86Box supports a large variety of disk image formats for the emulated storage drives.
Supported formats:
| Format | File extension |
|---|---|
| Raw image | Many * |
| Japanese FDI | .hdi |
../dev/formats/hdx |
.hdx |
| Virtual Hard Disk | .vhd |
* Raw image extensions recognized by 86Box include: .hdd .ima .img
There are limits to how big of a hard disk an emulated machine can accept. Such limits will vary depending on the machine's BIOS. The table below lists all important limits applicable to the IDE bus:
| Limit | Disk size | Cylinders | Heads | Sectors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20-bit CHS | 504 MB | 1024 | 16 | 63 |
| 12-bit cylinder | 2015 MB | 4095 | 16 | 63 |
| ECHS translation | 4032 MB | 1024 | 128 | 63 |
| Revised ECHS | 7560 MB | 1024 | 240 | 63 |
| LBA translation | 8032 MB | 1024 | 255 | 63 |
| 16-bit cylinder | 32255 MB | 65535 | 16 | 63 |
| 28-bit CHS | 130558 MB | 65535 | 255 | 63 |
| 86Box | 131071 MB | Not applic | able |
The maximum supported disk image size for IDE or SCSI is 131071 MB. Disk overlay software such as Ontrack Disk Manager can work around BIOS limits and allow booting of IDE hard drives within the 131071 MB limit, with the same caveats as using such software on a real machine.
Supported formats:
| Format | File extension |
|---|---|
| Raw image | Many * |
../dev/formats/86f |
.86f |
| CopyQM | .cq / .cqm |
| DiskDupe | .ddi |
| EZ-DisKlone Plus | .fdf |
| Formatted Disk Image | .fdi |
| HxC MFM | .mfm |
| ImageDisk | .imd |
| Japanese FDI | .fdi |
| PCjs JSON | .json |
| Teledisk | .td0 |
* Raw image extensions recognized by 86Box include: .bin .dsk .flp .hdm .ima .img .vfd .xdf
86Box determines the physical media format (sides, tracks per side, sectors per track, bytes per sector) of a floppy disk image through the following methods:
- Image file header data - not applicable for Raw and DiskDupe formats;
- DOS BIOS Parameter Block data within the image;
- If all else fails, a guess is made based on the image file's size.
The BIOS Parameter Block detection method may behave incorrectly with non-DOS floppy disks. Installation floppies for UNIX and Linux are common examples of non-DOS disks. Disabling Check BPB <settings/floppycdrom:Floppy drives> is strongly recommended when accessing these, as an inaccurate BPB detection may result in read errors, data corruption and other issues.
Note
When using a Raw image of a non-DOS floppy with Check BPB disabled, make sure the image file is not truncated (smaller than its media size), otherwise incorrect behavior may still occur.
Supported formats:
| Format | File extension |
|---|---|
| Raw image | Many * |
|
.mdi (MO) --------------+ .zdi (ZIP) |
* Raw image extensions recognized by 86Box include: .ima .img
Supported formats:
| Format | File extension |
|---|---|
| Cue sheet | .cue + .bin |
| ISO | .iso |
Compact Disc Digital Audio (CDDA) playback through the emulated CD-ROM drives is supported on Cue sheet images. Audio output is enabled on the first CD-ROM drive and muted on subsequent drives by default; individual drives can be muted or unmuted through the status bar <usage/statusbar:|cdrom| CD-ROM drives> or Media menu <usage/menubar:Media>.
Note
Only raw format (.bin) tracks are supported. Compressed or otherwise encapsulated audio tracks (.wav, .mp3, .ogg, .flac and other formats) are not supported.
Supported formats:
| Format | File extension |
|---|---|
| Raw PCM audio | Many * |
| PCE cassette | .cas |
| Wave audio | .wav |
* Raw audio extensions recognized by 86Box include: .pcm .raw
Supported formats:
| Format | File extension |
|---|---|
| Raw image | Many * |
| JRipCart | .jrc |
* Raw image extensions recognized by 86Box include: .a .b .bin