Copying a CD so it will run the game

Hey i got BF2142 for XMAS and im trying to make a copy of the game by making an image, i used alcohol 120% but when i try and start the game it says i need the CD, i know BF 2142 is using safedisc 2 protection. What program can i use to make an exact runable image of this CD, i have the tendency to get my CD's scratched or my brother does so i would like to make a backup bufore it gets dinged up

 

bump.

 

Even though your copy would be for personal use, and you legally purchased the game, what you're trying to do may be labled 'piracy'... I don't know if there's anything you can do besides be careful with the CD. When you're not playing the game, put the CD in its case and keep it there until you play again. I had a similar problem w/ Call Of Duty. At the time, my room-mate was always 'borrowing' my games and either losing them or spilling beer on them or putting out cigarettes on them... I made a copy of the game disc, it burned OK, but the game won't recognize it as the correct CD even tho' it has the same label and files.... I know this doesn't help much, but there you have it. Maybe if the CD is damaged, you can contact the publisher, submit the CD key and a copy of the receipt or UPC symbol and send them the damaged CD... I don't know, just a thought.....

hopperdave2000

 

i tried that before with EA and they didnt help em which is why im trying to take preventive action this time about. im sure there is some program out there that will allow me to make a legit image

 

this might be a dumb question, but have you tried nero? I know I've burnt a few write protected ISO's with it. If it doesn't let you direct copy it just extract the image as a bin/cue file and burn up.

 

You are correct, Snipergod87. Programs do exist that can make 1:1 copies with a CD/DVD recorder that is capable of RAW transfer mode. But for a CD to be 1:1 copyable, there must be legitimate sectors on the entire surface of the CD. Software manufacturers are currently using SafeDisc 2 which has a couple anti-copy tricks. One of the main tricks is known as "sparse sector" where no sector data exists. A CD-Rom drive will read the sector before and after the sparse sector without problem, but your faithful CD-Writer will try to duplicate this data or even mark it "to be skipped" on the surface of the disk which the copy protection software looks for. The way to circumvent this checking, is to make a copy, but with "side data" and that "side data" file consists of a separate record of "error sectors", "sparse sectors" and "sectors with incorrect checksums". Then using "virtual drive software", mount the image of the copied CD with the "side data" as a reference for which parts of the CD need to be emulated. This used to work quite well, until many of the newer software titles, failed to load when a "virtual drive" was detected. So, copy programs and emulators that worked last year on SafeDisc 2 seem to be failing this year. I hope that helps.
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After a "Google" for BF2142, I discovered that they're using SafeDisc 4.7 which includes a "blacklist" for known virtual drive emulators. However, it may be possible, using the latest version of Alcohol 120% to create a sucessful DVD backup of your legally purchased software. There seems to be some success with virtual drives using the latest Daemon Tools emulator software. Most successful "burns" of copy protected software are heavily dependant on the hardware doing the "burning". I found some interesting facts here.

 

Try using Alcohol as a drive emulator and load the image (if you're using Daemon Tools or some other emulator). *shrugs*

I think there's a way to make some virtual drives "invisible" (so the software thinks it's a real disc), but I can't remember how.