Author Topic: Cloning Compact Flash for Backup Purposes (Read 5627 times)

Slotman · « **on:** November 13, 2021, 10:05:56 AM »

Let me preface by saying I do not condone copyright infringement nor am I inquiring about copying software but backup of licensed software.

Has anyone successfully cloned their CF card and created a backup?

This would be software that requires a dongle so it is purely a backup for disaster purposes?

Back when CDS gaming was around I would clone the HDD to a bootable CF just for longevity not knowing how long the HDD would last and it was a byte by byte backup and worked very well.

I am wondering about backing up software for WMS / Aruze / Bally. Has anyone had good luck?

I have some very unique games and they could never be replaced if a CF was corrupted.

CommTech · « **Reply #1 on:** November 13, 2021, 10:16:10 AM »

I am in the same boat. I also have some CF cards for my Bally S9000 that I need to backup. I believe they are Linux based so I don't believe that they can be duplicated using Windows.

Slotman · « **Reply #2 on:** November 13, 2021, 10:44:42 AM »

Quote from: CommTech on November 13, 2021, 10:16:10 AM

I am in the same boat. I also have some CF cards for my Bally S9000 that I need to backup. I believe they are Linux based so I don't believe that they can be duplicated using Windows.

Doing a byte by byte backup disregards any OS and just sees bytes. I didnt know if there was some type of safeguard or protection that if i stuck this in a CF reader it would invalidate the card

CommTech · « **Reply #3 on:** November 13, 2021, 11:13:13 AM »

I understand byte by byte copy disregards the O.S., but in order for windows to recognize the CF card to copy, it would need to be formatted with a file system that windows recognizes... Unless you have a cloaner that is not Windows based. I would not think that attempting a read on the CF card would corrupt it, but I could not say that for sure. I can tell you I did try using Windows to read the CF Card and Windows could not see the card. The card still worked after the attempt.

Tilt · « **Reply #4 on:** November 13, 2021, 11:15:02 AM »

I use Self image or Recovery Manager. They're both old programs, but they're free and they work.

https://download.cnet.com/VaioSoft-Recovery-Manager/3000-2094_4-10286449.html

https://selfimage.en.softonic.com/

CommTech · « **Reply #5 on:** November 13, 2021, 11:17:08 AM »

Thanks Tilt!

Slotman · « **Reply #6 on:** November 13, 2021, 11:29:23 AM »

Quote from: Tilt on November 13, 2021, 11:15:02 AM

I use Self image or Recovery Manager. They're both old programs, but they're free and they work.

https://download.cnet.com/VaioSoft-Recovery-Manager/3000-2094_4-10286449.html

https://selfimage.en.softonic.com/

Thank you Tilt. Would you mind sharing the equipment / adapters you use? Have you ever had a card become non usable after? Its just scary the first time.

Sunrise Side · « **Reply #7 on:** November 13, 2021, 11:37:30 AM »

AC Coin slots CF has not worked for backup.

Tilt · « **Reply #8 on:** November 13, 2021, 11:56:49 AM »

My desktop has a built in CF/SD card reader so I normally use that, but I have also used a USB to CF/SD adapter. I suggest practicing with a Clear card or something easily replaceable just in case you make a mistake. The software (especially Selfimage, selecting the right drive/partition) isn't the most user friendly.

I've never had a problem backing up or restoring Bally software with it (I don't have a WMS machine), but it should work fine too.

The only thing I've messed up with the software as Sunrise Side alluded to was one of his AC coin smartmedia cards. I tried to make a backup copy of it using a USB to smartmedia adapter and it didn't work after that, neither did the file it made.

Slotman · « **Reply #9 on:** November 13, 2021, 12:02:37 PM »

Quote from: Tilt on November 13, 2021, 11:56:49 AM

My desktop has a built in CF/SD card reader so I normally use that, but I have also used a USB to CF/SD adapter. I suggest practicing with a Clear card or something easily replaceable just in case you make a mistake. The software (especially Selfimage, selecting the right drive/partition) isn't the most user friendly.

I've never had a problem backing up or restoring Bally software with it (I don't have a WMS machine), but it should work fine too.

The only thing I've messed up with the software as Sunrise Side alluded to was one of his AC coin smartmedia cards. I tried to make a backup copy of it using a USB to smartmedia adapter and it didn't work after that, neither did the file it made.

Wonderful, thank you very much.

Tilt · « **Reply #10 on:** November 13, 2021, 12:23:02 PM »

The CF cards used in Bally/WMSs are industrial grade and have a slightly different capacity than commercial photo type CF cards. Stick with Wintec or Cisco CF cards and you shouldn't have any problems. You won't be able to write a backed up file to a commercial CF card due to the difference in capacity.

Slotman · « **Reply #11 on:** November 13, 2021, 12:37:54 PM »

hemiroid · « **Reply #12 on:** November 13, 2021, 02:06:03 PM »

I believe that you do not want to put a CF card in a Windows 10 computer...

gameking6 · « **Reply #13 on:** November 13, 2021, 06:33:35 PM »

There is no reason why you can't use Compact Flash in a Windows 10 machine. The CF Interface is basically a Parallel ATA interface and common to many types of memory.

The laneman · « **Reply #14 on:** November 13, 2021, 07:00:11 PM »

Has to be windows 7 or before.

Gameking 6 if you dont think windows 10 wont kill kill your cf card try coping a wms bb2 file using win 10 to a cf card and watch what happens.

gameking6 · « **Reply #15 on:** November 14, 2021, 10:34:50 AM »

The issue has to be with the wms bb2 file or even the type of CF being used. Since you can natively copy/read/format Compact flash on a Windows 10 machine. You can also copy/read/format Compact flash on a Windows 11 machine (I just did it to confirm). My guess is the issue is with the compression on the bb2 file (BLED)
So the original comment "I believe that you do not want to put a CF card in a Windows 10 computer" is not necessarily true, but if your doing it to copy the wms bb2 file you shouldn't use Windows 10.

The laneman · « **Reply #16 on:** November 14, 2021, 10:57:17 AM »

It ruined my Aristocrat cf's also.

I have another pc with win 7 and never have a problem with cf's

idesign · « **Reply #17 on:** November 14, 2021, 11:24:55 AM »

Do not use anything other than a Windows 7 machine to back up CF and Bally thumb drives. Windows 10 will right a file to the original media and then they are corrupt after that. Just a warning. Just inserting them into a Windows 10 machine kills the media.

Brunswick · « **Reply #18 on:** November 14, 2021, 11:29:36 AM »

Agree^^^

Slotman · « **Reply #19 on:** November 14, 2021, 04:12:09 PM »

How about Aruze? Anyone done those?

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Author Topic: Cloning Compact Flash for Backup Purposes (Read 5627 times)