Dual format ST and Amiga diskette with Artura and Team Suzuki

Dual format is a technique used to allow

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. At the lowest programming level, executable code consist ...

for two systems which would normally require different disk formats to be recorded on the same

floppy disk A floppy disk or floppy diskette (casually referred to as a floppy, or a diskette) is an obsolescent type of disk storage composed of a thin and flexible disk of a magnetic storage medium in a square or nearly square plastic enclosure lined ...

. In the late 1980s, the term was used to refer to disks that could be used to boot either an

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore International, Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and sign ...

Atari ST The Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the Atari 8-bit family. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985 and was widely available in July. It was the first per ...

computer. The layout of the first track of the disk was specially laid out to contain an Amiga and an Atari ST boot sector at the same time by fooling the operating system to think that the track resolved into the format it expected. The technique was used for some commercially available games, and also for the disks covermounted on

ST/Amiga Format ''ST Amiga Format'' was a computer magazine that covered the Atari ST and Amiga computers. It was published by Future plc to cover the ever growing market for the, then-new, 16-bit home computers. Issues were equally balanced with coverage for bo ...

magazine. Other games came on Amiga and PC dual-format disks, or even "tri-format" disks, which contained the Amiga, Atari ST and PC versions of the game. Most dual and tri-format disks were implemented using technology developed by Rob Computing. Later, the term was used for disks containing both

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for se ...

and

Macintosh The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...

versions.

Examples

HO

''Amiga Hall of Light'', accessed July 26, 2011. :# Action Fighter (Amiga/PC dual-format disk) :#

Lethal Xcess ''Lethal Xcess'', also known as ''Lethal Xcess: Wings of Death II'' or just ''Wings of Death II'', is a shoot 'em up game developed by two members of demo crew X-Troll and published by Eclipse Software in 1991 for the Atari ST and Amiga. It is a ...

- Wings of Death II (Amiga/Atari ST dual-format disks) :#

Monster Business ''Monster Business'' is a 1991 vertically scrolling platform game developed by Eclipse Software Design and published by Ascon that was released for the Amiga and Atari ST. Plot The Mad Meanies, a group of mutated monsters, have invaded constructi ...

(Amiga/Atari ST dual-format disk) :# Populous: The Promised Lands (Amiga/Atari ST dual-format disk) :#

Rick Dangerous ''Rick Dangerous'' is a platform game developed by Core Design for the Acorn Archimedes, Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and MS-DOS. The game was released in 1989 and published by MicroProse on the Firebird Software label ...