FileForums - Making Backups. Please help!

Gob this then! I'll assume that you have an original game to copy such as one you have bought and wish to protect. You will need a modchip for your PS/PS2, copying software & the right PC hardware for the burning job. I recommend the Yamaha 2100S (or E) CD-RW for optimum compatibility for read & write with the recommended copying software. If you take an EIDE connected burner, ensure that it is placed on the secondary IDE channel else the device will slow down the hard disk & buffer under-runs are likely to occur.
Go to ####://www.megagames.com or ####://www.sgt-dan.com/ or ####://www.psxcopyworld.co.uk for detailed advice.

The basics are as follows:

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You’ll need to get the PS/PS2 chipped to allow backups to play. Go to the website ####://www.playstationmods.com whence you can buy a mod. An internal mod is recommended & if you live in the UK, they'll do it for you if you are not a soldering whizzo. You could also visit ####://www.modchip.com for their solution.

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You will then need copying software & patching software. I recommend just two programs and in my view you need them both: they are CLONECD & CDR-WIN. The former makes 1:1 copies (you'll need the tutorial from one of the above mentioned sites). Thus if you have an unprotected game (megagames.com lists games for which there are patches & the type of patch required; you could also visit ####://www.sgt-dan.com/ and ####://www.ps2ownz.com for lists/databases of games & their patches). If the game is of the same denomination as your PS/PS2 (e.g. PAL), CLONECD does the job perfectly. CDR-WIN stages the CD copy to your PC's hard disk so that you can patch the game as necessary (per PPF-O-MATIC.EXE downloaded from megagames.com together with the patches); then you burn the game back to the CD with CDR-Win.

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For the above to work properly, your CD-R MUST be compatible with the burning programs. The sites from which you download the programs list the compatible devices. CDR-WIN requires an ASPI layer to be present and this can be downloaded from ####://www.goldenhawk.com

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If you copy games from one TV standard (like NTSC) to play on another standard (like PAL) then the game may or may not play in colour. There are patches to change this or you could buy a convertor that sits between your TV and the PS/PS2. I have one of these because I hate patching & the patches don't always work.

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Your biggest challenges will be DVD games & Protected Games. DVD games can't be easily backed up at present (search this forum under the keyword DVD RIP). Protected games are likely to be an increasing issue. Megagames, Sgt Dan and PS2ownz are usually on the ball here but for EA games, go to ####://www.eapatcher.com. Sgt Dan's site describes how to boot from a DVD backup using the NEO2 modchip solution; it doesn't say how DVDs have been copied - presumably using the software supplied with the burner. Nero 5.5 will burn DVDs in a suitable fashion but I haven't tried it. The cheapest DVD burner & the cost of media make it still worthwhile to buy the damn DVD game!

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Finally an explanation of why the foregoing is necessary. Sony have gone to a lot of trouble to stop people backing up their games. Sony accomplish this by going through some clever pre-boot stuff that identifies from the surface of the CD/DVD whether or not the media is original. So we have to boot with compliant media (developed, for example, with the Sony OEM kit), pause the process, swap in the copy game (patched for NTSC/PAL or copy protection defeat), & carry on.

This forum has more than 20,000 subscribers. I'd bet that the bulk of them started off like you. It's not that difficult when you've done it once, especially with CloneCD.

Good luck & I hope this reply has been helpful.