This report explains what CHD and ISO formats are, why conversion may be needed, legal and technical considerations, required tools, a step-by-step conversion procedure, verification steps, common issues and mitigations, and recommendations for workflow and preservation. The target audience is archivists, emulation enthusiasts, and digital preservation practitioners who need to convert MAME/Libretro CHD images into ISO disc images usable with standard optical-disc tooling and emulators.
Converting CHD to ISO is a straightforward, lossless process using the chdman extract command, provided the source CHD contains a single data track. For multi-track discs (common in retro gaming), extraction to CUE/BIN is the correct alternative. This procedure enables broad compatibility with standard OS tools while preserving data integrity.
Why convert:
ISO/BIN/CUE is required for "burning" back to physical media or for use in older emulators and virtual drive software (like Daemon Tools). Metadata Loss: