MDF/MDS Dumping Guide

(WIP)

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)

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).

Disc Manufacturing Information (DMI)

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).

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

• TAGES
• Alpha-ROM

Program required

• DAEMON Tools Pro or Ultra (Not free).

Content Scramble System (CSS)

These are PC games that utilize DVD-Video style CSS encryption.

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.

General Dumping Guide

(Draft, WIP)

Dumping MDS with Alcohol 120%

For most MDS-only protections the following procedure is used:

• Install Alcohol 120%
• Navigate to "Image Making Wizard"
• Select any drive
  • What works best is unknown, but our "Kreon" drives seem to work well for most
• Insert disc
• Select Datatype at the bottom relevant to your protection
• Select Read Speed (This is for the MDF, and doesn't matter for most cases)
• In "Reading Options" you can select where you want your files saved
• When ready, click start, you may be prompted for DPM read speed, what works best is unknown but 8x seems to work well.
• If the DPM measurement fails in log output, you can cancel the dump.
  • In this case, your drive will not work for this disc, try a different drive or swap to DT Pro for MDS dumping.
• If the DPM measurement succeeds you can cancel the dump at this point if you'd like or let the MDF finish dumping.
  • For most protections the MDF will be identical to ISO or ISO-converted BIN.
• To check the quality of the DPM measurement:
  • Navigate back to A120's main menu.
  • Right click your MDS in the list to the right and select properties or drag the MDS in to that space.
  • Select properties in the pop-up
  • All non-SecuROM discs, most notably StarForce, should look like this.
  • SecuROM should look similar to the above, except with a varying number of flat plateaus which look like this when zoomed in.
  • Sometimes they'll work even if they look bad, but this can be a good indicator.