My Sega Saturn games are extremely old and getting really scratched up. Obviously I can't buy new ones to replace them if something goes to hell (and it will eventually). So I try backing them up, but the copies won't play.

Does anyone know how to make a working backup (using Clone CD or hell, any other copying program) short of buying a mod chip and doing some soldering?

STORAGE

• Double-Speed CD-ROM @ 320KB per second transfer speed
• Audio CD compatible
• CD+G compatible
• CD+EG compatible
• CD single (8cm CD) compatible
• Video CD
• Photo CD
• Electronic Books
• digital Karaoke (optional)
• Out of the box, the Sega Saturn plays standard ISO-9660 formatted CDs
  with software programmed for use with the Sega Saturn (regional code permitting).
• In addition, the Sega Saturn can play Music CDs (standard and 8cm singles) by way of full featured CD player contained in the system's firmware.
• There is also native support for CD-Gs and CD-EGs.
• Finally, the Saturn can also play VCDs with one of the optional video decoder cards added in. In the UK, there was also software sold that allowed Kodak Photo CDs to be viewed.

Go to this Section "9.7 Can I play CDR discs (copied games) on my Saturn?" in this FAQ

So from all of this, I gather that the Saturn discs use subchannel info; further they may or may not require a 96 byte read/write. So, what to do? Try karoke settings which is both subs on the read. On the write, leave "Don't repair..." unchecked.

From the Section in the FAQ I pointed you to, I gather that you'll still need a 'mod chip' or similar measure to actually play the backups. I hope this helps

Thanks for the detailed response- it confirmed some things I found and gave me some new answers too.

It makes me wonder: did the Saturn somehow end up with an effectively long-term copy protection program (as in, a CD that can't be exactly copied by a CD-burner), or did people just never put in the hours to really figure it out? Maybe those unfortunate people inventing stuff like SafeDisc should go speak to Sega....

My brother-in-law, in Sydney, has a Sega Saturn; I'll pick it up at Easter and start playing (yipee!) with things. I'll also get onto my friends (well, actually, they don't know me) here and see what they can do! I don't think it's media dependent, maybe just like PSX (without the LibCrypt) or Karaoke.

Stay in Touch (PM after Easter)