Discussion of game backup, reproduction, burning, and ripping. Covers ROM backup, cartridge reproduction, optical disc ripping, burning, and storage. Focus on archival purposes and not deceptive selling.
Jagosaurus wrote:Now finding a PS1 that will read disc well will be a challenge in years to follow.
It is already. The drive in most PS1s is crap. Although good quality CDRs with good burns are not going to have a significant impact on drive health or lifespan (let's end the drive-killing CDR myth for good, folks).
Agreed. I was more-so just referring to the drive itself. I remember a lot of people having the flip their PS1 over.
I haven't watched the video yet but if it involves the disc swapping, I do think that could damage the drive over time. I guess if you do it right you only have do it once versus people repeatedly doing this on SS (before AR mod).
Also, those poorly arranged, chopped up DC CDR sized files likely aren't good for the drive. I can hear that drive searching and working even harder than normal .
Jagosaurus wrote:Agreed. I was more-so just referring to the drive itself. I remember a lot of people having the flip their PS1 over.
I haven't watched the video yet but if it involves the disc swapping, I do think that could damage the drive over time. I guess if you do it right you only have do it once versus people repeatedly doing this on SS (before AR mod).
Also, those poorly arranged, chopped up DC CDR sized files likely aren't good for the drive. I can hear that drive searching and working even harder than normal .
The issue there was the drive assembly. Only some earlier models were affected. This was due to the plastic sleds that carried the laser assembly wearing down, which is also why it fixed the issue when the assembly was inverted. In later models they changed this assembly to metal. I should open up one of my old playstations and get the dimensions, see if it's 3d printable and then we can save a lot of old assemblies from being thrown away.
Okay, reading back through all these pages to confirm... did we ever land on a final verdict on keeping a save manager on a flashed cart of any type?
I know you wouldn't be able to save directly to an AR. My goal would be to back up console battery saves without having to swap carts to do so.
I am thinking of burning all 3 scenarios of SF3 but don't want to risk losing that much save data by a dead CR2032 save batt.
Also, on SF3 assuming the English patched versions of S2&3 get recognized as JPN. If so does this mod work across regions on a US console (how an AR does). Ensuring you don't lose the region free feature as well.
Jagosaurus wrote:Okay, reading back through all these pages to confirm... did we ever land on a final verdict on keeping a save manager on a flashed cart of any type?
As I understand it, flashing a standard Saturn cart does not give you any sort of save manager functionality. The Gamer Cart from that one website DOES give you save manager onto the internal SD card.
Also, on SF3 assuming the English patched versions of S2&3 get recognized as JPN. If so does this mod work across regions on a US console (how an AR does). Ensuring you don't lose the region free feature as well.
Again, as I understand it, the software lets you go region free, though there are additional implications to doing that with a PAL game vs. an NTSC game that are outside the scope of what the cart does. I do know that the save file from an English SF3 can be recognized as one that can be imported by SF3:2, as I did that back when my Saturn had a modchip (which then croaked and I need to get around to doing one of these flash cart methods).
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For "save security" that leaves me with getting one of those Gamer carts... or a second AR and swapping them out occasionally to backup saves. I hate to do that as its additional wear on that cart slot. I feel like it wasn't made for repeated use. Maybe I'm being overly cautious there.
My main goal on this is to play the SF3 scenarios but I'd also finally get to play PD Saga. As a big fan of the first two rail shooters and RPGs, that's another incentive for me to do this. Might have just made a 2018 tinkering/mod goal...
No, you are not being overcautious, the Saturn cart slot is pretty temperamental.
I do want a gamer cart, but I keep reminding myself that I mostly only need a memory cart for a few RPG's (and I have an official one and can use the save battery for most everything else). But dang it if it wouldn't be cool to have all the Dezaemon 2 saves I can find on there (and backups for everything else).
2 Saturn's makes your cart options an easier situation, Gamer Cart or not... But I l keep debating if the ram option is really worth it for Saturn anymore (as you can emulate on other systems the arcade roms that use Ram Carts for the Saturn ports). For various reasons (controller, extra options, my love for the system), I keep coming back to "totally worth it".
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