Differences between *.car and ROM files?

[unebonnevie]

Hi all,

 

Format wise, i.e., load address, what are the differences between *.car (cartridge) and *.rom files. I would like to know how the Atari 8-bit computers recognize these files. Thanks!

[gozar]

.car files have a header on the file to tell the emulator how to load the file, I don't think they are usable on an 8-bit. Someone more knowledgable than I would need to tell you more. :-)

[MrFish]

It's just a 16 byte header. Strip it off and you've got a ROM.

[MrMartian]

Having .car files means no guessing on exactly what type of cartridge image it is, as the header contains that information. The Atari itself can't use it, emulators can. I have all my ROM images in .car format, as a) emulators like it, and b) my Ultimate Cart likes it. No guessing..

[Kyle22]

You can remove the header from a .car file and make it a .rom and then burn the .rom file to a chip. Put the chip in a cartridge and use in in your real computer.

[atx4us]

It's just a 16 byte header. Strip it off and you've got a ROM.

Since we're on this topic, can you please tell us the details of the data that is contained in the 16 bytes header? Thanks.

[MrFish]

Since we're on this topic, can you please tell us the details of the data that is contained in the 16 bytes header? Thanks.

 

CAR File Format.txt

[+JAC!]

From: http://sourceforge.net/p/atari800/source/ci/master/tree/DOC/cart.txt

[atx4us]

Thanks guys! These are perfect reference materials.