Empire Earth Burns and Burns...

[Hideous_Hog]

Don't know about all the debate over this one, but the most recent version of CloneCD and a Lite-On 24/10/40 backs-up this bad boy just fine.

Nothing fancy is needed. Installs, plays,... I even installed the patch over the burned copy.

Is there something I am missing? I did find that ZoneAlarm screws this game up on my computer because of the multiplayer need to establish a game server. I have not tried multiplayer yet.

[ThaiJan]

Using same hard- and software as you, I'm facing problems.

Can make a working image. Runs perfectly from Daomon Tool.

Can also burn a CDR from where I can install the game, but I can NOT RUN the game from the CDR. CDCheck claims that both the working image and the nonworking CDR are identical. Do not get it.

Would like to know exactly what are your settings?
Do you have have UDMA enabled / disabled in Bios for Lite-On?
How do you set CloneCD reading / writing options?
At what speed are you reading / writing?

[SillyBilly]

Different game but similar prob of unable to play game from my CDRW but could using Daemon.

Turned out (in my case) to be to select the 'Hide CDR Media' in the Clone CD Tray (in bottom right hand corner)

After doing that there was no prob, all my coasters were perfect

Hope that helps

[athlon]

Just installed my first burner a LiteOn 32x12x40 and Clone CD. Don't know what I am doing but I slected amplify weak sectors and pressed copy. I burnt 4 copies and each loads and runs perfect. Took about 3-4 minutes to burn each game.

[SillyBilly]

Athlon, why burn 4 copies ????

Some are a lot easier to copy than others, some will even copy alright but not write as they will install but not play.

As this is your first time of burning you will find out as you progress.

[jackashton1]

Hi
I managed to make a perfect copy of Empire earth, it installs and works fine.
If i try to back up a back up it wont work at all. It just wont install
Someone help,
how do i back up the backup?

I got win xp and an acer2010a

[SillyBilly]

jackashton1 -- A backup of a backup ... mmm ... why do you need another backup ?? :confused:

Should be started under another topic

[ThaiJan]

Hey Guys
You all talk and talk, but nobody seems to know the answer to:

How do you make a succesfull copy of Empire Earth?

I have no problems at all with other games, but this baby gives me problems.

The answer "I'm making copies without problems" is not helpfull at all to anybody. It's nice to know, but not helpfull to the rest of us.

We do know following:
We can all make a working image file which can be runned with Daemon Tool.
Most of us can burn an installable CDR/W copy of this image, but we can't load/run the game from this copy.

The answer MUST be in the settings of the reading/writing process. So please, could just one succesfull person pass on his settings, point by point, to this forum, so that we could get this problem settled once and for all. Please remember also to inform your settings for UDMA in BIOS and settings for the drives in Device Manager.

Thanks in advance:)

[ThaiJan]

You are the only one here coming up with at least a proposal for a solution to the problem.

But I have tried enable "Hide CDR Media", and the result is the same: Installable, but not playable copy.

Notice: If you install from the copy and then install the NO-CD patch, the game runs. But this is not the solution, since I (and the most of us) want to make a full working 1:1 backup of the game we purchased.;)

[SillyBilly]

ThaiJan -- Sorry, but it was a long time ago I made a backup and as I no longer have the game or the backups I cannot assist much further but as I recall there was no protection and no special settings required for CloneCD.

I assume you are writing to hard drive first and then burning to CD after.

Only other thing I can suggest is to try burning at 4 speed.

Another thought is that, what drive letter is your CD drive as there are some games that only look for a CD in first CD drive and if you have Daemon installed then Daemon may be showing as your first CD drive.

If this is the case then you may want to try the CD in another system with only a normal CD Drive and no other writing software of any sort and if it runs then it would appear the copies are perfect but you need to alter the CD drives around on your system.

I realise the last solution above seems a bit drastic but we need to find out if the backup is working and only sure way is on another system that does not have Daemon or similar software installed.

Sorry that there isn't much to help but I do not have my original anymore to check it out.

[podunkviller]

since no one has guessed yet, im going to take it on myself to do so. im 90 % sure that empire earth is safedisc 2.4 or so protected. this means that it has an atip check, it has the bad sectors, yada yada yada....

therefore, you have 2 options. 1, if your burner is raw-dao capable, and has correct emf bitthingies, you are set. burn it like its not protected at all. then pop open a beer and laugh at macrovision.

option 2....if you havent yet sprung for a fun (read good) burner. clonecd fast error skip on, no subchannel needed. AWS on the burn. pray. also, run ur copy from ur non-cdrw drive, or use clone to hide the media.

[ThaiJan]

Finally some constructive suggestions.

Got LTR 24102B and LTR 165, so hardware should be no problem. Can do anything else I wanted so far.

Think I have tried all possible setting by now, and still can't get the backup right.

Checking with CLONY I agree with Podunkviller, there are some kind of protection on the CD. Last 4 sectors on the CD gives read error.

CDCheck tell same thing, but claim that it's no problem. The funny thing is, that when I want CDCheck to compare original CD with burned copy, it comes up with nothing less than 25 errors. Hmmm.

Have tested the 3 burns I done so far in 4 computers. All the same: When loading CD it starts and it run the install perfectly. But when I want to run the game, nothing happens. Have been comparing the files installed to computer from both copy and original, and they are 100% identical. Hmmm. Has to figure this one out....!!!

[SillyBilly]

As podunkviller states there is protection then perhaps I was wrong with no protection (I did say it was a while ago I backup the game and no longer have original or backup to check).

When burning have you altered the 'Fast Skip' error settings in CloneCD to:

Error Correct: None
Retries: 3

Then read (and write) at 4x

If Daemon will play with no problems then no need to read the cd again just burn with the above settings (as well as any that podunkviller has suggested)

[podunkviller]

part two ..... general burning intelligence

first, do all test burns on cd-rw media. this saves you money, and insures that you burn slow enough to not missburn (new word).

its snowing. i cant go out. this sucks, random thought.

also, do the errors come at the end? this sounds like the prob i had burning D2. i could only read a raw - dao 96 @ 20x, due to securom new (which clony didnt detect. wtf?)

if this doesnt work out, i dont know what to tell you. u have the lite on ? read at 16x or so, check raw dao 96, let it report read errors. see if ne come up. if not, burn it to cd-rw at whatever you want. then test it in a NON CDRW DRIVE. essential.