Can anyone tell me which of the following drives is better at backing up PC games with SecuRom protection on them.They are NEC DVD_RW ND-1300A or Plextor PX-W2410TA http://forums.afterdawn.com/forum_view.cfm/38
The Plextor PX-W2410TA is going to be a bit better but it's still no match for the newest versions of SecuROM being that it can only write EFM almost correctly. What version of SecuROM are you up against? A-Ray Scanner can give you the exact version number: http://www.aray-software.com/
I have already back up'd the CD using 2 different programs, and both look like exact copies but neither will launch the game. Is this a sign of SecuRom working??
Yep, that's the protection at work. Even though the files will appear to be there in Windows Explorer the protection hasn't been written back correctly so the game won't launch. 4.85 is one of the older versions and is a piece of cake with the right drive. If you have a spare bay then you may want to consider getting an EFM capable drive such as the Lite-On 52327S or Asus 5232AS both of which go for around $30 and are great little drives for backing up protected PC games
I assume that installing the PX-W2410TA isn't gonna work either?? and if I have another game with SecuRom 5.xxxx will the Lite On or ASUS drive that you recommend be able to deal with this version?
I doubt the Plextor will make a difference since it's a 1-sheep burner but one never knows and it may be worth a shot if you want to swap it out. As for the Litey and Asus both of them are very capable burners and have good track records at defeating the latest protections.
thanks for all your help. Before I go and purchase can you tell me why LiteOn nor ASUS never advertise on their websites that their drives are EFM capable. Also, should my other games have a different type of protection ie safedisk, laserlock or sysiphus, what is the best optical drives to deal with these protections. Last question is does it matter if I write to a CDR or a CDRW with regards to it working.
sorry, one last thing, what is a 1-sheep drive, and what uses has it other that ordinary CD copying??
I imagine the drive makers don't advertise EFM capabilities for several reasons. One being that it's a very specialized application - copying protected games - and that capablility isn't something that would be wise to advertise. Plus 99% of folks looking at the drive would have no idea what EFM capability is good for and those who do know already know which drives have it. If you're serious about backing up games I'd highly recommend getting a Plextor Premium. It's the absolute best drive for this and is especially adept at SecuROM using it's unique VariRate write method and BlindWrite which is able to take full advantage of it. The Premium carries a premium price tag but it's worth every penny in my opinion. I've used mine to breeze through every version of SafeDisc and SecuROM they've put out. As for media, you can use either CD-R or CD/RW - it doesn't make a difference. The sheep ratings come from way back when CloneCD was the one and only king of backing up games. The company's mascot was a sheep so they used it in their ratings of EFM capabilities. 0-sheep means the drive can't write EFM correctly, 1-sheep can write EFM almost correctly and a 2-sheeper can write EFM correctly. As far as I know EFM capablility makes no difference in regular CD burning such as data or audio.
Thanks for all your help and advice, I don't know that buying the plextor premium is right for me because after using clonyxxl and aray scanner, both have shown me that a lot of my games don't have any protection at all on them. If I do get more games ie Sims do you think that the Lite On 52327S will be able to sort the back up out with out having to but another drive? Once again thanks for all your help. Will recommend you highly.
