Click the "Select File" button above, and choose your KO file.
You’ll see a preview, if available.
Click the "Convert file to..." button to extract text information.
Convert KO to another file type
To convert KO kernel modules to another format, you need Linux Kernel or other System software.
Convert a file to KO
To convert other file formats to the "Loadable Kernel Module" file type, you need software like Linux Kernel or a similar tool.
About KO files
A .ko file is a Linux Kernel Object file. It contains compiled, loadable kernel modules that extend the core functionality of the Linux Kernel without requiring a full system reboot. These modules are formatted as Executable and Linkable Format (ELF) binaries. System administrators manage these files using command-line tools like modprobe or insmod. The disadvantage of the .ko format is that it is a compiled, architecture-specific binary file. It is not human-readable. Users often need to analyze the contents of a .ko file to debug kernel panics, inspect driver code, or reverse-engineer malware, which is incredibly difficult for average users. You cannot open it in a standard text editor, and doing so will result in gibberish characters. The best target formats for analysis are disassembled assembly code (ASM) or plain text (TXT) using tools like objdump or readelf. Because it is a compiled system file, standard online converters fail to process it. If our analysis detects a supported underlying or embedded format, viewing or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your KO file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
If you want to convert KO file to MB, GO, KB, GB, MO, SYS, DLL, EXE, DRV, VXD, 386 or COM, you can use Linux Kernel or similar software from the "Linux Kernel Extension Module" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert MSI, EXE, REG, MST, LNK, CAB, CAT, DRV, INF, SYS, MSU or DLL files to KO, try Linux Kernel or another comparable tool in the "Linux Kernel Extension Module" category.
The KO Converter Story
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our KO converter.