cloned CD vs no CD patch?

[gh0sth@cker]

http://www.kickme.to/Englishclony << Link to Clony XXL

Clony XXL will identify the copy protection and will also tell you the correct settings to use in Clone CD.
However, because you are trying to copy Securom New 4.8, I recommend you use Alcohol 120% << www.alcohol-software.com >> as it is fairly good at copying Securom New 4.8 as well as Safedisk 2.
In Alcohol 120% you only need to select which copy protection is being used via a drop down menu, then it adjusts the settings accordingly.

Also, have a read at the FAQ at the top of this forum for more detailed help.

With regards to your initial question - which is easier. It depends on what cd-writer you have. If you have a writer capable of beating the protections then it is quite easy: Identify protection, select appropriate profile, burn cd.
If your cd-writer is not capable, burning 1:1 copies becomes a little harder and requires more patience, determination and experimentation. In this case, using a simple crack would be easier. But of course it is not always ease of use that is important - 1:1 copies have their advantages such as being able to simply update the game without having to replace original exe, update, then locate a new cracked exe for the new version. But on the other hand, with a NO-CD crack there is the quite obvious advantage of not having to change cds (but you could achieve this by mounting the image in Alcohol - but of course this will require disk space)
So there's some pros and cons, the decision is yours....