Disc Dumping Guide (MPF)

From Redump Wiki

Latest revision as of 13:19, 11 August 2024

This dumping guide is for:

• Any CD format, including (but not limited to): console games, PC games, audio CDs and video CDs. Some CD-Rs with errors need extra steps (see: Dumping CD-Rs with Errors in the Last 2 Sectors).
• DVD based formats including: PlayStation 2, Xbox original, Xbox 360, PC games on DVD-Rom, DVD-Video. Incompatible discs include DVD-Audio.
• Blu-Ray / BD-Rom: PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X, and PlayStation 3 (partial, no decryption key extraction). BD-Video dumping is supported, but see also BD-Video Key Extraction. For BD-R dump with /avdp option.

For all other formats see Dumping Guides.

IMPORTANT: Compatible Disc Drive Requirement

Please note that submitting discs to Redump, whether these are new dumps or verifications, requires that a drive from the Compatible disc drive list is used. If you are uncertain about whether your drive is compatible or not, please check first - either post in the forums or, if you are a Discord user, join the Video Game Preservation Collective server and ask there.

Submissions made using drives not on the list are likely to be discarded as ineligible.

Tools

• Windows computer (MacOS/Linux users should follow the CLI guides).
• Compatible disc drive.
• Software:
  • Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable Update 3 RC
  • MPF disc-dumping app. (Download the "MPF_[version]-net8.0_[OS]_release.zip" file. Additional MPF info: main project page and MPF wiki)

IMPORTANT NOTE

MPF is a frontend for a number of disc dumping tools. At present the only included tools which can be used for redump submissions are:

• Redumper (required for Audio CDs and Hasbro VideoNow, and preferred for a number of other systems, latest acceptance table)
• DiscImageCreator (accepted for most disc types, but NOT Audio CDs)

While you can use MPF with Aaru for making personal backups of your discs, dumps made with Aaru cannot be accepted at this time.

Dumping

• In the MPF app folder, double click on MPF.exe to launch the app.
• If you already have a disc in a drive, or click the 'Scan for discs' button, MPF will attempt to classify the system/media and drive. But please review and correct if necessary.
• System/Media Type: Choose the system name for your disc, then media type if the system supports multiple media types .
• Output Path: This lists the path and filename for your dump. You can click Browse to change this, or rename the file directly in the text box.
• Drive Letter: This should automatically fill when a disc is in, but if you have multiple disc drives then select the one you wish to dump with.
• Drive Speed: You can leave the default speed. (Pro mode: Select the drive speed you wish to dump with).
• Dumping Program: For Audio CDs, select 'redumper.' For most other formats, you can leave the default option here.
• Parameters: You can leave this as is. (Pro mode: Add your desired command line / dumping parameters here).
• Start Dumping: Click this and your dump will begin! A separate window will pop-up displaying the progress of your dump. When the process is finished, the window will close and an 'Eject' dialog will appear informing you it is safe to eject the disc. Click OK and the Disc Information window appears, leading us to our next step, collecting information (below).

Additional Notes:

• If you have a redump account, you can go to Tools --> Options --> Login Info, and enter your redump login information here. What this will do, is check after a completed dump, to see if your dump matches one on the redump database. If it does, it will auto-populate some basic info to help with the information collection process and to indicate it is a verification.
• If your disc is new and not a verification, please do a second dump to confirm that the hashes match. There is a small possibility of errors in the initial dump not being caught.
• The "Scan for protection" option is just for checking if a PC disc has copy protection without dumping the disc. If you are dumping a disc, MPF will automatically scan for protection during the process, so you can usually ignore this button.
• If dumping a UHD/BD-XL disc (e.g. PS5) using UHD friendly drives (e.g. ASUS BW-16D1HT), the 'sleep bug' can be encountered during dumping with redumper. It is safe to eject and re-insert the disc during redumper's skeleton/hash steps if the drive makes unusual noises while idle.

Collecting Information about your Disc

• After your dump is complete, the next step is to fill in information about your disc in the 'Disc Information' window. There are many sections here, but not all of them are relevant for each disc. We'll cover below the required elements and most common ones.
• Common Info: This tab is for general information about your disc
  • Title: Enter the main title of the game or disc (ex: Final Fantasy VII)
  • Foreign Title (Non-Latin): If it is a non-USA or non-English disc, include that title here (ex: ファイナルファンタジーⅦ)
  • Disc Number / Letter: If part of a multi-disc set, include the disc number here (ex: 1, 2, 3, A, B, C)
  • Disc Title: If part of a multi-disc set, include the identifying disc title here (ex: Install Disc, Play Disc)
  • Category: Select the category that represents your disc/content (ex: Games, Demos, Audio, Video, etc.)
  • Region: Select the region for your disc (ex: USA, Japan, Europe, etc.)
  • Languages: (Optional) Select the actual playable languages available for the disc. Leave this empty if you haven't actually tested the languages, in-game.
  • Serial: Enter the serial/identification code on the disc label, if any (ex: SLPS 00700, SCUS 97472)
  • Barcode: Enter the numbers under the barcode (EAN/UPC/etc.), usually on the back cover. If multiple barcodes, enter each one separated by a comma. Enter exactly as printed on the item (ex: 7 22674 10017 5)
  • Version: (Optional) Some systems will auto-populate this. For PC games, enter the version number if you have confirmed in-game or on the disc (ex: 1.00, v2.2.5, etc.)
  • Edition: Enter the main release / edition for the game. If it is the standard original retail release, this would typically be "Original." Some other examples are Demo, Greatest Hits, Platinum, PlayStation 2 the Best, etc.

• Additional Info: This tab is for additional comments / ID numbers. Most are optional and/or don't apply to each disc. If your item has an ISBN or specific publisher ID (SEGA ID code, Konami ID, etc.) you can include it here.

• Contents: This tab is also optional. You can list the contents if you've verified them in the disc's content. For example, a list of demos on a compilation disc. Or a list of song titles on an audio disc.

• Ringcodes: This tab is for entering the ring code information, as presented physically on your disc. This information is usually on the data side of the disc near the center/hole. If you need assistance, please use the Ring Code Guide.

• Read-Only Info: This tab displays information automatically detected by the program. You do not have to enter anything here.

Once you have entered all the information about your disc, click the 'Accept' button and everything will be saved to a file in your dump's folder called !submissionInfo.txt, which you can use to submit your disc to redump.org!

Submitting Info to Redump.org database

Now that you've dumped your disc, it's time to gather the relevant information and make a submission to the redump database. Please first read the submission guidelines on the forum and note the following:

• New dumpers need to sign up on the forum here and wait for account approval
• For new discs, those with dumper status should always use the New Disc form, adding external links to their logs in the Comments box.
• New dumpers can submit initial dumps to the New Dumps forum page until they receive Dumper status.
• Verifications should always be submitted to the Verifications section of the forum

There are a number of pieces of information that should be gathered prior to making a submission. If posting on the forums, please ensure that the information is formatted according to the Submission Template.

Upload all output files along with your submission according to the table below. Output files should be zipped (.zip or .7z) for easier processing. They can be included as an attachment to forum submissions, or as a download link (Google Drive, Dropbox, mega.nz, etc). If you are submitting a new disc through the new disc form, you can add a link to the logs in the 'comments' section of your submission. Do not upload logs to a site which: restricts number/size of downloads per day; requires creation of a user account to download; deletes files after a certain length of time.

Optionally, include scans of your media, especially in cases where ringcodes were difficult to read. This may help moderators validate or fix any incorrect information. THIS IS ENTIRELY OPTIONAL AND IS NOT REQUIRED FOR SUBMISSION

If you are using the new disc form, you can try using this script to fill out the form if you prefer entering your dump information in the MPF program, saving time. Make sure that "Output submission JSON" is turned on in MPF's settings, fill out the information after the dump is done, then decompress the submission .gz file and copy and paste the information to the large box that is now on the top of the new disc form.

If you have any questions about the process or need assistance, please reach out in the forum or in the Discord Server (VGPC).

Note: If using CLI tools directly, using MPF.Check can greatly assist with gathering submission info. See [1] for how to use it.

See Also

• Troubleshooting Problematic Discs
• MDF/MDS Dumping Guide (Non-Redump)