HELP!!! CAN SOMEONE EXPLAIN SAFEDISC???

[jackdaniels]

Can someone please tell me how to copy a game which has got safedisc? I am new to this so step by step instructions would be gratefully appreciated.
i have read about copying exe files but dont know how to go about it.
I am using easy cd creator 3.5c

[crispy]

Okay mate, there are a few options (as long as the game in question is not protected with the new version of safedisc e.g. C&C RedAlert).
The old safedisc works by encoding a digital signature on to the CD which is used to decrypt the main game.exe file. An unperfect copy will not have this "code" on it and will not therefore run.
Here are the options open to you. CloneCD is the best option if your burner is supported as it will do a perfect(!) copy

1.Download CloneCD from a suitable site and use this to make a perfect copy.

Advantages - you will have a true 1:1 copy which will work on any CDROM. You can always update your game with official patches as nothing has changed
Disadvantages - need a compatible burner (check out www.elaborate-bytes.com ) for CloneCD to work properly.

2. Copy CD using your EZ CD creator and use Daemon tools ( www.daemonshome.cjb.net ) which emulates the Safedisc protection and allows you to run from a copied CD.
Disadvantages - This copy will always need daemon Tools to work as the safedisk digital signature will not be on the CD.
Advantages - You don't need any other burning software and you can update with future patches

3. Use Unsafedisc to remove the protection then burn everything to a CD (see my earlier post).
Advantages - You don't need any other burning software.
Disadvantages - you will never be able to update your game with official patches as you will have changed the original game file.


Hope this helps.

[Mob]

Regarding to step 3 of your post, its not true that you aren't able to apply updates. Just put the decypted exe-file to a new folder (e.g.: crack) and use it everytime you install the game. Advantage is that the original exe stays where it should - so patches work!

[crispy]

Mob (17-11-2000 17:31):
Regarding to step 3 of your post, its not true that you aren't able to apply updates. Just put the decypted exe-file to a new folder (e.g.: crack) and use it everytime you install the game. Advantage is that the original exe stays where it should - so patches work!

Hi MOb,
If the .exe file is decrypted as I have described in another post, then burned to a CD, you CANNOT apply official patches at all. Obviously if you leave an unmolested .exe file somewhere else you can patch it later. The point I was trying to put across was that CloneCD is the only true way of producing a near perfect copy to work on most or all CDROMS. Since the questioner is new to this, I tried to make it as simple as possible.

[Mob]

O.K.! No critic!

ok this is what i did when copying Unreal Tournament. It had Safedisc 5 on it, and it took me a couple tries. I tried CloneCD but it did not work. (i guess my burner isn't compatible). But i got a successful copy using Blindread and BlindWrite. I think you can find these on this site. They are somewhat easy to use and got the job done.

[Aranox]

hey crispy,

your disadvantage for unsafedisc is not completely accurate: you can update with official patches, you just need to unsafedisc again after you applied the patch to decrypt the new exe & icd from the patch.

[crispy]

Aranox (03-12-2000 15:52):
hey crispy,

your disadvantage for unsafedisc is not completely accurate: you can update with official patches, you just need to unsafedisc again after you applied the patch to decrypt the new exe & icd from the patch.

Jeees guys!
As I have said before, this post goes back to an earlier one in which I described how you can get a working CDR if you use Unsafedisc. i.e. if you need to burn a CDR with the molested .exe file on the CDR NOT the original. As I said above, I was trying to make things as simple as possible for a newbie. Thanks for the comments, but look deeper!