Hi, i'm planning on buying a cd-rw drive that can reliably burn Safedisc 4. (Game I have in mind if The Sims 2: University expansion) But before I buy, theres a few questions I need to ask. Any help would be appreciated.

1. I've heard that Safedisc 4 blacklists LiteOn drives. Is this true? Is it ALL Liteon drives (including dvd-rom)? What other brands does it blacklist? Does blacklisting mean the Liteon cannot run the cd, burn the cd, or make an image of the cd (or all?)

2. What programs does Safedisc 4 blacklist? Does it blacklist CloneCD, Alcohol 120% or Daemon Tools? If a program is blacklisted, does that mean I have to uninstall it or can I just turn it off?

3. What are the advantages of having a normal DVD-Rom to play and make images? I know that with a DVD-rom you won't need a ATIP hider, but i think the trouble of turning on a ATIP is worth paying $20 extra for a drive. Are dvd-roms able to make better images than cd-rw drives or something?

4. Speaking of dvd-roms, it seems that many people have the "ltd-166s." I tried looking for this drive on the Liteon website, but they don't list dvd-roms for some reason. On newegg, the only dvd-rom they sell is the SOHD-16P9s. Is that worse than the ltd-166s? If it is, whats the best dvd-rom to buy, or where can I find the ltd-166s? (I need something that can make an image of Safedisc 4, does anyone have problems making the image?)

5. What is the best Lite-on cd-rw to buy? Their latest model is the SOHD-5239s, but i hear they have a different interface or something that makes them worse than the LTR-52327s. Is that true?

6.Can Lite-on drives even burn Safedisc 4? I'm pretty sure the plex prem can, but i'd rather buy the lite-on because its cheaper.

Thanks to anyone that read or answered my questions. Your help is appreciated.

Also, are there any DVD burners that can burn Safedisc 4?

Hi liquidrain101,

1.I havent personally heard of SD blacklisting lite-on drives.
2.It blacklists all you listed. You can't fix blacklisting unless you modify and re-write the blacklisted portion of the program.
3.Lite-on DVD Rom drives are wicked for playing SD back-ups, but not for creating images from SD protected titles.
4.Have you tried looking on www.savastore.com? Thats if your UK, I bought my one from there.
5.The lite-on 523252 would be a good choice, if you insist on lite-on.
6.Plextor Premiums can, but the back-up doesnt really work in a lot of drives except for itself, lite-on dvd roms and others.

Try buying a shitty CD-RW Lite-ON DVD Rom drive, and playing your back-up, if you are only interested in CD SecuROM backups and SafeDisc backups.

HTH