MAMEWorld Forums - EmuChat - Re: Mame CHD Question....

> hello there! just wanted to ask, since I've tried to search for the answer, but
> haven't had much luck. I haven't updated since 0.168, but I think that it's time. my
> CHD's that I have are in winzip format. can I convert them to 7-zip format to save a
> little hard drive space, and will MAME still recognize them? I don't know the
> compression ratios, but I understand that 7-zip is much more of a space saver. I know
> that getting a larger hard drive is the easiest solution, but my rig won't accept
> anything larger than what I already have. might be time to just break down and
> upgrade. I dunno. but for the time being, I need to save some hard drive space if I
> can. any help at all would be much appreciated. thanks in advance!!!!

There's a couple obscure sites out there where you can download complete sets in T7Z format (Torrent 7-zipped)
And these T7Z are most efficient when it comes to space they consume and compression they apply to clone data that's near identical to other sets.

Unfortunately, the popular PD site does not offer T7Z for users that may otherwise have space or bandwidth limitations because dealing with zips are easiest for them.

The T7Z sets are also good for quick portable solutions if you happen to have the desire to copy across a complete set of ROMs or Software List ROMs for someone locally that you encounter in RL.