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You have 2 ways for dumping Sega Saturn / Mega CD discs according to Redump.org:

A) A real Plextor drive* + Perfect Rip (not bugged version)  + px_d8 command line (Double check with EAC dump is mandatory!)
This is the more secure and faster way, the one recommended.

PS: avoid Sata (SA) drives if possible, even non-Plextor ones.

* Or a drive that supports read command and works with Perfect Rip. Read more here.

B) A drive that can read lead-out + Iso Buster + EAC

You'll need also CDmage to test data tracks. Please notice that "track02" data tracks cannot be tested by CDmage because of data pregap, CDmage simply will not read your track.
You'll need also some other little tools we'll see in the following chapters.

INFORMATIONS TO BE PRESERVED

You have also to know and understand which informations has to to be preserved in DB to identify a dump from another one (revision, alternative and so on). What follows is the needed data:

1. Title

2. Alternative title expecially for Japanese releases
You can find them easily on Sega website (search it with serial), by the way something could be different on box / disc:

Saturn Sega releases: http://sega.jp/archive/segahard/ss/soft.html
Saturn 3rd party 1994-1995: http://sega.jp/archive/segahard/ss/soft_licensee1.html
Saturn 3rd party 1996: http://sega.jp/archive/segahard/ss/soft_licensee2.html
Saturn 3rd party 1997: http://sega.jp/archive/segahard/ss/soft_licensee3.html
Saturn 3rd party 1998-2000: http://sega.jp/archive/segahard/ss/soft_licensee3.html
and / or
Saturn all: http://www.satakore.com/

Mega CD Sega releases: http://sega.jp/archive/segahard/mcd/soft.html
Mega CD 3rd party: http://sega.jp/archive/segahard/mcd/soft_licensee.html

All western characters must be in unicode MS Mincho ---> japanese subcategory (Shift-JIS) ---> latin symbols (you can easily find this character set)

3. Region (Japan, USA, Europe, Germany, France, etc.)

4. Languages (En, Jp, Fr, De, Es, It, etc.)

5. Serial ---> normally you find it on sides of jewel case

6. Ring Code ---> you find it in the inner ring of cd-rom

7. IFPI Code ---> normally you find it in the same inner ring where you found Ring Code (a text box should be added in the SS/SCD DB sheet). You can post it along with Ring Code and please the inner IFPI near CD hole, the one normally on trasparent sector, is not required because it's the media code.

8. Barcode (optional)

9. EXE Date ---> you can it in the header

10. Header in text format with hex values (not full 512 bytes, but only used bytes)

11. Revision ---> you find it in the header

12. Edition (Original, Satakore, Taikenban, Genteiban, etc.)

Saturn Collection <=> Satakore
Limited Edition <=> Genteiban
Demo Edition <=> Taikenban

13. Write Offset ---> you have to calculate it manually as in the standard guide or get it with px_d8 command help if your drive supports read command

14. Perfct Rip log (if dumped with perfect rip)

15. Eac log

16. Cuesheet (Perfect Rip one if PR and EAC dumps match)

17. px_d8 log (or Isobuster sector you used to take combined offset)

18. subcode taken with CloneCD (mandatory if you'll get situations I'll explain below)

----------------------------------------------------------------------
DUMPING with Plextor + Perfect Rip + Px_d8 command
----------------------------------------------------------------------

A) Calculate factory write offset with px_d8 command line:

I added a batch file that create a log file for px_d8 command so everything will be more easy.

Drive letter is set on "D", please edit the batch file if your drive has a different letter.
Exec batch file after inserting CD in the drive, take the "combined write offset" value reported in the log, calculate and write down "write offset".

An example of px_d8 log file:

Sector: 0
MSF: 00:02:00
Combined offset: +120 bytes / +30 samples

combined read+write offset = +30
plextor px-760a read offset = +30
write offset = +30 - (+30) = +0

B) Set up Perfect Rip and dump disc:

1. Start Perfect Rip, select drive (normally is automatically selected) and check "all tracks" box. Then click "next" button.

2. On next window set up everything as follows:

• Set "sub-channel" to "100b" for Plextor drives
  (or "001b" if you find a non-plextor drive that works with PR);

• Set "gap append mode" to "Append to next";

• Set "output track format" to "pcm";

• Check "c2 pointers" and "write log" boxes;

• Select an output folder and filename;

Now click on "drive calibrate" button.

3. On "drive calibrate" window set up everything as follows:

• On "main channel offset correction" set "read" as the negative of "combined write offset" (if it's +30, like in the example, you'll have to set it at -30; if your "combined write offset" is negative you'll have to set it positive);

• Leave all other setting unchanged;

Now press "ok" and go back to "reading option" window.

4. Click "next", then "image/rip" and PR will begin extracting data from CD.

5. When extraction is finished a prompt will pop up and if you press ok you'll have a small log showing "Total corrupt symbols (C2 pointers)". If the value is = 0 your dump is quite finished and ok (you still have to make a pair of verifications), instead if you got some corrupted C2 pointers you'll have to redump the corrupted tracks or full disc at lower speed.

C) Final fixes:

1. Check first data track for corruption with CDmage as described in the regular guide.

2. Check first audio track for garbage or real data:

Perfect Rip sometimes put one or more 12bytes string in first audio track pregap that is not present in the real CD. Below is the string you could find.

Offset(h) 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F

000011D0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
000011E0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 26 48 26 48 26 48 26 48 ........&H&H&H&H
000011F0 26 48 26 48 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 &H&H............
00001200 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................

You can clear this strings with an Hex editor or you can redump this track with EAC.

C. Perfect Rip will create a .CUE file, check if the pregaps sequence (look at INDEX01) of audio tracks is like one of the following ones:

 SS / SCD | SS / SCD | SCD only
-------------------------------
   2.00   |   2.00   |   2.00
   1.74   |   2.00   |   0.00
   1.74   |   2.00   |   0.00
   1.74   |   2.00   |   0.00
   ...    |   ...    |   ...

If the sequence is different (most of times you'll have a missing INDEX00 and so an INDEX01=0.00) you have to submit a subchannel dump (.sub) taken only with CloneCD to check possible EAN or mastering errors and to determine real pregaps.

D. Do same check of point C. and look if your disc has tracks with INDEX>01. If so, submit a subchannel dump (.sub) as above to determine real lenght of all INDEXes.

Notes: PR doesn't have tipical EAC bug on 2 tracks discs. Pregap for audio track is added automatically in the dumping process, you don't have to edit anything.

PS: If PR splash logo gives you noise open .ini file and set "Splash=0", it will never come back again.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
DUMPING with Iso Buster + EAC
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Dump game as in the standard guide, but if you find one of the situations below you have to submit a subchannel dump (.sub) taken only with CloneCD to check possible EAN or mastering errors and / or to determine real pregaps, etc.

1) Games with 2 data tracks;

2) If audio pregap sequence (you can easily see it under EAC after gaps detection) is different from any in the scheme below;

 SS / SCD | SS / SCD | SCD only
-------------------------------
   2.00   |   2.00   |   2.00
   1.74   |   2.00   |   0.00
   1.74   |   2.00   |   0.00
   1.74   |   2.00   |   0.00
   ...    |   ...    |   ...

3) If EAC detects tracks with INDEX>01 (postgaps, etc.);

4) If track02 pregap is different from 2.00. In this situation you might also have calculated a wrong "write offset".

5) If "write offset" you got with manual method is a multiple of 1 sector (+588, -588, +1176, -1176, etc.)

6) If "write offset" you got with manual method is +810 (expecially some Euro discs have a real pregap of 1.74 on second track so real offset was +222).

7) If PR dump doesn't match EAC one.

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FIXING ANOMALIES
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Download this package to fix the following anomalies:

Q. Fixing a single audio track disc (EAC only):

A1. Use "fix_track02.bat" (set on 2 seconds pregap, edit batch file if pregap lenght is different).

Q. Fixing games with 2 data tracks after real gap confirmation (EAC only):

A. Use "fix_2data.bat" (set on 3 seconds pregap for track02 and 2 seconds for track03, edit batch file if pregap lenghts are different).

Q. Fixing two tracks between an EAN sector after .sub confirmation:

A1. Use "fix_EAN_PR.bat" if you dumped your tracks with PR (set on 150 sector to move from one track to next one, edit batch file with right tracks name and number of sectors if needed).

A2. Use "fix_EAN_EAC.bat" if you dumped your tracks with EAC (set on 1 sector to move from one track to previous one, edit batch file with right tracks name and number of sectors if needed).

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PS: I unsticked the 2 old threads, they are here if someone want to take a look:
http://forum.redump.org/topic/3152/ss-s … ed-041208/
http://forum.redump.org/topic/1259/mega … n-dumping/