This method is meant as an alternative of using the: "Read whole CD-Image" method. Because to read a Laserlock 'damaged' CD some drives need many hours and this method is really a lot faster. And I think its not good for the gears and servo's of any drive to start and stop on thousands of corrupted sectors! The method is not that easy, but I tried to explain it as understandable as possible, and for people which are skilled it should be no problem at all! As long as no subchannel protection is used, this method also should work for Laserlock2!
How to backup Laserlock protected Discs TUT v.1 by Sam
The described methodic is based on the "read Laserlok.in with Hexeditor" trick. The idea behind is to save all files of the protected disc (on multitrack discs the data track files) "normal" to the harddisk and then make a usual ISO and burn it. Because the file laserlock.in is full of unreadable sectors, the writer of the tut said it is "easy" to read the whole corrupted file with a hexeditor within 30 minutes. This is not true and depends hardly on the used drive, and it is not necessary! Its enough to save the readable part of the file, and leave the unreadable sectors as zeroed bytes.
To create this file on harddisk, just check the file size and create an identical zeroed file with same name and size with any hexeditor, and paste the readable parts on begin and end of this file. To read the Laserlok.in from the disc use a hexeditor and select from begin and then from end as long as it is possible, then copy and paste it in the "zeroed" file on your harddrive and at least save it and set the attributes to hidden and read only. The "finetuning" with my methodic is to create the identic RAW Sectors and file structure, and because of that I used Isobuster to recreate the original "bootsectors", LBA values, volumedescription and all the original information which are stored in the sectors #16-25.
Here now starts the detailed description of the whole process:
1. Create an empty file with your Hexeditor which has the same size like Laserlok.in
2. Read out the file laserlok.in of the orig. CD as far as possible with the hexeditor, starting from the begin and copy the data in the before created empty Laserlok.in file. After that start over to select the data as long its possible, but now starting from the end of the files data, notice the startpoint of the selected data and paste it in the laserlok.in.
3. Extract the laserlock protected CD with ISOBUSTER as far it is possible without read errors. When the errors begin, stop extraction but save the made ISO as Session.bin
4. Copy all files and folder (but not the folder LASERLOK) into an empty directory on your harddrive
5. Create in this directory the folder LASERLOK and move the before created file Laserlok.in in this folder. If the hidden Folder LASERLOK on the CD has additonal files in it (usual not, theres only Laserlok.in), copy the files from the disc into the same folder on the harddisk. Finally set all files and these folder to attributes hidden and write protected.
6. Create a RAW CD-ROM Mode1/2352 binary ISO of the content of the whole "laserlock" files and folders. You can do this with any software which is able to write the files as DataCD ISO, as example for burning it later in this format. I've used NERO and recorded with the option "Image Recorder" (instead of the real CD-Writer) a *.nrg ISO, and converted this with CDMage into a RAW Mode 1/2352 bin ISO.
!!ATTENTION!! Eventually this is all what you have to do!!
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I haven't tested it, but it is really possible to burn now this track (of course eventually you must burn additional CD-DA tracks after writing the data track) and it will work!
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But if you want to do it really save and recreate the original as good as possible continue with the following method.:
7. Now rename this ISO to laserlock.bin - remember this name, don't get confused with the next ISO we need. Open the file session.bin with Isobuster and check and write down, which LBA values the different files of the Disk have.
8. Close Isobuster, now open Session1.bin with the hexeditor and add as much MB of empty or zeroed bytes, so that in the end Session1.bin has the same size as Laserlock.bin has.
9. Open Laserlock.bin with the hexeditor and copy the whole data of the file laserlok.in. First you have to do a search to locate the start and endsector of the file. To do this just open the file laserlok.in with the hexeditor and check out some bytestrings on the begin of this file, do a search for the values at the Laserlock.bin and you have the "startsector" of this file. Now paste this "sectorized" laserlok.in into the session1.bin, of course directly over the same sector where
the formerly laserlok.in started.
10.Now, depending on the LBA adresses of Session1.bin (you remember, they can be viewed with ISObuster), -starting with the file which has the next higher value as laserlok.in, and then alway the next higher, do the same procedure with all the other "sectorized" files. Locate them
inside the Laserlock.bin, copy and append them into the Session1.bin
11.Explanation: This is law in the CD architecture: Alway, if the sectorspace of one file is finished, immediatly the next following sector starts with the next files content. Don't forget save the session1.bin at least.
12.Now, if all files are inserted into the "blank" Session1.bin, check out with CDMage if all filedata really is on the right place or adress: To do that, open Session1.bin with CDMage, select any file with the right mousebutton and now choose: 'browse file'. Now the same data must appear on the begin, which appears if you would open the original file with the hexeditor. Because on the begin of the CD are sectors, which descripe the content of the CD, and point to the sector
where the data of these files starts.
13.Now we need to append the appropriate LeadOut Sectors to our session1.bin. Normally we have 150 or 300 (2 or 4 seconds) blank sectors as LeadOut. But I think this is only important if there are Audio tracks following the data track. And, in my case, there where unreadable sectors inside of this LeadOut, but I don't think the protection mechanism is checking for this.
14.To find out how long exactly the Pregap is, we insert the laserlock protected CD, open Isobuster and choose the (first) datatrack. Now -right click- and select: -extract from...to..- Now we extract the last 600 sectors of the disc. Ex.: If the datatrack has 111600 sectors, we extract and save a
CDsegment.bin from 111001 to 111600. If in this region are unreadable sectors, it takes some time. Now open the segment.bin and check how big the postgap is. Search the point where the
data of the last file ends and the zeroed sectors start. Delete the sectors with the rest of the databytes, copy the remaining LeadOut sectors and append them to the session1.bin
15.O.K., now this ISO has on most places wrong sector Numbers. (this is the number after the synchronisation bytes 00 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 00 ). If your burning soft autocorrects this, you can burn the RAW ISO now direct. But if you have additional Audio tracks in the session, only write the track without LeadIn - Leadout or session closed!
16.To go save, convert the RAW 2352 ISO into Format Mode1/2048 Open session1.bin with CDMage, click track with right mousebutton and select -extract track- and choose save as
mode1 -2048 ISO.
17.Write this track with Fireburner, cdrecord or CDRWIN. (only the track, without LeadIn and LeadOut, if there additional Audio tracks!).
If there are additional Audio tracks:
18.Extract Audio tracks of the laserlock protected disc and save them as .wav files, numbered in the same order or sequence as they are written on the original disc.
19.Burn these Audio tracks additional on the new "laserlock" disc, at the write lead-in, lead-out and close session.
20.You've done a great job, time to enjoy! :-)