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Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!rlgvax!dennis
From: dennis@rlgvax.UUCP (Dennis.Bednar)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: How do I backup EA games?
Message-ID: <701@rlgvax.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 13-Nov-87 01:33:10 EST
Article-I.D.: rlgvax.701
Posted: Fri Nov 13 01:33:10 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 15-Nov-87 05:56:36 EST
References: <16036@topaz.rutgers.edu> <260@grinch.grinch.UUCP> <425@m10ux.UUCP> <3326@xanth.UUCP>
Organization: Computer Consoles Inc, Reston VA
Lines: 30
Keywords: backup copy-protection
Summary: Question on side 0, track 15

In article <3326@xanth.UUCP>, maurice@xanth.UUCP (X) writes:
> groups of two CALLs bunched together.  The first CALL routine was CALL 0B31,
> which resets the disk, reads the boot record and track 15 (side 0).  By the
> way, track 15 (side 0) is one of those "hard to copy" tracks.  The second
> CALL routine was CALL 0B74, which checks the status of the flags set by the
> last disk I/O, being CALL 0B31.  Replacing these CALLs with NOPs (three NOPs

I have two questions, and one observation.

First, why is track 15 "hard to copy"?  Have they purposely
formatted the diskette in some non-standard way that prevents
a normal "diskette read" from working?

Second, when this error occurs, with an unpatched version,
what does the program do, crash the machine,
or bomb out the program with a fatal error message?

And one observation (I hope I am right):
Track 15 is purely garbage unreadable *data* that cannot be read
by the program when it starts up.  Track 15 does not contain
part of the *executable program* (if it did, I supppose that MSDOS
would have just as much trouble reading it in).

By the way, your directions were very clear Mr X.  Keep up the
good documentation work. :->
-- 
FullName:	Dennis Bednar
UUCP:		{uunet|sundc}!rlgvax!dennis
USMail:		CCI; 11490 Commerce Park Dr.; Reston VA 22091
Telephone:	+1 703 648 3300