What is a disc image?

A disc image is a copy of all the tracks/sectors of an ST floppy disc put into one file. Emulators can access the sectors in the image as if they were real sectors on a floppy disc.

Disc images come in the format '.ST' and '.MSA'. So why not simply use the PC's floppy drive to read ST discs? There are a number of reasons for the use of disc images.
  • Modern PC's can no longer read all ST discs. Some single sided or extended format images will fail when the PC tries to read them.
  • Accessing a floppy disc through Windows is many times slower than a real ST, making accurate emulation impossible.
  • ST discs are now some years old, and although they can be read, the surface of the disc is likely to be tarnished and may damage or reduce the life of your PCs floppy drive if constantly used.

    NOTE - Original ST discs may not be useable for WinSTon. These disc images have protected tracks which cannot be read by the PC and are lost in the translation. Pirated games discs are suitable for reading with WinSTon, as these have no protection. I apologise to all Developers for this, and I thank all Pirates as emulators, like WinSTon, would not be of much use without the images you made.