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The Ripping Thread - How to build your own legit retro ROM library.
- Thread starter Seik
- Start date
Tal Shiar Agent
Member
Excuse me if this question crosses the line, but what is the practical and moral difference between downloading a rom of a game you own and making a backup yourself? Is there a legal distinction between them?
industrian
will gently cradle you as time slowly ticks away.
NINTENDO GAMECUBE/WII
This time I will let GAF handle it, because we already have a very detailed and helpful tutorial for these ones. Please look into this.
As for Gamecube games, after your Wii is homebrewed, you can download Cleanrip which will rip the ISO on your USB dongle just like USB-Loader does.
You can find Cleanrip here: https://code.google.com/archive/p/cleanrip/downloads
Find a GDR-8164B on ebay for around $5 and use Rawdump 2.1. It will rip GC and Wii discs without needing a Wii. The only "downside" being that you'll either need a motherboard with IDE or a suitable adapter.
Movalpolos
Banned
Very informative.
Thanks for taking the time to write this up.
Thanks for taking the time to write this up.
ThatsMytrunks
Member
The moral and legal conversation is one for another time. But the practicality is easier to discuss.
Backing up your carts and putting them in storage is a decent way to save space and keep your originals well preserved.
When you rip most carts, you can also rip the save file. At least, with the Retrode you can. It's nice to get your old save files from childhood and keep them backed up.
My take on it is that this file wouldn't exist if it wasn't for me creating it out of it's physical media, therefore I can feel free to use it anyway I want to, as long as I do not distribute it. This gets me to play my cartridge of, like pictured for example, DKC2 on my PC, cellphone, tablet, PSP, Rapsberry Pi and most of all, my SNES. :lol
Getting my whole library digital was a project I had since I started collecting because it has always fascinated me that you could play console games on PC ever since I discovered emulation, like how people obtained the ROMs back then, which is way more easier today. Not only these are all literally my own ROMs but it also gives me a feeling of being as legit as I can be with the domain of emulation I love so much.
I also love to back up disc games (especially the pricy Saturn ones) to not have to use any discs and risk scratching one, except during the ripping process.
industrian
will gently cradle you as time slowly ticks away.
If you can't find an SD card adapter on ebay I'll let you borrow mine if you will pay shipping fees and promise to return it.
I really really wish there was an optical drive that could read GD-ROMs. There's nothing worse than attempting to rip a DC ISO and then you find halfway through that the disc is fucked. Quite simply because you can't "repair" GD-ROMs like CDs or DVDs - it just destroys the disc completely if you attempt it.
sixteen-bit
Member
Great thread Seik. Subbed.
superNESjoe
Member
Subbing for sure. Great thread!
chrominance
Member
Thanks for this thread, I was casting about for info on how to dump DS games and this seems like a good place to collect that info.
There seem to be other ways to dump DS carts but they all seem to require a DS or DS Lite--no DSi, no 3DS. Too bad the SMS4 is so hard to get.
There seem to be other ways to dump DS carts but they all seem to require a DS or DS Lite--no DSi, no 3DS. Too bad the SMS4 is so hard to get.
You're welcome!
And yeah, I think that involves having an R4, which isn't easy to get either.I tried that at first and then discovered that my internet's Wi-Fi signal was too high for the DS Lite to detect it, because iirc it involved ripping the cartridge over the Wi-Fi. So I went with that solution instead, SMS4 is also very much quicker than the Wi-Fi option..
Danny Dudekisser
I paid good money for this Dynex!
Hey, this is useful stuff. Thumbs up, Seik.
I remember back in 2001, I was totally going to rip my whole DC library to my computer using the coder's cable. That thing seriously takes like an entire day to rip one disc.
I remember back in 2001, I was totally going to rip my whole DC library to my computer using the coder's cable. That thing seriously takes like an entire day to rip one disc.
You missed out the easiest way to rip GBA games.
All you need is a DS Phat or Lite and a cheap DS flashcart (an R4 will do).
Put this app onto your SD card: http://gamebrew.org/wiki/GBA_exploader
Tada. Now you can dump your gba games and save files to the SD card to be used as ROMs on any emulator or other device.
Also, Game Boy/color games can be ripped with a N64 Transfer Pak.
All you need is a DS Phat or Lite and a cheap DS flashcart (an R4 will do).
Put this app onto your SD card: http://gamebrew.org/wiki/GBA_exploader
Tada. Now you can dump your gba games and save files to the SD card to be used as ROMs on any emulator or other device.
Also, Game Boy/color games can be ripped with a N64 Transfer Pak.
I own several CPS II boards.
One of them has a pheonix rom on it, another has a decrypted rom on it. I supose they are technically bootlegs?
Anyway, if I wanted to play one of my battery boards on my Mac, technically I couldn't download any old equivalent rom off the interwebs, because they are based on specific dated builds. And if I really wanted to dump the speciic rom on one of my battery boards, it would suicide the board.
So what is my solution for my battery CPS II boards?
As a side note, if it it wasn't for Razoola and L_Oliveira, MottZilla and idc/Team Avalaunch, there would be a lot less CPS II hardware in cabs.
Also praise Darksoft for freeing CPS III and in so doing resurrecting a tonne of dead CPS III hardare!
Examples of private modders picking up the pieces CAPCOM left behind.
One of them has a pheonix rom on it, another has a decrypted rom on it. I supose they are technically bootlegs?
Anyway, if I wanted to play one of my battery boards on my Mac, technically I couldn't download any old equivalent rom off the interwebs, because they are based on specific dated builds. And if I really wanted to dump the speciic rom on one of my battery boards, it would suicide the board.
So what is my solution for my battery CPS II boards?
As a side note, if it it wasn't for Razoola and L_Oliveira, MottZilla and idc/Team Avalaunch, there would be a lot less CPS II hardware in cabs.
Also praise Darksoft for freeing CPS III and in so doing resurrecting a tonne of dead CPS III hardare!
Examples of private modders picking up the pieces CAPCOM left behind.
It's kind of nice for when someone makes a brand-new Famicom game or whatever (like the 8-bit Music Power release a few months ago).
Might be worth mentioning the RetroFreak, too, as that will rip cartridges nicely for the consoles it supports, although it's very expensive if you're just getting it for that.
Might be worth mentioning the RetroFreak, too, as that will rip cartridges nicely for the consoles it supports, although it's very expensive if you're just getting it for that.
Explain this sorcery.
Nice, I can eventually rip xenoblade and both halves of tales of symphonia and enjoy them in dolphin in 1080p
The Lone Courier
Member
Thanks for this.
ThreePiMatt
Member
I have a Retrode and (if I actually used it with any frequency) I like the idea of running things directly off the cart. I think someone had made an NES plugin for it, not something you can buy, but he posted like the circuit diagram so you'd have to get someone to print out the PCB and then solder other connectors on it. It'd be nice to have something for the NES that can read a cart like a removable drive.
I didn't look into it, but maybe the OP could add instructions for ripping ROMs from PC collections, like the Sega and Neo Geo classics on Steam? I also think you can rip ROMs from Virtual Console on Wii, so that's another way to legally acquire these games without resorting to eBay (even better because people actually get paid this way).
There are instructions for the Sega Genesis Classics Collection on PCGamingWiki. I'll just copy/paste them below:
Run in Other Emulators
Extract *.pak files with QuickBMS
- Download QuickBMS.
- Download the Sega Classics script (further down the page).
- Run QuickBMS and choose the Sega Classics script.
- Choose the installation folder containing the *.pak files.
- Choose the folder to save extracted ROMs to.
- QuickBMS will now extract the ROMs. Press ↵ Enter when done to exit QuickBMS.
- The ROMs are now extracted and named appropriately, ready for use with a different emulator.
Thanks a bunch for this, will add this to the OP tomorrow once I'm on a decent CPU!
I know it's possible to extract Wiiwares, but I'm not aware of the methods, that's why I didn't add it here, any reliable tutorial I could add here tomorrow?
This I never heard of though, please explain.
Dreams-Visions
Member
If I still had all of those old carts, I'd surely do this. But I don't.
So what are the legal/ethical consequences on downloading ROMs of games you owned?
So what are the legal/ethical consequences on downloading ROMs of games you owned?
8-Bit Sunset
Banned
It is a super grey area, but the way I see it, as long as it is not recent stuff and usually more than say 10 (minimum) years old then I don't see it as bad. There are plenty of ROM sites out there in plain sight and have been there for years and never shut down.
Half of the roms would be lost to time or in the hands of collectors only never to see the light of day.
Through roms and emulation they can live on forever!
Trouble is people abuse this and try to make money off of ROM sets etc... that is wrong.
Danny Dudekisser
I paid good money for this Dynex!
Used to own, but don't anymore? Obviously, that's piracy.
Technically speaking, you're not supposed to download roms even for games you currently own. I forget which section of the DMCA it is (17 USC 1201, maybe?), but yeah.
Thanks a bunch for this, will add this to the OP tomorrow once I'm on a decent CPU!
I know it's possible to extract Wiiwares, but I'm not aware of the methods, that's why I didn't add it here, any reliable tutorial I could add here tomorrow?
This I never heard of though, please explain.
well, first off you need an everdrive 64. That's quite a big hurdle...but still:
http://micro-64.com/features/gbromdumping.shtml
It's how I dumped all of my GB/GBC games.
well, first off you need an everdrive 64. That's quite a big hurdle...but still:
http://micro-64.com/features/gbromdumping.shtml
It's how I dumped all of my GB/GBC games.
Very impressive, glad to know this!
Thanks a lot for sharing, I'll definitely add it to the OP!
This is for this kind of stuff I made this thread!
Allnamestakenlol
Member
Awesome thread. Thank you for this, seriously!
nkarafo
Member
But there's isn't much difference in downloading a game you own instead of dumping it yourself. You end up with the same file, the only difference it the method. Not all people can dump their own games.
Pre-dumped ROMS can also be useful in other ways. For instance, someone may have a collection of PAL games. Most PAL versions of console games are junk and not everyone has monitors that support 50hz anymore, even in Europe. I don't see anything wrong with someone downloading a NTSC version of his PAL game so it can be properly displayed.
Practically speaking, none in most cases.
Morally speaking, these are yours and come from a trusted source.
Legally is the interesting part. Copyright laws for the most part regulate how a work can be published or broadcast or distributed. The author, or the rights owner, is the only person who can decide if, when and how their work is distributed. By their work I mean their original work: their words, their pictures, their data. What people do with the copies they have acquired from them is out of their reach. The author have rights over the words in the book, not the book object itself. As such, a book owner can read it, burn it, shit on it, resell it, without approval of the author. A book owner however cannot make copies of it to give or sell to other people, as that is the sole prerogative of the author.
Which means, for our ROMs, that you are allowed to make a copy of your stuff and do whatever it pleases you with it: patch, disassembly, wallpaper, anything you want to do for your personal use. What you are not allowed, however, is to give the backup to other people, even for free. Whether or not the recipient also owns a copy of it doesn't matter in the slightest: I can't give you my fresh E-SWAT rom, even if we both own a copy of the game.
Downloading is also illegal in this sense: even if morally you could have a point if you own the original cartridge but lack the hardware to dump it, the person who gave you the ROM is distributing it without the consent of the author. If the author doesn't consent to this mean of distribution, then it is illegal. The person distributing is stealing the author, and by extension the person downloading is receiving stolen goods, which is also illegal.
[edit] Personal use is not so personal. It has been ruled that you can share the things you do with your copy with your close family, the people living under your roof, or your close friends. Whether this distribution is akin to personal use or not is left to the appreciation of a judge. You can give a copy of your stuff to your best friend, or duplicate a dvd so that your children can watch it in their room, etc. It could be argued that sending a ROM in a PM to a forum friend is personal use. Making a post with a public link to it, however, is not.
Can't you just use Poweraves or whatever for raising Pokemon on real hardware?
chrominance
Member
Funny enough, the reason I started looking into DS cart dumping was the exact opposite: I wanted to play a pristine copy of Infinite Space, and there's no way to get rid of the save data on the cart. I thought initially that maybe someone had figured out how to hack the cart data to remove the database stuff, or that maybe one of the emulators could do it. Now that I have a new NTSC copy coming to supplant my used PAL copy, though, my thoughts turn to dumping the new cart and playing that on an emulator instead so as to save my cart from being "tainted."
Last I remember, you needed a BIOS dump from your PS2 to run PCSX2. Dunno if that's still the case, though.
joecanada
Member
....yeah that's what I meant.
Of course, you'll need the emulator, which in that case is PCSX2.
You'll need to obtain your PS2's bios file as well, but the topic here is more about extracting the games than how to play them.
Here a link for the PCSX2 thread though, the method to get a BIOS is there as well.
http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=427321
A good resource to dump CD games is http://redump.org/. They have rules to make perfect dumps, dumps that would be completely identical to the original if they were to be burnt on a CD again. They also have a big database documenting previous dumps so that you can compare yours to theirs to be sure you did it right.
Danny Dudekisser
I paid good money for this Dynex!
I understand -- I'm just saying that in the US, at least, that's the law's position on it.
theSlacker
Member
Subbed thread time.
Wowfunhappy
Member
In addition to what Khaz and others have said, by downloading ROMS you are supporting shady websites who make money off of other people's work (a majority of users download games they DON'T own, remember).
****
As others have said, the easiest method for legally obtaining roms of early Nintendo games is by ripping Wii VC titles. You can do so with this wonderful program.