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[ChimyFolkButter]

Wow, I finally saw the copy protection on an FDS game. I was rewriting Doki Doki panic using the FDSLoadr/CopyMaster/Game Doctor Method. It wrote the disk A and B sides no problem.

I loaded the side A succesfully. However when Load B started to load, I got the error:

Sorry

Please use an official Disk writer (something like that).

FDSLoadr didn't load up the hidden files.

How did I get around this? I luckily had a good copy of Doki and I used Disk Keeper v1.3 to copy it. Disk Keeper v1.3 easily gets around the hidden file trick.

As an experiment, I tried to write the disks using FDSLoadr/Disk Keeper. Well, Disk Keeper kept erroring out with a Error 25. Disk Keeper was probably looking to read the extra file but FDSLoadr didn't load it.

Madman, can you try writing Doki Doki using the MGD1/PC cable? I am wondering if that method gets around this problem.

-CFB

[madman]

I'll try to do that this weekend hopefully. I do have a pirate Doki Doki so it is possible to copy it. I can also dump that and see if it's different than any of the dumps out there.

[kyuusaku]

This is the FDSLoadr "hidden file" issue, any sort of raw copy will do.

[ChimyFolkButter]

kyuusaku,

Yes it is. I am just looking to see if the MGD1 can write the disk. If FDSLoadr fails then MGD1 could write an FDS file to the disk. If I didn't have a copy of DOKI and used a "raw" copy method, then I would have been screwed.

[kyuusaku]

The MGD1 unfortunately works on a file level, if Doki relies on data outside of a file boundary, it won't be able to back it up. It could write it back by modifying a raw image, but that would damage the structure and defeat the purpose.

[rbudrick]

It's been a while since I read about or was told about the technical side of this "hidden files" copy protection scheme. Can someone give me a refresher on the technical side of how this works, and why and fds can read them and FDSLoadr can't?

Lol, DDP was the first fds disk I ever tried to dump, so I was confused when I saw this happen.

Is there a list of problem disks out there? It would be cool to make this a complete thread on the subject, if possible, since I don't think it's been mentioned much yet. I want to try to include this in my complete FDS copying/maintenance doc I'm writing.

So is Disk Keeper the only program that skirts around this? I wonder if FDS to FDS cables would work or any of the Disk Hackers (too bad II isn't dumped yet).

-Rob

[kyuusaku]

The FDS doesn't know what a file is; games can use the BIOS to read from the disk which creates a level of abstraction around loading (which requires protocol), or they can manually read the disk with their own routines. Hidden files are just data not in a proper file.

FDSLoadr is only limited by it's software which must expect the protocol to be followed.

[Arnold101]

how you make famicom disk system floppy? there is an how-to? thanks

[rbudrick]

Replied to your pm, arnold.

Referred to fdsloadr.

-Rob

[Arnold101]

thanks replied