Clone CD
 

I have a question. Considering Clone CD can create a 1:1 copy of a CD by reading and writing in only RAW format, it would seem to me that it would also be able to copy the bad sectors that a PSX looks for to tell if the CD is a copy or not. So my question is, with Clone CD, can you create a PSX copy that will play on a PSX without needing a MOD chip / catridge / CD switch technique? Thanks :).

There are no bad sectors on a PSX original There may be sub-channel data (which CloneCD handles and why this is deemed 1:1) for protection. You then burn in DA0-RAW mode to present that 1:1 image to CD-R if the burner is 100% compatible.

A pressed CD original contains information on tracks not accessible to readers/burners unless they have a proprietary mechanism for doing this - which the PS2 has - I don't know about the PS1.

So does that mean that because CD burners cannot physically access the portion of the CD that you refrence in PS2 (and probably PS1) CD's, that even a 1:1 copy with CloneCD will not yield a copy which can be played, by itself with no intervention, on a PS1? Thank you.

Yes - that is a sound analysis, certainly for PS2. That is why a modchip is used, to boot a SONY conformant disk, interrupt the process and allow the process to continue from the games loading point with a swapped in disk. This may be the time to move to a chipped PS2 (MESSIAH, ORIGACHIP or NEO4) that will boot a PS1 backup (made with CloneCD!) directly. This generation of chips does all the booting from within itself, fooling the PS2 into thinking that it had a valid boot original.