All this messing around with copy protected CDs brought a topic to my mind that I mentioned before sometimes: My trouble with disc rot in/on Command & Conquer Alarmstufe Rot 2 (Red Alert 2). It was the first big title to come with SafeDisc 2.0 and I got an edition containing Yuris Rache (SafeDisc 2.5) in addition to the two main CDs for € 6.99 some years after initial release.
I loved the game right away and played it MUCH. Then put it away for several years. After those years I took it out. The installer ran just fine, but when I wanted play SafeDisc said: "Nope." I should better say SafeDisc said nothing. When trying to start RA2.exe, the drive started reading the disc, and SafeDisc wasn't satisfied with the result. Silent exit. That is what it does when it decides: "This disc is an illegitimate copy." internally. Sometimes this %§$"& protection module is as nice as prompting me to "Insert the correct disc and start the game again." instead of a silent exit. Disc 3 (Yuris Revenge) is not affected and still works.
Careful inspection of the two main discs showed signs of disc rot. Some white fungus(?) inside or even below the poly-carbonate layer. Error correction made the data readable flawlessly - a little slower than normal, but okay. The SafeDisc weak sectors on the other side have become plain BAD sectors. Ooops. The legit discs have become illegal copies. I could have exploded when that happened! Just because of some shitty copy protection, I am not allowed to play the game which I have purchased a license for!
Falcon...
Thinking about this again today -- angry, no: furious -- I grabbed car polish and polished and polished and polished those discs. This got rid of a part of the white crap. Some of it is definitely on the inside below the poly-carbonate. Then I tried a lot of my optical drives. And finally I found one being able to see through the crap after polishing away the outmost layer. Alcohol 120% Free Edition created images and C&C started with those images in the virtual drive.
Burned CD-R copies of the main discs. This now created an absurd situation: The copy protection module accepts the burned copies as legit discs and rejects the legit discs as burned copies.
Anyway: I'm happy with the result. The game is now preserved in my private archive.
I loved the game right away and played it MUCH. Then put it away for several years. After those years I took it out. The installer ran just fine, but when I wanted play SafeDisc said: "Nope." I should better say SafeDisc said nothing. When trying to start RA2.exe, the drive started reading the disc, and SafeDisc wasn't satisfied with the result. Silent exit. That is what it does when it decides: "This disc is an illegitimate copy." internally. Sometimes this %§$"& protection module is as nice as prompting me to "Insert the correct disc and start the game again." instead of a silent exit. Disc 3 (Yuris Revenge) is not affected and still works.
Careful inspection of the two main discs showed signs of disc rot. Some white fungus(?) inside or even below the poly-carbonate layer. Error correction made the data readable flawlessly - a little slower than normal, but okay. The SafeDisc weak sectors on the other side have become plain BAD sectors. Ooops. The legit discs have become illegal copies. I could have exploded when that happened! Just because of some shitty copy protection, I am not allowed to play the game which I have purchased a license for!
Falcon...
Thinking about this again today -- angry, no: furious -- I grabbed car polish and polished and polished and polished those discs. This got rid of a part of the white crap. Some of it is definitely on the inside below the poly-carbonate. Then I tried a lot of my optical drives. And finally I found one being able to see through the crap after polishing away the outmost layer. Alcohol 120% Free Edition created images and C&C started with those images in the virtual drive.
Burned CD-R copies of the main discs. This now created an absurd situation: The copy protection module accepts the burned copies as legit discs and rejects the legit discs as burned copies.
Anyway: I'm happy with the result. The game is now preserved in my private archive.