HxDfor example is afast free hex editorthat can open files of any size (up to 8EB), gives raw read/write access to disks and main memory (RAM), still being as easy to use as any text-editor.
Available as a portable and installable edition RAM-Editor To edit the main memory Memory sections are tagged with data-folds Disk-Editor (Hard disks, floppy disks, ZIP-disks, USB flash drives, CDs, ...) RAW reading and writing of disks and drives for Win9x, WinNT and higher Instant opening regardless of file-size Up to 8EB; opening and editing is very fast Liberal but safe file sharing with other programs Flexible and fast searching/replacing for several data types Data types: text (including Unicode), hex-values, integers and floats Search direction: Forward, Backwards, All (starting from the beginning) File compare (simple) View data in Ansi, DOS, EBCDIC and Macintosh character sets Checksum-Generator: Checksum, CRCs, Custom CRC, SHA-1, SHA-512, MD5, ... Exporting of data to several formats Source code (Pascal, C, Java, C#, VB.NET) Formatted output (plain text, HTML, Richtext, TeX) Hex files (Intel HEX, Motorola S-record) Insertion of byte patterns File tools File shredder for safe file deletion Splitting or concatenating of files Basic data analysis (statistics) Graphical representation of the byte/character distribution Helps to identify the data type of a selection Byte grouping 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 bytes packed together into one column "Hex only" or "text only"-modes Progress-window for lengthy operations Shows the remaining time Button to cancel Modified data is highlighted Unlimited undo "Find updates..."-function Easy to use and modern interface Goto address Printing Overwrite or insert mode Cut, copy, paste insert, paste write Clipboard support for other hex editors Visual Studio/Visual C++, WinHex, HexWorkshop, ... Bookmarks Ctrl+Shift+Number (0-9) sets a bookmark Ctrl+Number (0-9) goes to a bookmark Navigating to nibbles with Ctrl+Left or Ctrl+Right Flicker free display and fast drawing