How do you convert NRG to BIN/CUE? [SOLVED]

[Nathanael]

[UPDATE - If you just want to see my solution, jump to the last message.]

I've just spent the past two days trying to figure out how to convert an NRG image to BIN/CUE format. I've found all kinds of info on how to convert it to ISO. I've tried lots of different packages (K3B, Brasero, AcetoneISO...). No luck.

My NRG is an image of an old DOS game I want to play in DOSBox. The catch is that it's mixed-mode, so converting to ISO is not a possibility. DOSBox will mount BIN/CUEs, so that seems the route to go. But while K3B supports creating mixed-mode CDs, it doesn't read NRG images. And while AcetoneISO will mount the NRG, only the data track is accessible; the audio tracks aren't.

Can anyone help?

--Nathanael

[Telengard]

Re: How to convert NRG to BIN/CUE

A .nrg file is a proprietary CD image file format used by Nero Burning ROM, a utility suite made by Nero AG, to create and burn ISO 9660 CD images.

Other than Nero Burning ROM, a variety of software titles can use these image files. For example, Power ISO, Alcohol 120%, or Daemon Tools can mount NRG files onto virtual drives for reading.

Contrary to popular belief .nrg files are not ISO images with .nrg extension and a header attached.
. . .

It is a multi-mode CD image containing both cdaudio and pc data tracks, right?

I don't know exactly how to do this in Kubuntu, but it is definitely possible. It is just a matter of finding the right tool for the job (i.e. not K3b).

You can convert CD images between many formats with ISOBuster, but it is a windoze only program AFAIK. Maybe you can get ISOBuster running in Wine, but I can't remember how well this works ATM.

Edit

CDemu can mount NRG images.

[Nathanael]

Re: How to convert NRG to BIN/CUE

It is a multi-mode CD image containing both cdaudio and pc data tracks, right?

Correct.

It is just a matter of finding the right tool for the job (i.e. not K3b).

Exactly. So far I haven't found the right combination.

You can convert CD images between many formats with ISOBuster, but it is a windoze only program AFAIK.

Another strike against it is it's commercial software, and I'm reluctant to drop $$ on it unless I'm certain first it can do what I need. I've been looking through the ISOBuster website, but I don't see NRG listed amongst supported file types (perhaps they just didn't list it). And my reading of the site suggests that while it can read many different formats, it only supports converstion to ISO (or "ISO/CUE", whatever that is; do they mean "BIN/CUE"?).

CDemu can mount NRG images.

But does it support mixed-mode? AcetoneISO also mounts NRGs, but only the data track. I haven't tried cdemu, both because installation looks pretty confusing, and because my problem isn't so much mounting the NRG as it is wanting to convert it to BIN/ISO.

Thanks for the reply.

Update:
OK - there is a free download version of ISOBuster on the website (missed that somehow), Wikipedia says it supports NRG, and the ISOBuster website says it runs under Linux/Wine, so I downloaded it.

Website claims notwithstanding, I couldn't get the ISOBuster installer to run under Wine (even with compatibility set to XP). So I installed it inside an XP VM, then opened my NRG image. Surprisingly, ISOBuster didn't appear to see the audio tracks, and when I attempted to extract the image to RAW format, it only extracted the data. Apparently, ISOBuster doesn't support mixed-mode, either.

--Nathanael

[vinnywright]

Re: How do you convert NRG to BIN/CUE?

I just searched nrg in synaptic and show a few tools for the job I think.......

nrg2iso

furiusisomount

iat

acetoneiso

mabey one of these will help.

VINNY

[Telengard]

Re: How to convert NRG to BIN/CUE

But does it support mixed-mode? AcetoneISO also mounts NRGs, but only the data track. I haven't tried cdemu, both because installation looks pretty confusing, and because my problem isn't so much mounting the NRG as it is wanting to convert it to BIN/ISO.

I don't know whether CDemu supports mixed mode or not, but you're right about it being confusing. That's why I also use AcetoneISO.

Website claims notwithstanding, I couldn't get the ISOBuster installer to run under Wine (even with compatibility set to XP).

Installers are sometimes a problem under Wine, though I don't know why this seems to be so. All you need to do with many programs is extract the executable from the installer (SETUP.EXE or whatever) using a standard archive tool like unrar or 7-Zip. Most windoze installer programs are just self extracting archives anyway, so this works fine many times.

So I installed it inside an XP VM, then opened my NRG image. Surprisingly, ISOBuster didn't appear to see the audio tracks, and when I attempted to extract the image to RAW format, it only extracted the data. Apparently, ISOBuster doesn't support mixed-mode, either.

I know for a fact ISOBuster does support mixed mode images because I've used it to create them before. In fact, you can use ISOBuster to rip cdaudio tracks direct from disc to sound files on your computer. Whether or not ISOBuster supports extracting cdaudio data from an NRG image is a slightly different question though, so you'll have to read into the documentation to learn more.

Now another idea has come to me since I wrote my original reply. Your NRG disc image was created with Nero I assume. Well if Nero made the image then it ought to be capable of burning a duplicate of the original disc from that same image (else it would be a worthless program.) You should be able to use Nero to burn a duplicate of the original disc and then create a fresh BIN/CUE from the disc you just made.

[Nathanael]

Re: How do you convert NRG to BIN/CUE?

I just searched nrg in synaptic and show a few tools for the job I think.......

Thanks for the reply Vinnie.

nrg2iso -- this converts NRGs to ISOs. The problem is ISOs only support a single data track. My NRG is an image of a mixed-mode CD -- it consists of a single data track (track 1) followed by 25 audio tracks (tracks 2-26). Converting to ISO loses the audio tracks.

furiusisomount, acetoneISO, cdemu -- I've got AcetoneISO. These are just mounting utilities. AcetoneISO (haven't tried the others) mounts the NRG, but only the data track is accessible. Again, not the audio tracks. In any case, I'm looking to convert the NRG, not just mount it.

I'm not familiar with iat.

In any case, I've solved my problem. See next message.

Thanks again.

--Nathnael

[Nathanael]

Re: How do you convert NRG to BIN/CUE?

I've managed to convert my mixed-mode NRG image to BIN/CUE format. This is how I did, but I still feel like there must be a better solution available.

1. Download and install Nero Linux 4. It's the only thing I could find that would recognize all tracks (data + audio) in my NRG image.

2. Using Nero Linux, burn the image to a blank CD. Nero Linux does have a burn-to-image option which I thought to use to create the BIN image directly. Unfortunately, Nero only supports burning to NRG images. So I had to burn to a physical CD as an intermediate step.

3. Load and mount the CD I just created, then use cdrdao to create the BIN/TOC file. Finally, use TOC2CUE to convert the TOC to CUE. Open a terminal and paste the following commands:

cdrdao read-cd --read-raw --datafile rtz.bin --driver generic-mmc:0x20000 --device /dev/cdrom rtz.toc
toc2cue rtz.toc rtz.cue

I still feel there must be a better way in Ubuntu, particularly one that doesn't involve having to burn an actual CD.

--Nathanael

[Telengard]

Re: How do you convert NRG to BIN/CUE? [SOLVED]

It's good to know that my suggestion worked. I may resort to doing the same eventually, so thanks for adding the info about cdrdao and toc2cue.

You are right though, it doesn't seem like we should have to go so far as to burn a CD to get the job done. There ought to be an universal image conversion tool for Linux.