Floppy Emulation from disk images
Last modified: 14 August 2024
The HxC Floppy emulator firmware for Gotek support floppy emulation from disk images. You have just to copy your floppy disk images files to the usb stick.
Note
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If you are using a Gotek without any OLED/LCD/OSD screen in indexed mode you probably also need to rename the file images using the "DSKAXXXX" naming convention. See the usage page for more details. |
Supported disk image file formats
Here are the disk image formats directly supported by the HxC firmware :
Machine |
Disk image file format |
Access |
Universal support : All machines are supported by the native HxC Floppy Emulator (HFE) file format |
*.HFE |
Read / Write |
Copy protected HFE images (HFEv3 converted from ipf & stream files) |
*.HFE (v3) |
Read |
PC and compatibles (Computers, Synth and CNC machines…) |
*.IMG |
Read / Write |
PC and compatibles (Computers, Synth and CNC machines…) |
*.IMA |
Read / Write |
Amiga |
*.ADF |
Read / Write |
Atari ST |
*.ST |
Read / Write |
Microbee |
*.DSK |
Read / Write |
MSX |
*.DSK |
Read / Write |
MSX |
*.IMG |
Read / Write |
Amstrad CPC/ZX Spectrum/Tatung Einstein |
*.DSK (Normal) |
Read / Write |
Amstrad CPC/ZX Spectrum/Tatung Einstein |
*.DSK (Extended) |
Read / Write |
Acorn |
*.ADL |
Read / Write |
Acorn |
*.ADM |
Read / Write |
Acorn |
*.SSD |
Read / Write |
Acorn |
*.DSD |
Read / Write |
Acorn |
*.ADF |
Read / Write |
Apple II |
*.dsk |
Read / Write |
Apple II |
*.do |
Read / Write |
Apple II |
*.po |
Read / Write |
Camputer Lynx |
*.LDF |
Read / Write |
Commodore C64 |
*.D81 |
Read / Write |
Thomson machines (MO5, TO7…) |
*.FD |
Read / Write |
TI99/4A |
*.DSK |
Read / Write |
TI99/4A |
*.V9T9 |
Read / Write |
Sam Coupé |
*.SAD |
Read / Write |
Sam Coupé |
*.MGT |
Read / Write |
ZX Spectrum |
*.TRD |
Read / Write |
ZX Spectrum |
*.SDD |
Read / Write |
ZX Spectrum |
*.DSK |
Read / Write |
ZX Spectrum Opus Discovery |
*.OPD |
Read / Write |
Akai (S900 / S950 / S01 / S20 / MPC…) |
*.IMG |
Read / Write |
Akai (S900 / S950 / S01 / S20 / MPC…) |
*.AKAI |
Read / Write |
Casio |
*.FZ1 |
Read / Write |
Emax |
*.IMG |
Read / Write |
E-mu EOS / ESI |
*.IMG |
Read / Write |
Ensoniq |
*.IMG |
Read / Write |
General Music |
*.IMG |
Read / Write |
Korg |
*.IMG |
Read / Write |
Roland |
*.OUT |
Read / Write |
Roland |
*.W30 |
Read / Write |
Roland |
*.S50 |
Read / Write |
Roland |
*.S33 |
Read / Write |
Roland |
*.S55 |
Read / Write |
Robox RC9400 |
*.IMG |
Read / Write |
Robox RC9400 |
*.DSK |
Read / Write |
Kawai |
*.IMG |
Read / Write |
Kawai |
*.DSK |
Read / Write |
Yamaha QX3 |
*.IMG |
Read / Write |
User defined file image. See the custom firmware build page |
. |
Read / Write |
Beside of that the HFE files can be generated from almost any types of files images with the HxC Floppy Emulator software:
This software is available on Windows, macOS and Linux.
You can use it to convert all these file disk images format to the HFE format.
MODULE ID | DESCRIPTION | Extension |
---|---|---|
KRYOFLUXSTREAM |
KryoFlux Stream Loader |
*.raw |
AMIGA_DMS |
AMIGA DMS Loader |
*.dms |
AMIGA_ADZ |
AMIGA ADZ Loader |
*.adz |
AMIGA_EXTADF |
AMIGA EXTENDED ADF Loader |
*.adf |
AMIGA_OLDEXTADF |
AMIGA OLD EXTENDED ADF Loader |
*.adf |
ZXSPECTRUM_FDI |
ZX SPECTRUM FDI Loader |
*.fdi |
NEC_FDI |
NEC FDI Loader |
*.fdi |
AMIGA_ADF |
AMIGA ADF Loader |
*.adf |
BBC_ADL |
BBC ADL floppy image loader |
*.adl |
ACORN_ADF |
ACORN ADF Loader |
*.adf |
AMSTRADCPC_DSK |
Amstrad CPC DSK Loader |
*.dsk |
ATARIST_DIM |
ATARI ST DIM Loader |
*.dim |
ATARIST_STX |
Atari ST STX/Pasti Loader |
*.stx |
ATARIST_STT |
ATARI ST STT Loader |
*.stt |
COPYQM |
COPYQM IMG Loader |
*.dsk |
TELEDISK_TD0 |
TELEDISK TD0 Loader |
*.td0 |
ATARIST_MSA |
ATARI ST MSA Loader |
*.msa |
ATARIST_STW |
STW Loader |
*.stw |
RAW_IMZ |
IBM PC IMZ Loader |
*.imz |
HXCMFM_IMG |
HXC MFM IMG Loader |
*.mfm |
ORIC_DSK |
ORIC DSK Loader |
*.dsk |
ATARIST_ST |
ATARI ST ST Loader |
*.st |
ROLAND_W30 |
Roland W30 file Loader |
*.w30 |
SPS_IPF |
SPS IPF Loader |
*.ipf |
TI994A_V9T9 |
TI99 4A V9T9 Loader |
*.v9t9 |
AMIGA_FS |
AMIGA FS Loader |
*.amigados |
PROPHET2000 |
PROPHET 2000 Loader |
*.img |
RAW_IMG |
IBM PC IMG Loader |
*.img |
FLP_IMG |
FLP PC Magazine image Loader |
*.flp |
MSX_DSK |
MSX DSK Loader |
*.dsk |
FAT12FLOPPY |
FAT12/MS DOS Loader |
*.fat |
HXC_HFE |
SD Card HxCFE HFE file Loader |
*.hfe |
HXC_HFEV3 |
SD Card HxCFE HFE V3 file Loader |
*.hfe |
HXC_EXTHFE |
SD Card HxCFE EXTENDED HFE file Loader |
*.hfe |
HXC_HDDD_A2_HFE |
SD Card HxCFE HFE file Loader (HDDD A2 Support) |
*.hfe |
HXC_STREAMHFE |
Stream HFE file Loader |
*.hfe |
VTR_IMG |
VTR IMG Loader |
*.vtr |
IMD_IMG |
ImageDisk IMD file Loader |
*.imd |
SDU_IMG |
SAB Diskette Utility Loader |
*.sdu |
HXC_AFI |
HxC AFI file loader |
*.afi |
C64_D64 |
C64 D64 file image loader |
*.d64 |
C64_D81 |
C64 D81 Loader |
*.d81 |
ZXSPECTRUM_TRD |
Zx Spectrum TRD Loader |
*.trd |
ZXSPECTRUM_SCL |
ZX SPECTRUM SCL Loader |
*.scl |
THOMSONTO8D_SAP |
THOMSON TO8D SAP Loader |
*.sap |
TRS80_JV1 |
TRS80 JV1 Loader |
*.jv1 |
TRS80_JV3 |
TRS80 JV3 Loader |
*.jv3 |
TRS80_JVC |
TRS80 JVC Loader |
*.jvc |
SVD |
SVD Loader |
*.svd |
NEC_D88 |
NEC D88 Loader |
*.d88 |
X68000_HDM |
X68000 HDM file Loader |
*.hdm |
RAW_LOADER |
RAW Sector loader |
*.img |
SNES_SMC |
Super famicom SMC / Game Doctor Loader |
*.smc |
VEGAS6809 |
VEGAS6809 image Loader |
*.veg |
TRS80_DMK |
TRS80 DMK Loader |
*.dmk |
TI994A_PC99 |
TI99 4A PC99 Loader |
*.pc99 |
APRIDISK |
APRIDISK Loader |
*.dsk |
ENSONIQ_EDE |
ENSONIQ EDE Loader |
*.ede |
FAT12FLOPPY |
FAT12/MS DOS Loader |
*.fat |
ENSONIQ_GKH |
ENSONIQ GKH Loader |
*.gkh |
THOMSON_FD |
THOMSON FD Loader |
*.fd |
CASIO_FZF |
Casio FZF file Loader |
*.fzf |
DRAGON3264_VDK |
DRAGON32 & 64 VDK Loader |
*.vdk |
OBERHEIM_DPX |
Oberheim DPX Loader |
*.dpx |
ENSONIQ_EDM |
Ensoniq mirage EDM Loader |
*.edm |
EMAX_EM |
EMAX EM1 & EM2 Loader |
*.em1 |
SAMCOUPE_MGT |
SAM COUPE MGT Loader |
*.mgt |
SAMCOUPE_SAD |
SAM COUPE SAD Loader |
*.sad |
EMULATORII |
E-mu Emulator II / SP1200 dsk Loader |
*.emuiifd |
EMULATORII_EMUII |
E-mu Emulator II *.eii Loader |
*.eii |
EMULATORI |
E-mu Emulator I dsk Loader |
*.emufd |
CAMPUTERSLYNX |
CAMPUTERSLYNX Loader |
*.ldf |
BBC_SSD_DSD |
BBC SSD & DSD floppy image loader |
*.dsd |
FEI |
FEI Loader |
*.fei |
SYSTEM_24 |
System 24 loader |
*.s24 |
SCP_FLUX_STREAM |
SCP Stream Loader |
*.scp |
DFI_FLUX_STREAM |
DiscFerret DFI Stream Loader |
*.dfi |
A2R_FLUX_STREAM |
A2R Stream Loader |
*.a2r |
APPLE2_NIB |
Apple II NIB Loader |
*.nib |
APPLE2_DO |
Apple II DO Loader |
*.do |
SPECCYDOS_SDD |
Speccy DOS SDD File Loader |
*.sdd |
BMP_IMAGE |
BMP floppy tracks layout image generator |
*.bmp |
BMP_DISK_IMAGE |
BMP floppy layout (disk) image generator |
*.bmp |
ARBURG |
ARBURG RAW Loader |
*.arburgfd |
GENERIC_XML |
Generic XML file Loader |
*.xml |
ANA_IMG |
AnaDisk file Loader |
*.ana |
ATARI_ATR |
Atari ATR Loader |
*.atr |
NORTHSTAR |
Northstar Loader |
*.nsi |
HEATHKIT |
Heathkit Loader |
*.h8d |
HXC_QD |
HXC Quickdisk image Loader |
*.qd |
HXCSTREAM |
HxC Stream Loader |
*.hxcstream |
ABB_320KB |
ABB/Asea 3"5 DD Floppy Disk (ABB IRB2000 S3 - Single sided) |
*.xml |
ABB_328KB |
ABB/Asea 3"5 328KB DD Floppy Disk (ABB IRB) |
*.xml |
ABB_640KB |
ABB/Asea 3"5 DD Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
ACORN_ADFS_160K |
Acorn ADFS 160K Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
ACORN_ADFM_320K |
Acorn ADFM 320K Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
ACORN_ADFL_640K |
Acorn ADFL 640K Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
AED 6200P Disk Layout |
AED 6200P Floppy Disk Storage System Disk Layout |
*.xml |
AKAIS950_HD_1600KB |
Akai S950 3"5 HD Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
AKAIS950_DD_800KB |
Akai S900/S950 3"5 DD Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
AKAIS3000_HD |
Akai S3000 3"5 HD Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
AMSTRADCPC_DD |
Standard 3" Amstrad CPC Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
AUTOMATIX_RAIL_DD_400KB |
Automatix RAIL DD 400KB Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
ATARIST_DD_720KB |
Atari ST 3"5 DD Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
BUNG_MGD2 |
Bung Multi Game Doctor 2 / MGD2 1756KB |
*.xml |
CASIOFZ1_HD_1M25 |
Casio FZ1 3"5 HD Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
ROBOX_RC9400 |
Coat-A-Matic 9400 / Robox RC9400 |
*.xml |
COMX35_SS_70KB |
COMX35 SS 70KB Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
COMX35_DS_140KB |
COMX35 DS 140KB Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
COMX35_SS_140KB |
COMX35 SS 140KB Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
DEC_RX55 |
Dec RX55 Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
Didaktik_Spectrum_DD_720KB |
Didaktik Spectrum DD Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
DOS_DD_720KB |
Standard 3"5 DOS DD Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
DOS_HD_1M44 |
Standard 3"5 DOS HD Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
DOS_ED_2M88 |
Standard 3"5 DOS ED Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
DOS_EXDD_2M5 |
Special 2.5MB DOS EXHD Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
DOS_EXHD_4M5 |
Special 4.5MB DOS EXHD Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
DOS_EXHD_6M78 |
Special 6.78MB DOS EXHD Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
DYNACORD_ADD_ONE |
Dynacord Add-One Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
DYNACORD_HD |
Dynacord HD 1.6MB Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
ENSONIQ_DD_800KB |
Ensoniq EPS 3"5 DD Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
ENSONIQ_HD_1600KB |
Ensoniq EPS 3"5 HD Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
ENSONIQ_MIRAGE_440KB |
Ensoniq Mirage 3"5 DD Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
EXCELLON_CNC6 |
Excellon CNC6 Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
EMAX_DD_800KB |
Emax 3"5 DD Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
EMAX_II_DD_800KB |
Emax II 3"5 DD Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
FLEX_SSDD_80T_358KB |
FLEX SSDD 80 Tracks 358KB |
*.xml |
FLEX_DSDD_80T_716KB |
FLEX DSDD 80 Tracks 716KB |
*.xml |
FLEX_DSDD_80T_716KB_PADDED |
FLEX DSDD 80 Tracks 716KB (cylinder 0 padded image) |
*.xml |
FLEX_DSDD_40T_356KB |
FLEX DSDD 40 Tracks 356KB |
*.xml |
FLEX_DSDD_40T_356KB_PADDED |
FLEX DSDD 40 Tracks 356KB (cylinder 0 padded image) |
*.xml |
GENERALMUSIC_GEM_S3_1600KB |
GeneralMusic Gem S3 HD Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
GENERALMUSIC_GEM_WX_EXPANDER |
GeneralMusic Gem WX Expander HD Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
GRAVOGRAPH_ISIS_640KB |
Gravograph ISIS 3"5 DD Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
KORGDSS1_DD_800KB |
KORG DSS1 3"5 DD Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
KORGT3_HD_1M6 |
KORG T3 3"5 HD Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
LIF_3_50_264KB |
Logical Interchange Format (LIF) 3"1/2 264KB (single side) |
*.xml |
LIF_3_50_616KB |
Logical Interchange Format (LIF) 3"1/2 616KB (double side) |
*.xml |
LIF_3_5O_1232KB |
Logical Interchange Format (LIF) 3"1/2 1232KB (HD) |
*.xml |
LIF_5_25_264KB |
Logical Interchange Format (LIF) 5"1/4 264KB |
*.xml |
LINNFORAT9K_720KB |
Linn/Forat 9000 Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
MEMOTECH_80T |
Memotech Floppy Disk (80 tracks) |
*.xml |
MEMOTECH_40T |
Memotech Floppy Disk (40 tracks) |
*.xml |
Microtan 65 TANDOS Floppy Disk |
Microtan 65 TANDOS Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
BALZERS_250KB |
Oerlikon Balzers 250KB SD Disks |
*.xml |
OPUS_DISCOVERY |
Spectrum Opus Discovery |
*.xml |
OS9_640KB |
OS9 640KB Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
OS9_1280KB |
OS9 1280KB Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
ORIC_JASMIN_357KB |
Oric Jasmin 357K Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
PUMA_ROBOT_DD_640KB |
PUMA Robot arm 560C DD 640KB Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
QD_TRIUMPH_ADLER |
Olivetti TOP 100 / Triumph-Adler typewriter Quickdisk raw image |
*.xml |
ROLAND_DD_W30_S330_W50_S50_S550 |
Roland W30/S330/JW-50/W50/S50/S550 DD Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
SORD_M68_HD_998KB |
SORD M68 HD 998KB Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
TATUNG_EINSTEIN_DD_200KB |
Tatung Einstein DD 200KB Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
TATUNG_EINSTEIN_DD_400KB |
Tatung Einstein DD 400KB Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
TIMEX_FDD3000_80T2S |
Timex FDD3000 Floppy Disk (80 Tracks, 2 Sides) |
*.xml |
TIMEX_FDD3000_40T1S |
Timex FDD3000 Floppy Disk (40 Tracks, 1 Side) |
*.xml |
TRS80_JV1 |
Standard 3" Amstrad CPC Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
UKNC MFM 800KB Disk Layout |
UKNC MFM 800KB Disk Layout |
*.xml |
Unitel Videotex Floppy Disk |
Unitel Videotex Floppy Disk |
*.xml |
Note
|
Beside to these tables, you can also define your own floppy disk format in the HxC Floppy Emulator software and in the HxC firmware, so all existing disk formats should be supported ! |
Note
|
HFE images vs raw data images (IMG,DSK,IMA…) |
HFE is a new MFM/FM or GCR encoded floppy file image format. The HFE format keeps intact all the informations present on the floppy disks tracks: sectors metadata and data, error detection codes (CRC) and so on. Unlike the older raw data images like IMG, this file format is designed to support most of the existing floppy formats and keep intact all the floppy format metadata. No more guessing or configuration needed to be able to read the images!
From a safety and data integrity point of view, the HFE keep intact and doesn’t bypass the original disk controller data integrity checking mechanisms to be able to check that the data loaded from the flash memory media (USB, SDCard…) is valid.
About the older raw data images IMG, please note that no emulator nor software is able to detect a corruption from a raw data image IMG file in a reliable way ! These images don’t have any data integrity protection mechanism, and there is no way to properly detect if a sector contains valid data or not. With these kinds of formats, the floppy emulator/software can only encode them on the fly and potentially send the corrupted sector(s) to the machine as "good data". The machine can’t detect the error(s) since error detection codes (CRC) are recalculated on the fly by the emulator and this generally leads to undefined behavior and may generate potential serious damage in sensitive applications.
For these reasons, we generally discourage the use of IMG formats without data integrity checking mechanism for industrials and medicals systems and we recommend to use the HFE format or something similar instead.
And even for music and video games applications, it is unfortunately easy to find corrupted images, stated as "good" today, due to, for example, a past flash issue, a copy/write issue to the sdcard/usb stick and so on…
Last modified: 14 August 2024
HxC Floppy Emulator project | Legal Mentions | (C)2006-2024 HxC2001 / Jean-François DEL NERO |