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CDEmu

Free, GPL CD/DVD-ROM device emulator for Linux

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CDEmu is a software suite for emulating an optical drive and disc, including CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs, on Linux. It addresses the need to access optical disc images without physical hardware by providing a virtual drive-controller, a library for interpreting disc images, and a daemon that emulates the drive and disc. Emulated media can be mounted within Linux, with automounting supported.

The suite comprises a kernel module implementing the virtual drive-controller, libmirage for interpreting optical disc images, a daemon emulating the drive and disc, and text-mode and GTK clients for controlling the emulator. It is licensed under the GNU GPL v2 or later.

12 alternatives to CDEmu

Ranked by how well each tool replaces CDEmu: shared features, audience, price and popularity.

  1. MAME

    Multi-purpose emulation framework for preserving software history.

    Covers 3 of 4 key features and has a free plan.

    Free planOpen source
    64 out of 100 matchContact sales

  2. Gentoo Linux

    A flexible, source-based Linux distribution

    Covers 3 of 4 key features and has a free plan.

    Free planOpen source
    62 out of 100 matchContact sales

  3. Debian

    A free operating system built by a volunteer association of individuals, distributed as a

    Covers 3 of 4 key features and has a free plan.

    Free planOpen source
    62 out of 100 matchContact sales

  4. QEMU

    A generic and open source machine emulator and virtualizer

    Covers 2 of 4 key features.

    Open source
    62 out of 100 match—

  5. VICE

    The Versatile Commodore Emulator

    Covers 3 of 4 key features and has a free plan.

    Free planOpen source
    61 out of 100 matchContact sales

  6. OSGeoLive

    A self-contained bootable DVD, USB thumb drive or Virtual Machine based on Lubuntu for ge

    Covers 4 of 4 key features and has a free plan.

    Free planOpen source
    61 out of 100 matchContact sales

  7. Scaleway

    European Cloud & AI provider (as described on the site)

    Covers 1 of 4 key features.

    60 out of 100 match—

  8. Oracle VirtualBox

    Powerful open source virtualization for personal and enterprise use

    Covers 4 of 4 key features and has a free plan.

    Free planOpen source
    59 out of 100 matchContact sales

  9. LinuxLive USB Creator

    Free and open-source software for Windows to create portable, bootable and virtualized USB

    Covers 3 of 4 key features and has a free plan.

    Free planOpen source
    59 out of 100 matchFree

  10. ScummVM

    Runs classic graphical adventure and role-playing games using their original data files

    Covers 2 of 4 key features and has a free plan.

    Free planOpen source
    59 out of 100 matchContact sales

  11. Grml

    Debian based Linux Live system

    Covers 3 of 4 key features.

    Open source
    59 out of 100 match—

  12. Qubes OS

    A reasonably secure operating system

    Covers 4 of 4 key features and has a free plan.

    Free planOpen source
    57 out of 100 matchFree