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In case it helps, there is actually a very low tech solution to booting copied games on Saturn hardware that works with the vast majority of games released (esp

In case it helps, there is actually a very low tech solution to booting copied games on Saturn hardware that works with the vast majority of games released (especially expensive/rare/hard to find games like the Treasure releases). Tape/wedge the drive lid sensor down, power up with a real game in (you don't need to close the lid as the sensor believes the lid is always shut) and allow it do the initial copy protection check on your real disc. At this point it stops the disc for just less than second - just enough time to pull the real disc out and swap in a CD-R. It takes a little practice and potentially can damage the drive motor if your timing is frequently poor. Games this won't work with are those spanning multiple discs where you need to swap discs in game to progress.

serge2k 10y ago
I practiced this trick with my original playstation years ago. Then I killed it trying to mod it. Got a PS1 instead, couldn't figure out the trick anymore. It was funny that they kept on changing the points where the disc would read info, you had to swap multiple times at different points. They wouldn't stop either, just slow down.
- elwell 10y ago
  > Then I killed it trying to mod it. Ugh, don't remind me. My brother fried our n64 and our ps2 trying to mod them into handheld's (with built-in screen).
  - pavel_lishin 10y ago
    I remember owning a "slim" ps2, but I'm still kind of boggled at the idea of compacting everything inside it into a "handheld" size.
- nathancahill 10y ago
  Hah, yeah, I used to do that too with the PS1 until I modded it with a chip. It was flaky though, worked 50% of the time.
- jandrese 10y ago
  Modding the PS2 is still one of the hardest soldering jobs I've ever done. The worst part is that the modchips were apparently pretty crude in how they worked and ended up burning out the laser diode after about 6 months even if you only used it for imported games and not burned games.
MichaelApproved 10y ago
Why not just cut the wobble edge of a real CD off and attach it to a burned CD? Maybe you can shave the back of the shimmed wobble edge down, so that it won't stick out as much on the burned CD. This shimmed wobble can be your key for all the burned CDs you have. Maybe double sided tape can keep the wobble shim attached to your burned CD while still allowing it to be removable for other CDs. I've never had a Saturn, so I don't know what this wobble edge looks like in person. Am I missing something?
- djsumdog 10y ago
  I don't think you can't cut a CD like that. The moment you try to cut it with anything, it will probably crack (both for real silicon and CD-Rs).
- Grazester 10y ago
  I seriously loled at this. That would not have been a graceful solution to say the least. This isn't about hacking cdroms just to get it to run on the system. It is about understanding the intricate details of how it worked so that when the cdrom drive itself died you would have a way of playing those games along with full cd bloc emulation
- sitharus 10y ago
  it's not a physical wobble, it's a data track written in a wave-like path. You can't write it as all CD-Rs already have the spiral track so it's very hard to fake. It's similar to the Gamecube using the burst-cutting area to implement DRM - it's impossible to duplicate without a production setup.
- JoshTriplett 10y ago
  > I've never had a Saturn, so I don't know what this wobble edge looks like in person. Am I missing something? The video shows it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOyfZex7B3E#t=2m13s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOyfZex7B3E#t=2m13s
  - abrasive 10y ago
    The video's graphic is a bit of an approximation. In practice it appears that every second disc sector is displaced, IIRC. And they've got particular bit patterns written into them to produce a visual logo; these patterns (but not the actual logos) are checked too. The protection ring is visible to the naked eye for this reason. I can't find a picture, sorry!

serge2k 10y ago

I practiced this trick with my original playstation years ago. Then I killed it trying to mod it. Got a PS1 instead, couldn't figure out the trick anymore. It was funny that they kept on changing the points where the disc would read info, you had to swap multiple times at different points. They wouldn't stop either, just slow down.

elwell 10y ago
> Then I killed it trying to mod it. Ugh, don't remind me. My brother fried our n64 and our ps2 trying to mod them into handheld's (with built-in screen).
- pavel_lishin 10y ago
  I remember owning a "slim" ps2, but I'm still kind of boggled at the idea of compacting everything inside it into a "handheld" size.
nathancahill 10y ago
Hah, yeah, I used to do that too with the PS1 until I modded it with a chip. It was flaky though, worked 50% of the time.
jandrese 10y ago
Modding the PS2 is still one of the hardest soldering jobs I've ever done. The worst part is that the modchips were apparently pretty crude in how they worked and ended up burning out the laser diode after about 6 months even if you only used it for imported games and not burned games.

MichaelApproved 10y ago

Why not just cut the wobble edge of a real CD off and attach it to a burned CD? Maybe you can shave the back of the shimmed wobble edge down, so that it won't stick out as much on the burned CD. This shimmed wobble can be your key for all the burned CDs you have. Maybe double sided tape can keep the wobble shim attached to your burned CD while still allowing it to be removable for other CDs. I've never had a Saturn, so I don't know what this wobble edge looks like in person. Am I missing something?

djsumdog 10y ago
I don't think you can't cut a CD like that. The moment you try to cut it with anything, it will probably crack (both for real silicon and CD-Rs).
Grazester 10y ago
I seriously loled at this. That would not have been a graceful solution to say the least. This isn't about hacking cdroms just to get it to run on the system. It is about understanding the intricate details of how it worked so that when the cdrom drive itself died you would have a way of playing those games along with full cd bloc emulation
sitharus 10y ago
it's not a physical wobble, it's a data track written in a wave-like path. You can't write it as all CD-Rs already have the spiral track so it's very hard to fake. It's similar to the Gamecube using the burst-cutting area to implement DRM - it's impossible to duplicate without a production setup.
JoshTriplett 10y ago
> I've never had a Saturn, so I don't know what this wobble edge looks like in person. Am I missing something? The video shows it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOyfZex7B3E#t=2m13s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOyfZex7B3E#t=2m13s
- abrasive 10y ago
  The video's graphic is a bit of an approximation. In practice it appears that every second disc sector is displaced, IIRC. And they've got particular bit patterns written into them to produce a visual logo; these patterns (but not the actual logos) are checked too. The protection ring is visible to the naked eye for this reason. I can't find a picture, sorry!