On Mon, 2003-01-20 at 17:55, Jordan Elver wrote: > It's a variety. How can I copy protected cds. I noticve a thread earlier about > cd clone on windows. It surely must be possible to copy "bit by bit" under > linux? My drive is a Plextor 16/10/40A.
Yes, it's possible. However, making your own backup copies of copy protected cd's is only possible if you can make your burner and your software do an elaborate dance; and they both have to be doing exotic things. In linux the hardware necessities you can get; the software you cannot. There are only two brands of burner software that I have tested that are capable of creating backup copies of copy protected cd's with the proper hardware. Neither one of them run on Linux. This is a major problem and I wish both of the two burner software firms would port to linux. Either that or an enthusiastic brainiac capable of authoring a new project. You have what looks like a PX-W1610A; correct me if I'm wrong. You can check the performance/capabilities of your drive on the following page: http://www.elby.ch/english/products/clone_cd/writers/p.html#plextor If that model number above is indeed your drive, then your plextor does NOT do correct EFM encoding. This means wether the drive writes regular bit patterns correctly or not, a feature necessary in order to do correct bit for bit backup copies of copy protected CD's. At least, many of the more advanced copy protection schemes. Depends on the game. Plextor used to be an exceptional brand, however in the last few years they have slipped considerably, at least in the bit for bit arena. Note that none of the drives listed on the clonecd page above will do EFM encoding completely correctly. This can possibly cause problems when replicating copy protection schemes that utilize "weak sectors". Such as Morrowind, for example. Having a plextor greatly reduces your chances of success in such a situation. When selecting a burner, and you are looking at doing bit for bit copies, possibly with copy protected material, you absolutely need to use the CloneCD burner evaluation list for making a decision. Otherwise you are walking into it blind. I recommend Liteon brand burners as a start; personally I have here a Toshiba SD-1202 DVD Combo drive that burns with the correct EFM encoding, plus does RAW-DAO 96 write, and RAW+96 read. http://www.elby.ch/english/products/clone_cd/writers/t.html#toshiba This is the most desirable set of attributes; and of course to make the deal even sweeter it also plays/reads DVDs. It has a four sheep rating, and has never failed me (yet) when I've made backup copies of the toughest challenges. Diablo 2 was interesting. Morrowind was extremely interesting. --LX -- ��������������������������������������������������� Kernel 2.4.18-6mdk Mandrake Linux 8.2 Enlightenment 0.16.5-11mdk Evolution 1.0.2-5mdk Registered Linux User #268899 http://counter.li.org/ ���������������������������������������������������
Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
