File format reference
Repair documentation comes in more than a dozen file types. This table tells you what each extension is and which program opens it.
Boardview formats
PCB layout files. The format depends on the factory that built the board.
| Extension | What it is | Opens with | Files here |
|---|---|---|---|
| .brd | BRD boardview The most common boardview extension. Several unrelated formats share it, which is why one viewer opens a .brd and another refuses it. | OpenBoardView, FlexBV, BoardViewer | 2,565 |
| .bdv | BDV boardview (Honhan) Text-based boardview produced by Honhan / Hon Hai test tooling, with lightly obfuscated content. | OpenBoardView, FlexBV, BoardViewer | 968 |
| .fz | FZ boardview (ASUS / Pegatron) Compressed and encrypted boardview used for ASUS, ASRock and Pegatron boards. | OpenBoardView (FZ key required), FlexBV, BoardViewer | 7,063 |
| .cad | CAD boardview (GenCAD) GenCAD text export, the usual format for Compal, Quanta, Wistron and Dell / HP / Lenovo laptop boards. | OpenBoardView, FlexBV, BoardViewer | 3,313 |
| .tvw | TVW boardview (Tebo-ICT) Binary boardview from Tebo-ICT test software, frequent for Gigabyte, MSI and many newer laptop boards. | BoardViewer, Tebo-ICT View, FlexBV | 885 |
| .asc | ASC boardview (ASUS TSICT) A set of plain-text tables (format.asc, parts.asc, pins.asc, nails.asc) exported by ASUS test tooling. | OpenBoardView, FlexBV | 8,775 |
| .bvr | BVR boardview (BoardView R) Text boardview from the BoardView R family of tools, seen for Lenovo, MSI and Clevo boards. | OpenBoardView, FlexBV, BoardViewer | 103 |
| .bv | BV boardview (ATE) Older ATE boardview format, usually found for legacy laptop and desktop boards. | OpenBoardView, BoardViewer | 145 |
| .pcb | PCB boardview (XZZ and others) In repair archives a .pcb is typically an XZZ (XinZhiZao) boardview — popular for phones and recent laptops. | XZZ PCB viewer, OpenBoardView (recent builds), FlexBV | 2,003 |
| .cst | CST boardview (IBM / Lenovo Castw) Text boardview from the Castw tool chain, typical for older ThinkPad boards. | OpenBoardView, BoardViewer | 52 |
| .f2b | F2B boardview (Unisoft ProntoPLACE) Boardview exported from Unisoft ProntoPLACE, occasionally used for MSI and industrial boards. | OpenBoardView, Unisoft ProntoPLACE viewer | 63 |
Firmware formats
BIOS / UEFI and embedded-controller images.
| Extension | What it is | Opens with | Files here |
|---|---|---|---|
| .bin | BIN firmware dump A raw, byte-for-byte image of a flash chip: the main BIOS / UEFI, the embedded-controller (EC) firmware, or both. | CH341A + NeoProgrammer / AsProgrammer, flashrom, RT809F / RT809H | 123,868 |
| .rom | ROM BIOS image A BIOS image as shipped by the vendor (commonly AMI) — often the BIOS region only, without descriptor or ME. | Vendor flash utility, UEFITool, AMI AFU tools | 6,590 |
| .fd | FD firmware image (Insyde) UEFI flash-device image, typical for Insyde H2O firmware on Acer, HP and Lenovo laptops. | Insyde H2OFFT, UEFITool, CH341A (full images only) | 314 |
| .cap | CAP BIOS capsule (ASUS) A signed UEFI capsule used by ASUS update tools. It carries a header in front of the actual BIOS image. | ASUS EZ Flash / USB BIOS Flashback, UEFITool | 664 |
Documents
Schematics and manuals.
| Extension | What it is | Opens with | Files here |
|---|---|---|---|
| PDF schematic The standard format for schematics, block diagrams, power-sequence charts and service manuals. | Any PDF reader, SumatraPDF, Firefox / Chrome | 126,745 |
Archives
Wrappers that hold several files.
| Extension | What it is | Opens with | Files here |
|---|---|---|---|
| .rar | RAR archive Compressed archive — the usual wrapper for a schematic + boardview pair or a BIOS + EC set. | 7-Zip, WinRAR, The Unarchiver (macOS) | 121,084 |
| .zip | ZIP archive Compressed archive that every operating system opens without extra software. | Built-in OS tools, 7-Zip | 58,887 |
| .7z | 7z archive High-ratio compressed archive, often used for large BIOS collections. | 7-Zip, WinRAR, Keka (macOS) | 1,455 |