Re: [linuxdc-dev]Burning bootable CD

[<edd...@wa...>]

M. R. Brown wrote:

[snip]

> Yes you can.  What do you think the distributed IP.BIN files contain?  They
> contain standard Sega boot code - used by all Dreamcast software.
> 
> The only dependancy between IP.BIN and 1ST_READ.BIN (or whatever you decide
> to call it) is the boot filename - it must name an existing file.  It doesn't
> matter what you call it as long as it exists.
> 
> See http://mc.pp.se/dc/ip.bin.html and http://mc.pp.se/dc/ip0000.bin.html
> for further clarification (you can also get an utility from this site to
> create custom IP.BIN files).


And what do you call the areas "bootstrap 1" and "bootstrap 2"? Standard 
boot code? No way! As MC says:
"...this code can be modified. The default implementation sets up a few 
hardware registers and then transfers control to Bootstrap 2. ... Like 
Bootstrap 1, it can be modified. The default implementation sets up the 
CPU stack, the VBR, disables the cache, and transfers control to the 
1ST_READ.BIN."

As far as I can understand, there is a *default* implementation, not a 
*standard* one. I believe (from my own experiments) that games using 
different APIs (as in Sega opposed to WinCE) use different IP.BIN, but 
that should not be taken as proved.

> Um, nonstandard?  DC bootable CDRs are composed of 1 or more Red Book CDDA
> audio tracks and 1 Yellow Book CD-XA track.  How is this nonstandard?  Your
> "enhanced" Doobie Brothers CD is in the same format.  Older and crippled CD
> burners (i.e. Sony) don't support CD-XA in hardware, but any modern burner
> should.
> 
> M. R.
> 


Having a boot sector in the beginning of the second track, and not of 
the CD, is not a common thing. Therefore, most CD authoring software 
don't do it correctly, which leads to weird manipulations. We're not 
talking odd hardware problems, we're talking general use of software. If 
it was so straightforward, it would'nt be so long and complicated to 
burn such a CD.

Moreover, do you really believe that Sega would sell a console with no 
media protection? As advertised in one of their presentations, this 
implementation provides some sort of protection for the non-literate 
people, unable with standard software (at the time) to do a perfect copy.


Regards
/Dantes