How to convert IPF to ADF?

[caius]

Hi all,excuse for the disturb..I have used this script (under WinUAE
1.1.1 and AIAB) and the ADFs I get don't work(always under emulation).For
example first disk of Xenon II converted from IPF to ADF with this script
boots regularly then it stops before title screen

I use this script :

requestfile >env:infile drawer="(put your path to dir with IPFs)"
title="select IPF file to convert" noicons pattern=#?.IPF
requestfile >env:outfile drawer="(put your path to dir with ADFs)"
title="select where to save ADF" noicons
WWARP T:Temp.wwp C Import=$infile Force
WWARP T:Temp.wwp G * $outfile
delete T:Temp.wwp

Any idea?Maybe this procedue works only on real Amiga and not under emulation
?

[bippym]

the IPF's have the original Copy Protection intact.. You CANNOT conert to an ADF without removing the protection (and to do that you'll need to learn how to crack/program)

[caius]

But I use WWarp which should decode the protected tracks or not?

[Mad-Matt]

Im sure i asked before, what are you trying to achieve with converting? wwarp isnt an one disk ripping/cracking tool. Unless the ipf is a basic amigados disk, the resulting adf isnt going to be of any use at all as the important bits are stripped away.

[fiath]

Yep, exactly. Basically any types of protection will break, which is a huge number of Amiga games, certainly the vast majority. Any slight variation in disk format will fail, any density protection will fail, any flakey bit protection will fail, any geometry check will fail, any encoding variation will fail... I probably forgot a few too.

I am interested though, what is the point?

[IFW]

Xenon 2 uses Copylock which is a density based protection, therefore it will fail. The one disk version uses Speedlock which will fail even more not to mention not on an ados disk anymore ;)

[whiteb]

But I use WWarp which should decode the protected tracks or not?

nope.

its not just a matter of "Decoding" the encoded tracks, the game has to be "Told" not to check for the protection, which turns off the protection routines.

Mostly, this is done by WHDLOAD, but thats not an ADF. All the versions of games on ADF, were either games that had NO protection on disk (like FA-18 interceptor), or "Cracked" meaning the games were altered from original to not check for on disk protection.

As previously stated, IPF format was made to preserve the original disk in its original mastering state, which means Protection schemes intact.

[caius]

Can i use Maverick or other cracking/protection removal-copier to obtain ADFs from IPFs CAPS games??If yes,the ADF obtained would not be a perfect copy of original?

In few words,can I obtain a PERFECT copy (in ADF format) of original IPFs CAPS games?Or better, is it possible to replicate the custom protection of an original IPF CAPS games?
Thanks

[dlfrsilver]

Yes maverick can deprotect some games in CAPS under winuae ^^. Or better use
it on real disks on a real amiga ^^.

[caius]

On the WWARP documentation I found this,what does it mean?Is it applicable also on IPF of CAPS?Could someone explain me better particularly about sync and write lenght?



--------------------------------------------------------------
to write back an image:
for that are usually multiple steps necessary because you have to say WWarp
how to write back the track data.
first step:
'wwarp filename f' - that command forces WWarp to try to decode all
tracks, thats recommended because WWarp by default saves standard AmigaDos
tracks in decoded format only if the mfm data is absolutely clean. most
format programs are weak in their job, e.g. formatting not the full track
to save some miliseconds or do not init the sector headers correctly.
because such differences could be used as a copy protection WWarp saves
such tracks as raw by default. anyway usually you can use the F(orce)
command to ignore such specials.
second step:
'wwarp filename y 2-159 9521000044&ffff0000ff' - set the sync, that must
be done for all tracks which are not detected as a supported format by
WWarp. WWarp needs that information to know where the track data starts.
You should make sure that the specified sync is only one time contained
on the track, otherwise WWarp may start on the wrong sector. If the disk
format uses multiple sectores you have to set the sync that it refers the
first sector after the inter sector gap. For example if you would like to
write back a standard AmigaDOS track (which is unnecessary because WWarp
knows that format ;-) you had to use:
448944895500000555000001&ffffffffff000055ff000055
third step:
'wwarp filename l 2-159 $3050' - set the write length, that step is optional
but recommended, WWarp needs that information to know how many bytes must
be written to the disk. when writing WWarp will check if your drive is
capable of writing the requested amount of bytes, e.g. it will say you if
you try to write a long track on a normal drive
if you don't set the length WWarp will write as much bytes as possible
depending on the drive speed
forth step:
'wwarp filename w' - that will write back the tracks to disk, if you have
prepared the wwarp file correctly and there are no specials preventing the
write back operation you will have another duplicate of your original and
saved this piece of software history for your sons and daughters ;)

* to check if the right sync has been set use:
wwarp filename d 2-159 ,,32
which will display the first 32 mfm bytes of the selected tracks, you will
also see if the sync has been found and if its present multiple times

* if a disk is very weak and you have problems to warp it increase the
RetryCnt, for example use:
wwarp filename c 10-14*2 RetryCnt=50
get some coffee, watch some tv and after that maybe wwarp could read the
tracks after several retries

* when WWarp detects the Rob Northen 12 sector format it also calculates the
lower 31 bit of the DiskKey (bit #31 cannot be calculated, but seems to be
most time zero, in the warp file that bit is always set!), this key is saved
in front of the decoded track data in the warp file, to see it just use the
(I)nfo command
wwarp removes the gap between the sectors when writing the format back, that
makes it possible to write also the long track variants of the format on
standard disk drives

Using High-Density Floppy+Disk
------------------------------

There is some support for using HD disks. There are several limitations but it
may be useful under some conditions.

* WWarp will automatically detect if there is an HD floppy in a HD drive and
some operations will be performed slightly different

* the following applies to standard AmigaDOS tracks: a track on a HD is not
$1600 but $2c00 bytes in length, that requires some work arounds, WWarp will
still write $1600 for each track but with the offset as it would be a DD
disk, that means that track #1 will be physically located on the second half
of track #0, tracks in std format will not be written using TD_FORMAT but
TD_WRITE, as result the tracks must be formatted correctly before
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

[Mad-Matt]

The question still remains, why the need for conversion ?

[caius]

Because I have an old Amiga 500 and I would have original games,I'm a pure..Anyway I tried Maverick V2.00 on the ADF obtained (through WWarp) from the IPF CAPS of Double Dragon II (version ECS) and it doesn't work on my Amiga 500..

[Mad-Matt]

It wont be Original if youve had to crack it so the only difference would be the cracktro, A purrist would also buy the game to have the Original copies ;)

Still, i think the procedure isnt possible for the most part. Upgrade the a500 with new kick roms and a harddrive, more memory and use whd versions. Near as damn it to pure, without waiting for floppies to boot.

[Chuckles]

You might be able to use Maverick or one of the other copy programs to create an ADF from an IPF of some games that could be transferred to an A500 successfully, but your success rate will be rather "hit and miss" I'm afraid. Don't use WWarp though to try to create an ADF and then use Maverick on that (most likely non-working) copy. In WinUAE, simply insert the IPF and use Maverick to make a copy directly from the ADF. If the copy process completes without error, then see if the resulting ADF works with WinUAE. Only if that works would I try to transfer the ADF to a real Amiga disk.

[bippym]

Personally if you I owned the original and didn't want to use it I'd get hold of a cracked copy!

As Mad-Matt says, it is basically the same thing anyway!

[Chuckles]

Of course if we were really talking about originals, then we wouldn't be talking about IPF's. And until such time as a solution may be developed to allow remastering to be done from an IPF, no disk produced indirectly from an IPF will be a good match for an original. Given that, a cracked copy is a perfectly good alternative.

[StarEye]

As long as it's properly cracked and completable.

[dlfrsilver]

for this look at www.flashtro.com ^^. tutos to make proper cracks of original games.

[Overdoc]

There exist some SPS images of games which don't have a disk-protection, but are only manual protected in a way that you have to enter a word from the manual at some point in the game.
Also I think some games which came on more than 1 disk only had disk-protection on the first disk, whereas disk 2, 3 and so on are normal 80 track Amiga disks.

My question is does any tool exist to convert these from IPF to ADF, or directly write these IPF images back to a real Amiga disk ?
Since there is no disk-protection it should at least theoretically be possible, wouldn't it ?

[dlfrsilver]

if there's no protection on disk, ok. If there is any physical prot on disk, then it won't work.

Any games with an off disk prot like manual prot and so on then you'll be able to create
adf of these games.

[jotd]

There exist some SPS images of games which don't have a disk-protection, but are only manual protected in a way that you have to enter a word from the manual at some point in the game.
Also I think some games which came on more than 1 disk only had disk-protection on the first disk, whereas disk 2, 3 and so on are normal 80 track Amiga disks.

My question is does any tool exist to convert these from IPF to ADF, or directly write these IPF images back to a real Amiga disk ?
Since there is no disk-protection it should at least theoretically be possible, wouldn't it ?

Ok, there's no general answer but I think I can reply to some questions and make a mini FAQ:

WinUAE: mount IPF file(s) and use lockpick/maverick to create ADFs or extended ADFs.
* standard ADF (manual protection removed), any amiga can write the diskimage back to disk if you manage to transfer the data to a real amiga.
* MFM/extended ADF: as lockpick and maverick used to write back to floppy, you can wwarp the written extended ADFs to a .wwp file, and write them back to floppy using an amiga and WWarp

Real Amiga: use mfm2wwarp to convert the files to .wwp format, then use wwarp f option to force decoding of known formats. If the tracks can be decoded, then wwarp is able to write back the data to a floppy disk, even if the disk has some protection (when the format is supported, examples: standard DOS, RN PDOS, Gremlin ...).
Be careful, some games like Virocop or Fire & Ice will decode in DOS but should not be processed with "f" option because the header is not DOS. Decoding will prevent the loader to work. Not decoding is OK.
If the format is not supported, depending on the track length and your floppy drive (High density is better) you may be able to write back the data to disk.
If the disk is dos except for track 1, then it's very likely that the disk is protected by RN copylock. Maybe Lockpick or Maverick can help in those cases.

hope it helps.

[dlfrsilver]

Anyone can post lockpick ? I had it but no more actually.

[Mrk]

Anyone can post lockpick ? I had it but no more actually.

Have just posted it to the Zone!;)

[Wepl]

for games which are in standard dos format (manual protection, etc.) you can also use the tool tw2adf from the trackwarp package (http://whdload.de/whdload/).
this is faster/simpler than the way via wwarp...

[_ThEcRoW]

Is possible to write back to disk a CAPS image with the catweasel??
I'm very interested in that option.

[whiteb]

That option apparently is "Most likely" in Catweisel MK4, but the SPS team cant make it happen, until they get a unit to work with from Jens (Something he promised them apparently), so until then, probably not.

[Interceptor]

That option apparently is "Most likely" in Catweisel MK4, but the SPS team cant make it happen, until they get a unit to work with from Jens (Something he promised them apparently), so until then, probably not.

That statement reads like we wont support Mk4 until we get a freebie, this is NOT the case. we have had other people offer to send us their MK4 for long term use, and we've refused....the story is:

Jens HAS offered to send us a MK4 board, with MK4 firmware and drivers. currently the MK4 board ships with MK3 firmware, and MK3 drivers. therefore Jens simply cannot supply what he offered yet.

the current board with it's MK3 firmware and drivers does not do what we'd need it to do and therefore, as much as we would like to, we cannot support it.

you'll also find this is the same issue that prevents support being added in WINUAE too.

in short, it's not yet ready, we dont know if or when it ever will be and it's not in our hands.

hopefully that clears this up :)

[whiteb]

it does, yes:agree

[stainy]

That statement reads like we wont support Mk4 until we get a freebie, this is NOT the case. we have had other people offer to send us their MK4 for long term use, and we've refused....the story is:

Jens HAS offered to send us a MK4 board, with MK4 firmware and drivers. currently the MK4 board ships with MK3 firmware, and MK3 drivers. therefore Jens simply cannot supply what he offered yet.

the current board with it's MK3 firmware and drivers does not do what we'd need it to do and therefore, as much as we would like to, we cannot support it.

you'll also find this is the same issue that prevents support being added in WINUAE too.

in short, it's not yet ready, we dont know if or when it ever will be and it's not in our hands.

hopefully that clears this up :)


Tell me about it :( only thing it does is C64 SID stuff... everything else is a bit shoddy!

[Interceptor]

well, it's important this thread doesnt turn into a product bashing thread.

i've just stated how the current CW Mk4 stands regarding SPS image support :)

[andreas]

WinUAE: mount IPF file(s) and use lockpick/maverick to create ADFs or extended ADFs.
Use them *TO* create ADFs, how do you think this could be possible? :confused
So you have an IPF image in the virtual disk drive of WinUAE. Now you use lockpick on that disk image. This will MODIFY the disk image. But IPFs are read-only (by design!).
Maybe you mean "rescuing" the temporary save image from WinUAE from being deleted, having this as your "target" ADF? :confused

[Chuckles]

Lockpick copies from one drive to another, therefore whether the source (IPF) image is write protected or not is irrelevant. What matters is what is written to the target (ADF) image. Sometimes it produces a usable ADF, and sometimes it does not but the process itself is pretty straight forward.

[andreas]

Haven't used Lockpick for ages then. :banghead
Thought it would just support ONE previously created, protected copy of an original and then start fiddling on it.

[dlfrsilver]

you can for example create an unprotected version of awesome in dos format
with the intro disk and easily copiable ^^

[Chuckles]

Haven't used Lockpick for ages then. :banghead
Thought it would just support ONE previously created, protected copy of an original and then start fiddling on it.

You may be thinking of FreeCopy (available in the Fish collection) or something along those lines. FreeCopy does work in that manner, and others may as well, but I'm not sure which others those would be.

[Olecranon]

It wont be Original if youve had to crack it so the only difference would be the cracktro, A purrist would also buy the game to have the Original copies ;)

Still, i think the procedure isnt possible for the most part. Upgrade the a500 with new kick roms and a harddrive, more memory and use whd versions. Near as damn it to pure, without waiting for floppies to boot.

I think your living in 1990 Mad-Matt :p Buying the games is simply not an option for the most part. Sure you can grab some games off Ebay but these titles are 10-20 years old and subject to the same bit rot that SPS is trying to protect against. Nevermind the fact that alot of Amiga floppy disk drives recently had their 20th birthday and probably do a better job of wrecking floppies than they do reading them.

[Tony Landais]

back to 1991 I had a copier from powercomputing (I think) and it was called "blitz copier". I beleive several interfaces were made anyway so would it be possible to mount an IPF image on amiga and copy it via those "hard copier" interfaces ?

IF it s a REALLY stupid question just ignore me :D

[fiath]

I had one of those. :)

Devices like that cannot be used because the rely on tight synchronisation of two real drives. Although it might be possible to emulate the effects though some intermediate hardware, the copies would not be very good anyway:

http://www.softpres.org/?id=glossary:hardware_copier&s=hardware