Difference between revisions of "Disc format"

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(added fat and prem)
(Third-party CPC disc formats)
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== Third-party CPC disc formats ==
 
== Third-party CPC disc formats ==
  
* [[FAT]] formats (invented by MS-DOS; supported by [[SymbOS]], [[DOS Copy]], [[ReadDSK]], [[SymDOS]])
+
* [[FAT]] formats (invented by MS-DOS; supported by [[SymbOS]], [[DOS Copy]], [[ReadDSK]], [[SymDOS]], [[DSK-CPC]])
 
* [[MS800]] formats
 
* [[MS800]] formats
 
* [[Stream2#MoDOS|Prem]] format (supported by [[Stream2]])
 
* [[Stream2#MoDOS|Prem]] format (supported by [[Stream2]])

Revision as of 03:47, 5 October 2006

CPCs could read discs formatted in three separate ways. Several high-capacity disc operating systems existed to add new formats to the three standard ones.

Standard CPC disc formats

  • Data: 180k single-sided. 40 tracks of nine 512-byte sectors each. Sectors numbered &C1 to &C9. 64 directory entries. Can also be read by PCWs. The useable capacity is 178k.
  • System: 180k single-sided. 40 tracks of nine 512-byte sectors each. Sectors numbered &41 to &49. 64 directory entries. Two reserved tracks containing CP/M BIOS. The useable capacity is 169k.
  • IBM: 160k single-sided. 40 tracks of eight 512-byte sectors each. Sectors numbered &01 to &08. Provided for compatibility with CP/M-86 (?). The useable capacity is 158k.
  • Vendor: Term used for System format discs with no software in the reserved tracks. The useable capacity is 169k.

Third-party CPC disc formats

References