Extract text from compressed MAME files (CHD)
To convert CHD MAME files to another format, you need MAME or other Disk Image software.
To convert other file formats to the "Arcade Emulator Disk Image" file type, you need software like MAME or a similar tool.
A .CHD file primarily functions as a Compressed Hunks of Data disk image utilized by the MAME arcade machine emulator. Arcade cabinets frequently rely on internal hard drives, CD-ROMs, or LaserDiscs to run games, and the .CHD format stores exact, compressed digital replicas of these physical media disks. In secondary, less common scenarios, .CHD functions as a Phantom Cine raw video header from Vision Research high-speed cameras, or as a chromatography data chart file used by laboratory software like Bio-Rad or Kaye Instruments Validator.
The core disadvantage of the .CHD format is its highly specialized, emulator-specific design. It is a closed format built specifically for MAME. Files are routinely large, often exceeding several gigabytes, which makes them cumbersome to store or transfer. Furthermore, they are entirely unsupported by standard operating systems. You cannot mount a .CHD file in Windows or macOS as you would a standard disk image without relying on specialized command-line utilities.
Users typically need to convert .CHD files to standard disk image formats like ISO, BIN, or CUE to burn the data to physical optical discs, extract internal files, or use the images in alternative emulators that do not support MAME's compression scheme.
Because this is a complex binary format employing multiple proprietary compression layers (like LZMA combined with FLAC for audio), standard online converters fail to process it. Usually, only the original chdman tool from the MAME suite can safely read or extract the data. We will inspect the file headers, verify if it is a MAME disk, a Phantom camera header, or a lab data file, and show internal metadata. If our analysis detects an embedded format that is supported, viewing or basic extraction may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your CHD file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted ISO, BIN, CUE, ZIP, 7Z, WEBP, PBP, CSO, RAR, GDI, TXT, PDF and CDI files.
If you want to convert CHD file to ISO, PBP, CDI, CUE, EXE, BIN, PAK, WAD, PK3, PK4, BSP or MAP, you can use MAME or similar software from the "Compressed Game Disk Image" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert MOD, BIN, CFG, SCX, DAT, MPQ, LOG, CUE, INI, EXE, SCM or ISO files to CHD, try MAME or another comparable tool in the "Compressed Game Disk Image" category.
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 CHD converter.