MDF/MDS Dumping Guide

Forum discussion (Old) here.

Redump.info normally dats games in either Bin/Cue (CDs) or ISO (DVDs and BDs) formats. There are limitations to both of these though that makes them lack information needed to run PC games with certain types of copy protections. And in order to make a working dump one needs to do it in a format called MDF/MDS.

Data Position Measurement (DPM)

Protection achieved by measuring the physical location of the data itself, and by far the most common method of copy protection that requires an MDS.

Used by

CD-Cops / DVD-Cops
CD-Guard
VOB ProtectCD / DVD (v5~v6) (Some are sync, some are DPM)
ProtectDISC (CDs only)
SecuROM (v4.76~v5.xx) (Some are SUBs some are DPM)
SecuROM (v5.xx +)
StarForce

Program required

Alcohol 120% or Alcohol 56% (Free version works).

Dumping Process

Note: Getting DPM can be hard for many drives. Omnidrive or Kreons are currently recommended.

Install (If you haven't already) Alcohol 120% and press the "Image Making Wizard"
Select a drive and the "SecuROM *New (4/5/7)" profile (Or just SecuROM if disc is a DVD).
Change DPM precision to high if not present already in the Reading options tab.
If desirable, change the output path/name in the Reading options tab.
Press start and change measuring speed to 8x
Wait for the dump to finish.
Once done. Right click on the MDS in the main Alcohol 120% window and press "Properties", then "Extra Info". This will bring up the so called MDS chart of the disc used to determine whether the process was successful or not (see below).
Once done you should have a working MDS that you can pair either with the MDF generated now. Or an ISO created with Redumper.

Checking if gathering DPM was successful

Outside of SecuROM. A good MDS chart should be smooth like the picture below.

While a bad MDS chart has noticeable bumps along the line.

SecuROM meanwhile has deliberate bumps in the DPM taking the form of distinct square waves along the line. These can either be a single instance.

Or multiple instances depending on the disc/version

The DRMs resistance to these bumps varies per implementation. As a rule of thumb, SecuROM can often survive a few bumps here and there. While for most others getting the line as straight as possible is necessary. The only way to truly know whether it was good enough is to mount the MDS and try and launch the game.

Disc Manufacturing Information (DMI)

Discs with these DRM store data in DMI portion of a DVDs Lead-in. And while technically part of what Redumper outputs. The ISO format cannot hold this data.

Used by

Cucko (EA Custom)
SafeDisc (DVDs only)

Program required

Alcohol 120% or Alcohol 56% (Free version works).

Dumping Process

Install (If you haven't already) Alcohol 120% and press the "Image Making Wizard"
Select a drive and the "SafeDisc" profile.
If desirable, change the output path/name in the Reading options tab.
Wait for the dump to finish. Once done you should have a working MDS that you can pair either with the MDF generated now. Or an ISO created with Redumper.

Twin sectors

These discs store extra data used by the DRM by utilising a quirk in how both CD and DVD drives seek sectors. Unique in that it requires both an MDS and MDF (or an MDX).

Used by

Program required

DAEMON Tools Pro or Ultra (Not free).

Dumping Process

Install (If you haven't already) DAEMON Tools Pro and press "Grab"
Select a drive and select either MDX or MDS.
Optionally; change where to save the image as well
In the Device Tab select the "Tages" profile.
Press start. Once finished you should have working Twin Sector dump. Note that in this instance you cannot separate the MDS from the MDF as they will only work with each other. And they will both also be encrypted.

Content Scramble System (CSS)

These are PC games that utilize DVD-Video style CSS encryption. And require data that the ISO format cannot hold on its own.

Used by

ProtectDISC (DVDs only) (~v6) (Some are DPM, some are CSS)
ProtectDISC (DVDs only) (v7+)

Programs required

DAEMON Tools Pro or Ultra (Not free) with a special CSS plugin.

Dumping Process

Install (If you haven't already) DAEMON Tools Pro and put the plugin in the Plugins - Grabbers folder
Launch the program and select "Grab"
Select a drive and select MDS.
Optionally; change where to save the image as well
In the Device Tab select the "New ProtectDisc" profile.
Press start and wait for the dump to finish. Note that it might take a while. Once done you should have a working MDS that you can pair either with the MDF generated now. Or an ISO created with Redumper.