GD-ROM Dumping Guide: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 03:50, 19 February 2026

GD-ROM dumping guide. See here for information about dumping GD-R (recordable) discs.

GD discs were used by the Sega Dreamcast console and Sega NAOMI, Sega NAOMI 2, Sega Chihiro, and Triforce arcade systems.

The discs contain two distinct areas, a Low Density Area ("LD Area") and a High Density Area ("HD Area"), physically separated by a ring. You'll need to dump both areas of the disc, each requiring different drive models and methods.

LD Area

Tools

CD-ROM compatible disc drive
Windows, Linux, or macOS computer
MPF application (includes Redumper)

Dumping

The LD Area is formatted like a standard CD-ROM, so should be dumped using the standard Disc Dumping Guide (MPF). The CD-ROM profile should be selected in MPF.

HD Area

Tools

GD-ROM compatible disc drive
Windows or Linux computer
dreamdump app

Dumping

Open command line interface app
cd (change directory) to the location of the dreamdump app.
Dump with the following command: dreamdump disc --drive="[drive letter]" --image-name=""

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-<div class="textblock" style="background: #febaba; padding: 10px;">
+'''GD-ROM''' dumping guide. See [[GD-R Dumping Guide|here]] for information about dumping GD-R (recordable) discs.
-<span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">WORK IN PROGRESS
-</span>
-</div>
-This is a step-by-step guide designed to be easy to follow so that you can make reproducible, good dumps of your GDs to the Redump standard.
+GD discs were used by the Sega Dreamcast console and Sega NAOMI, Sega NAOMI 2, Sega Chihiro, and Triforce arcade systems.
-==What are GDs?==
+The discs contain two distinct areas, a Low Density Area ("LD Area") and a High Density Area ("HD Area"), physically separated by a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GD-ROM#/media/File:Gdrom.jpg ring]. You'll need to dump both areas of the disc, each requiring different drive models and methods.
-GDs—or Gigadiscs—are the type of [[wikipedia:Optical disc|optical media]] used by the [[wikipedia:Dreamcast|Sega Dreamcast]] as well as the [https://segaretro.org/Sega_NAOMI Sega NAOMI], [https://segaretro.org/Sega_NAOMI_2 Sega NAOMI 2], [https://segaretro.org/Sega_Chihiro Sega Chihiro] and [https://segaretro.org/Triforce Triforce] arcade systems. It is special compared to its relative—the CD—in that it contains both a low density (LD) and a high density (HD) area. To get a good dump, you need to extract them both from the disc.
-==How do I know if I have a GD?==
+==LD Area==
-If you have any of the officially released discs for the Dreamcast or any of the above mentioned arcade systems, you are pretty much guaranteed to have a GD. The Dreamcast did however support loading of [[wikipedia:MIL-CD|MIL-CDs]], which lead to a number of unlicensed software being pressed on regular CDs. Check for the GD-ROM mark on the disc or check the reflective side of the disc for a visible LD–HD divide if you are unsure.
+'''Tools'''
+* [[Optical Disc Drive Compatibility: CD|CD-ROM compatible disc drive]]
+* Windows, Linux, or macOS computer
+* [https://github.com/SabreTools/MPF/releases MPF application] (includes Redumper)
-==So I got a GD, what now?==
+'''Dumping'''
-First you need to make sure you have the necessary equipment. To dump a GD you need:
-* A Windows PC
+The LD Area is formatted like a standard CD-ROM, so should be dumped using the standard [[Disc Dumping Guide (MPF)]]. The CD-ROM profile should be selected in MPF.
-* A [[compatible drive]]
-* An empty CD-R or CD-RW disc
+==HD Area==
-* [https://github.com/saramibreak/DiscImageCreator/releases DiscImageCreator]
+'''Tools'''
-* DCDumper
+* [[Optical Disc Drive Compatibility: GD-ROM|GD-ROM compatible disc drive]]
-*
+* Windows or Linux computer
+* [https://github.com/MoriGM/dreamdump/releases dreamdump app]
+'''Dumping'''
+* Open command line interface app
+* cd (change directory) to the location of the dreamdump app.
+* Dump with the following command: dreamdump disc --drive="[drive letter]" --image-name=""
+[[Category:Dumping Guides]]