery.

Alan · Answer

As long as the embedded resource is a compiled managed executable, this approach should always work as long as we know the fully qualified name of the class which contains the Main() method and the precise signature of the latter. It won't interfere with the current application as the two run in separate application domains managed by the CLR which guarantees isolation. Can you post the full source code for the program.cs file of the embedded executable (not the current application) please, as I feel sure the answer must lie somewhere in there.

Sergio Fonseca · Answer

The code you sent me said "Runner.Properties.Resources.resources WindowsFormsApplication1.Form1.resources Runner.Resources.MyApp.exe" It's an executable made from build of another application may that be the problem?

Alan · Answer

Are you sure that MyApp is the namespace which contains the Program class? I remember you said earlier that you'd renamed the application but I wondered whether you'd changed the namespace as well. Its working fine when I try it myself :-/

Sergio Fonseca · Answer

Didn't work still not opening and stoping at step 7. using System; using System.IO; using System.Reflection; namespace WindowsFormsApplication1 { public class EmbeddedExe { public void Open() { Console .Clear(); Assembly assembly = Assembly .GetExecutingAssembly(); Console .WriteLine( "1" ); Stream stream = assembly.GetManifestResourceStream( "Runner.Resources.MyApp.exe" ); Console .WriteLine( "2" ); byte [] ba = new byte [stream.Length]; Console .WriteLine( "3" ); stream.Read(ba, 0, ba.Length); Console .WriteLine( "4" ); Assembly embedded = Assembly .Load(ba); Console .WriteLine( "5" ); Type t = embedded.GetType( "MyApp.Program" ); Console .WriteLine( "6" ); BindingFlags bf = BindingFlags .InvokeMethod | BindingFlags .Static | BindingFlags .NonPublic; Console .WriteLine( "7" ); t.InvokeMember( "Main" , bf, null , null , null ); Console .WriteLine( "8" ); } } } I took out the message boxes and used console this time. That's exactly how I'm using.

Alan · Answer

Ah, I think I've just realized what the problem is which is in this line: Type t = embedded.GetType( "Program" ); When I wrote this program a few months ago in response to another question, I used notepad and a command line compile (rather than VS) and didn't bother putting the Program class of the embedded exe within a namespace. However, if you're using VS, it will be in a namespace (say MyApp) and you therefore need to fully qualify the type name so that it can be found: Type t = embedded.GetType( "MyApp.Program" ); It shouldn't matter whether the Program class is declared public or not.

Sergio Fonseca · Answer

I didn't touch the Static void Main() it was on program.cs static void Main() { Application .EnableVisualStyles(); Application .SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault( false ); Application .Run( new Form1 ()); } I've changed got some errors. If I use it as a Static class I can't access due protection level and if I leave as public it don't work I've tried putting in form1 but didn't work either. namespace WindowsFormsApplication1 { public class EmbeddedExe { public void Open() { Assembly assembly = Assembly .GetExecutingAssembly(); MessageBox .Show( "1" ); Stream stream = assembly.GetManifestResourceStream( "Runner.Resources.myapp.exe" ); MessageBox .Show( "2" ); byte [] ba = new byte [stream.Length]; MessageBox .Show( "3" ); stream.Read(ba, 0, ba.Length); MessageBox .Show( "4" ); Assembly embedded = Assembly .Load(ba); MessageBox .Show( "5" ); Type t = embedded.GetType( "Program" ); MessageBox .Show( "6" ); BindingFlags bf = BindingFlags .InvokeMethod | BindingFlags .Static | BindingFlags .NonPublic; MessageBox .Show( "7" ); t.InvokeMember( "Main" , bf, null , null , null ); MessageBox .Show( "8" ); } } } I'm declaring it as " EmbeddedExe OpenExe = new EmbeddedExe ();" (EmbeddedExe is the class's name) I'm calling with a button click. private void button1_Click( object sender, EventArgs e) { Retry: try { OpenExe.Open(); } catch { DialogResult dRT; dRT = MessageBox .Show( "Failed to open myapp" , "Error" , MessageBoxButtons .RetryCancel, MessageBoxIcon .Error); if (dRT == DialogResult .Retry) goto Retry; else Close(); } }

Alan · Answer

Ah, yes, it looks like myapp.exe is in a Resources folder off the main application folder. The arguments to InvokeMember() depend on Main()'s exact signature in myapp. The default signature for VS 2005 is: static void Main() So, assuming it's like that, I'd try changing the last few lines to: BindingFlags bf = BindingFlags .InvokeMethod | BindingFlags .Static | BindingFlags .NonPublic; t.InvokeMember( "Main" , bf, null , null , null);

Sergio Fonseca · Answer

I'm almost there. public void Open() { Assembly assembly = Assembly .GetExecutingAssembly(); MessageBox .Show( "1" ); Stream stream = assembly.GetManifestResourceStream( "Runner.Resources.myapp.exe" ); //Provided by your code MessageBox .Show( "2" ); byte [] ba = new byte [stream.Length]; MessageBox .Show( "3" ); stream.Read(ba, 0, ba.Length); MessageBox .Show( "4" ); Assembly embedded = Assembly .Load(ba); MessageBox .Show( "5" ); Type t = embedded.GetType( "Program" ); MessageBox .Show( "6" ); BindingFlags bf = BindingFlags .InvokeMethod; MessageBox .Show( "7" ); object [] args = new object [] { new string [] { "someArg" } }; // use actual argument here MessageBox .Show( "8" ); t.InvokeMember( "Main" , bf, null , null , args); MessageBox .Show( "9" ); } I've made MessageBoxes to show how far I am. It's showing up to 8 meaning it stops at t.InvokeMember( "Main" , bf, null , null , args); I think it's the arguments. Actualy I didn't touch them because I don't know how they work.

Alan · Answer

I'd make absolutely sure you've got the right name for the resource. The following code will show the names of all resources added to the application in a MessageBox (there should be a couple added by the system as well): string s = ""; foreach (string resourceName in assembly.GetManifestResourceNames()) { s += resourceName + Environment.NewLine; } MessageBox.Show(s);

Sergio Fonseca · Answer

I don't know why but somewhy it's still not working. The Default Namespace is "Runner". The executable's name is "myapp.exe"(Renamed before adding.). The Stream is: Stream stream = assembly.GetManifestResourceStream( "Runner.myapp.exe" ); Build Action is "Embedded Resource". The Resource's Access Modifier is "Internal". Resource is Icon and Manifest. Embed manifest with default settings. Assembly name is "Runner". Please say if you need any other infos to help me.

Alan · Answer

The most likely reasons why you can't get it work are: 1. You haven't embedded the resource properly; and/or 2. You aren't using the correct fully qualified name of the resource. To deal with #1, right click on the resource file you've added in Solution Explorer, select Properties, locate Build Action and change it to Embedded Resource. Then rebuild the project. The fully qualified name of the resource should be something like: "MyNamespace.myapp.exe" where MyNamespace is the default namespace of your current project (usually just its name). Incidentally, be careful to get the capitalization right as the method we're using is very fussy.

Sergio Fonseca · Answer

Somewhy it's not working. Assembly assembly = Assembly .GetExecutingAssembly(); Stream stream = assembly.GetManifestResourceStream( "myapp.exe" ); byte [] ba = new byte [stream.Length]; I can't get though this step. I've renamed the exe to myapp.exe and changed the resources to myapp.exe to but somehwy it's not working. When I run it with Try and Catch it shows Catch thing. How exactly I have to embedd it to work properly? I've tried add an existing item and tried to add to resources at files none worked.

Alan · Answer

If the file you've embedded as a resource is a managed .exe, then it's possible to run the .exe without saving it to disk first using reflection. For example, if you've embedded a file called myexe.exe which takes a single argument and whose Main() method is in a class called Program, then this code should run it: using System; using System.IO; using System.Reflection; class EmbeddedExe { static void Main() { Assembly assembly = Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly(); // use full resource name in next line Stream stream = assembly.GetManifestResourceStream("myexe.exe"); byte[] ba = new byte[stream.Length]; stream.Read(ba, 0, ba.Length); Assembly embedded = Assembly.Load(ba); // use fully qualified name of type containing Main() method in next line Type t = embedded.GetType("Program"); BindingFlags bf = BindingFlags.InvokeMethod | BindingFlags.Static | BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.NonPublic; object[] args = new object[]{new string[]{"someArg"}}; // use actual argument here t.InvokeMember("Main", bf, null, null, args); } } However, I don't know any way to start an unmanaged exe (or a file which automatically loads an associated unmanaged exe) without streaaming it to disk first and then running it using the System.Diagnostics.Process class.

Execute a file from Resources?

Answers (31)