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Navigating ISO Zone safely.


MaximumRD

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As a great resource for ROMS / ISO's Homebrew / Emulators / Mods / Unreleased / Translations etc and at Yo-Yo's suggestion I am posting this info to share for those who might otherwise be wary of the site.  B) 

 

PLEASE READ ALL FULLY. ESPECIALLY THAT BOLDED STUFF   :rofl:
 
For everything mentioned including emulators already packed with associated ROMS my only and best resource is http :// www.theisozone.com / (no spaces of course) but that said WARNING - I have learned many times in past when saying this, this site is crazy with advertising , pop -ups etc, I AM TELLING YOU THIS UP FRONT, for me it was never an issue and in past when giving this site recommendation would get people come back complaining the site is malicious, it gave me this or that etc.
 
YES the site does generate revenue through ads etc I have never noticed as I don't use IE on there, I use  Chrome or Firefox with pop-up and adblockers add-ons like uBlock etc. SO, IF YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING and can navigate such sites securely and without worry then it is a hell of a resource. You find what you want, click the link for info and chose the FREE download link option, do NOT pick the ISO RECOMMENDS as that is for paid members, the FREE option download mirror on the RIGHT (see second example image) THAT will take you to a file download site FIREDROP (See 3rd example image) your download link will appear after a few seconds, click THAT and ONLY that, a window will appear and you select location to download to.
 
For the record I am not trying to sound like a douche, if I am telling you things that are obvious to you or you think "I am not an idiot" please understand that is not the intention, I have just gotten shy about recommending such sites only to have people come back complaining about the ads, pops-ups, downloading malicious files etc, it used to surprise me honestly because I use to think "What the hell are you talking about?" then I tried the same thing in IE without pop up or ad blockers and I understood what they were complaining about lol. So no, this is not over kill, it is much needed advice for some as I have learned and frankly I would rather cover my butt than having someone complain later. Lastly, I will say well worth the effort to just use a little precaution, good to learn anyways because as a resource  http :// www.theisozone.com /  is just way above the other places where you might find an emulator here or a game there, or download every rom separate, on  http :// www.theisozone.com /  just download, unzip and burn to disc (I use ImgBurn for those tasks, google it, free, light and just works ;) ) So I leave it at that, do or don't, research and learn and the rewards are well worth it IMHO.   :spot:
eyZiJ2G.jpg
 
 
pozJREk.jpg
 
 
s1CqbI4.jpg
 
Tips - use search , works pretty good on the site if looking for a specific emulator or homebrew, most are usually full archived packages complete ready to burn and play. 
 
There is a nice forum community there as well. Some are probably tired of the "I CAN'T BURN THIS GAME!" or "HOW DO I UNZIP THAT?" type posts BUT if you tread lightly, ask nicely, be respectful and thankful you will find many helpful and friendly people as well.
 
Get use to the layout, click the DOWNLOADS tab up top and find your category.  
 
IMPORTANT - I take the time and effort to present a great resource option for those up to it. Beyond that, if you chose to go this root I offer no other support, help etc, I simply do not have the time or frankly the motivation. I simply like people to be informed and aware of options whether or not it is right for you is your decision, if so you can find any further help or assistance in the forum guidelines and help as well as the community over there - THIS IS MY ONE AND ONLY POST LIKE THIS FOR THIS SITE, TAKE IT FOR WHAT IT IS.   B)
 
 
Before anyone complains or point it out YES there are a ton of ripped games / iso / roms commercial , retail of course, whatever your stance on this the site just so happens to also be an awesome hub / resource for Homebrew , Emulation , Hacked ROMS, Translated ROMS, Unreleased titles etc so that said you are your own moral guide and live by your own code and guidelines, keep it that way, do as you will (or don't) but as well do not inflict your morals on others. There is no pirating of current or last gen there as well you can read there forum rules regarding upload restrictions, this is there own set guidelines, accpet them and participate or don't, nobody is claiming they are 100% legit lol. - (FROM THE SITES RULES AND GUIDELINES) NOT ALLOWED -
 
Any files related to current or last generation console or PC titles. Wii, WiiU, PSP, Vita, PS3, PS4, X360, XBONE
 
Any games currently being sold by their rights holders.
 
Cracks, Hacks, Serials related to current gen consoles or pc
 
PSP retail Isos
 
NDS Roms Released after 2008
 
PC Titles released after 2007
 
PC Titles which are available on Steam, Regardless of age. The original versions are OK But not the Steam versions.
 
PS2 Titles that are new releases i.e Fifa 13
 
Homebrew titles which have been released by independent developers that are for sale
 
Androids apps which are not freeware
 
Iphone apps which are not freeware
 
Linux software that isn't freeware
 
GOG [Good Old Games] Titles - The original versions are OK But not the gog versions.
 
Thanks! Enjoy or don't, I just want people to be aware of an awesome resource and then chose to follow of their own accord.   ;)

I am Rob aka MaximumRD aka OldSchoolRetroGamer and THIS is my world http://about.me/maximumrd

"For you, the day Bison graced your village was the most important day of your life. But for me, it was Tuesday."

 - M. Bison

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Good idea Yo-Yo!   ;) I'll start one once I start the process. 

Quick, noob question. What is an "Isos"?

 

heh....think of it as a ROM like from a cartridge but in this case ISO or ISO image.  Definition: An ISO file, often called an ISO image, is in fact an "image" of an entire CD or DVD. The entire contents of a disc can be represented in a single ISO file.

 

So, like a ROM (in the context of emulation / emulators) is basically a single file contain all the game data of a game cartridge a ISO or ISO image is the equivalent except from Optical Media such as CD or DVD. 

 

It is a little thing but I like to use terms properly, generally many people while discussing emulation will simply call any game a "ROM" whether it actually be from a cartridge or ripped from a DVD / CD, a minor thing but I tend to be irked by the improper usage. Note also that ISO is just one possible container for such content as they can also come in containers labeled Bin (usually with an accompanied with a cue file) or CCD, IMG etc. Though for sake of games ripped for the purpose of emulation those other formats are less typical. 

 

See : https://www.wikiwand.com/en/ISO_image

 

I am Rob aka MaximumRD aka OldSchoolRetroGamer and THIS is my world http://about.me/maximumrd

"For you, the day Bison graced your village was the most important day of your life. But for me, it was Tuesday."

 - M. Bison

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Well even if you cannot find the answer there please be sure to join the forums there and you can post such questions   ;) Click the community tab and sub menu forums. Here is a direct ink to sign up, I urge you because you have to consider this is what they do, pretty much like having 100's of ME over there and they can guide and advise because really I think after this post I will be done, it is my own demon, I am compelled to help / answer but it is NOT how I want to be spending all my time so I rather direct you to a community with many more who can do this for you. Here is the registration link :

http://www.theisozone.com/forum/ucp.php?mode=register

 

Otherwise , yes it pretty much should be that simple. Download, unzip from archive and burn the resulting image (ISO whatever) to a CD-r (use only a CD-r disc) Now, I will only say this as I have seen it as a point of confusion for beginners, going by your wording this may apply to you. The ISO or DISC IMAGE(s) you are not just "copying" them to a disc, that would be like copying any file to a hard drive or USB stick, Simply burning that to a disc results in a disc containing a copy of the image, so the DREAMCAST would only see it as a blank CD containing a file it does not understand. What you need to do is using the appropriate burning program, that knows how to handle ISO's, Disc Images etc because they can properly burn the image to a Disc to duplicate or recreate the disc as it originally was, essentially transferring the content of the image back to a bootable disc. As mentioned earlier I suggest ImgBurn , others will recommend programs ranging from Alchohol to DiscJuggler but my preference for simplicity just take my advice and stick with ImgBurn as it is free, light, simple as it gets (download and install from any mirrored link HERE - 

 

!!!!!!!!! UPDATE !!!!!!!!!! THIS LINK HAS BEEN UPDATED TO PROVIDE A SAFE SLIGHTLY OLDER VERSION of the ImgBurn Installer as I was informed (thanks RadioPoultry !  ;) ) and verified that newer versions from the manufacturer contain greedy Adware in the installer (IE: OpenCandy PUP ) Rest assured and click this link with confidence! 

 

http://www.oldversion.com/windows/imgburn-2-5-7-0

 

with IMGBURN installed, once you have downloaded and extracted the ISO/ IMAGE , you should be able to simply click the image and it should automatically load it up in ImgBurn, then simply follow ImgBurn prompts to select your blank disc and begin the burning procedure (NOTE IF YOU END UP WITH TWO FILES BIN / CUE just double click the CUE file and IMGBurn will handle it from there just follow prompts. 

 

and with that good luck, I am out, I seriously recommend you register with the community over there, I need to pull myself away from this or I will never get anything else done.   :P

I am Rob aka MaximumRD aka OldSchoolRetroGamer and THIS is my world http://about.me/maximumrd

"For you, the day Bison graced your village was the most important day of your life. But for me, it was Tuesday."

 - M. Bison

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Thanks man, I'll do that. I'm sorry I'm a bother.  :unsure:

 

I appreciate the help!

You are definitely NOT a bother, :) I admittedly just have my issues and so prefer to direct people where they can continue to get the help they need, it's ME dude and it was not my intent to suggest otherwise,  ;) You and anyone else can feel free to continue posting related questions in this thread, we are still a smaller community so I cannot say how many others here might be able to assist you in the same way (any who can are welcome to chime in :thumb: ) just thought it best in the meantime to get you involved over in a community that is the source for such things and thus more likely to help and advise swiftly and accurately and everything I post is for anyone reading as well. I just wanted to be clear if I no longer seem to be responding you will understand why, don't take it personally.  :D I tend to lay low for a period, week, month, longer? Than suddenly appear active like this recent spurt of posts, just my nature. 

 

- Rob aka MaximumRD.  :et:

I am Rob aka MaximumRD aka OldSchoolRetroGamer and THIS is my world http://about.me/maximumrd

"For you, the day Bison graced your village was the most important day of your life. But for me, it was Tuesday."

 - M. Bison

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I recommend NOT getting the most recent version of imgBurn which uses the OpenCandy installer that can put adware on your computer. (A few people have said it still put stuff on their computer even after they deselected everything. I don't know if that's correct or not.) I recommend finding version 2.5.6 or 2.5.7 which did not use OpenCandy. Note that older versions are not available on their website, you'll have to look around the internet.

 

(I use imgBurn when emulating old DOS games I already own that have CD audio.)

Edited by RadioPoultry
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I recommend NOT getting the most recent version of imgBurn which uses the OpenCandy installer that can put adware on your computer. (A few people have said it still put stuff on their computer even after they deselected everything. I don't know if that's correct or not.) I recommend finding version 2.5.6 or 2.5.7 which did not use OpenCandy. Note that older versions are not available on their website, you'll have to look around the internet.

 

(I use imgBurn when emulating old DOS games I already own that have CD audio.)

 

DOH! - Well thanks for chiming in RadioPoultry. Shame to hear such a fine product has resorted to bundling Adware  :mellow: UGH the power of greed. 

 

I've not updated ImgBurn in some time so I was not aware. 

 

Anyway, seeing this I felt responsible to follow up at lest one more time, ugh this is yet another reason I hate giving advice, stuff like this biting me on the ass making me look bad  :unsure:

 

HOPEFULLY Stormsurge either you had not attempted to install yet or it did not install OpenCandy adware, since I don't know though my conscience motivated me to post the following since it can also help others with OpenCandy or even other Malware / Adware just as well (Hey never hurts to check, you might not even be aware you this or other adware / malware) IF you might be infected either way here is an excellent guide for removal, a little daunting for the beginner but just follow slowly and step by step, at the very least it is info WELL WORTH KNOWING and I can say I myself have followed these steps with great success! Typically steps 1-3 suffice, the last step 4 near the bottom (Hitman Pro scan) you usually do NOT need to go that far, it is an extra precaution.

 

To start first of all have MalewareBytes Anti Malware FREE installed (at the very least everyone should have this installed and at the ready to use for scanning if not running continuously), direct download HERE : 

 

https://www.malwarebytes.org/mwb-download/

 

OK installed and ready? Good, here is the guide (Note -THIS guide is straight from Malewarebytes using their and other FREE excellent software, I give you this because sadly if you google and search for such a guide often much of the resulting "advice" is either attempting to get you to download other adware / malware through fake anti-virus programs giving false results OR just scams trying to get you to license / buy their own inferior products. Sorry it IS a scary world out there. That said though this link is reputable, tried and true brand recognized FREE software and good advice I have personally tested (IE: It saved my bacon lol) So have total confidence  ;)

PUP.Optional.OpenCandy Removal Guide

 

http://www.malwareremovalguides.info/pup-optional-opencandy-removal-guide/

 

You will be good to go after following that and again it is good software and advice regardless. 

 

LASTLY, as per RadioPoultry's advice here are some clear and free links to older versions of ImgBurn definitely Adware free, I have done the footwork for you.  From a great resource Olderversion . com , form now on when I recommend ImgBurn it will be THIS link given. Just click the big DOWNLOAD NOW button on THIS page 

http://www.oldversion.com/windows/imgburn-2-5-7-0

wait a moment and you will be prompted where to download to and you will have the ImgBurn 2.5.7 installer. Also keep that site in mind, great when newer version of software doesn't agree with your system OR you simply did not like later upgraded versions! 

 

OK I am out , again , hopefully if you had any issue I have at least made efforts to redeem myself  :mellow:

I DO care and I DO try. 

 

!!!!!!! UPDATE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have just the moment updated the link in my original post #7 to reflect the link for the older / safe version of ImgBurn with credit to RadioPoultry , checked and personally verified  ;) 

I am Rob aka MaximumRD aka OldSchoolRetroGamer and THIS is my world http://about.me/maximumrd

"For you, the day Bison graced your village was the most important day of your life. But for me, it was Tuesday."

 - M. Bison

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HOPEFULLY Stormsurge either you had not attempted to install yet or it did not install OpenCandy adware, since I don't know though my conscience motivated me to post the following since it can also help others with OpenCandy or even other Malware / Adware just as well (Hey never hurts to check, you might not even be aware you this or other adware / malware) 

 

:D I have not attempted this yet. I'll probably try tonight during Wednesday Night Chat.

 

I have a Mac, which ImgBurn is not available for. I saw alternatives, plus the ones you recommended, so I'll seek those out first.

THANKS!!!!

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:D I have not attempted this yet. I'll probably try tonight during Wednesday Night Chat.

 

I have a Mac, which ImgBurn is not available for. I saw alternatives, plus the ones you recommended, so I'll seek those out first.

THANKS!!!!

 

Well that's a relief! Ha you have a MAC so it was never an issue, ah well still it resulted in a good and worthy post for us Windows users. 

OK great, happy researching and learning, I think you will find this stuff gets addictive after a while lol, I am living proof! 

I am Rob aka MaximumRD aka OldSchoolRetroGamer and THIS is my world http://about.me/maximumrd

"For you, the day Bison graced your village was the most important day of your life. But for me, it was Tuesday."

 - M. Bison

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So, this project is a fail. For some reason I cannot connect to firedrop.com, where all of the downloads are hosted. I can connect on my iPhone, but not from my computer. WTF??

 

**I just tried it on the wife's laptop & I can get on. I'm guessing it's a security setting. Time to dig around.**

Edited by StormSurge
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Okay, so I was able to download the NESTER rar file, unzip, burned it (at least I thought I did) & of course it didn't work when I tried it out. (Hopefully I have CD-RWs Rick  :) )

I'm going to do some more digging around the forums at the ISO Zone to see if there's a Mac-equivalent to IMGBurn. If not, I'll have a buddy of mine use his PC to burn them for me.

 

If that doesn't work, who knows...  :pow_big:

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Okay, so I was able to download the NESTER rar file, unzip, burned it (at least I thought I did) & of course it didn't work when I tried it out. (Hopefully I have CD-RWs Rick  :) )

 

I'm going to do some more digging around the forums at the ISO Zone to see if there's a Mac-equivalent to IMGBurn. If not, I'll have a buddy of mine use his PC to burn them for me.

 

If that doesn't work, who knows...  :pow_big:

 

 

If you look at the content of the disc you created on your computer what do you see? Is it simply a copy of the file you unzipped or does it appear to be several files (this would be the difference of simply burning the file to a disc and restoring the image back to disc form to be something bootable on your Dreamcast) 

 

In the meantime can you give ME a link to the exact file on ISO Zone that you downloaded? I will burn it myself and let you know exactly how the structure of the properly burned disc should appear. 

 

As Rickr suggests using Re-Writable media is good practice for burning images so not to waste discs but remember once you are confident you got the burning down you must use only CD-r (non re-writable) format only for actually booting / playing on your Dreamcast. 

 

AS FOR A IMGBURN alternative for MAC, a quick look shows this, free and looks like as simply an interface. I KNOW NOTHING OF THE MAC WORLD lol, obviously I can give no guarantee but the description and the look of it seems promising. Otherwise googling ImgBurn alternatives for MAC gives many results you could sift through, just make sure they say FREE and appear smile for the task of burning images (you don't need some over complicated Burning suite) 

 

http://macdownload.informer.com/simplyburns/

I am Rob aka MaximumRD aka OldSchoolRetroGamer and THIS is my world http://about.me/maximumrd

"For you, the day Bison graced your village was the most important day of your life. But for me, it was Tuesday."

 - M. Bison

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Thank you sir!

 

Here is the link:

http://www.theisozone.com/downloads/dreamcast/emulators/nesterdc-se-with-3165-roms-and-new-skin/

 

I will take a look at the disc itself tonight & report back.

 

THANKS!

 

OK thanks for the link, I am downloading now.......my Dreamcasts like most of my consoles are packed away but I have made many copies no problem. None of the comments suggest this disc does not work / boot so I will burn it properly and let you know exactly what the directory structure looks like off the CD. Later. 

I am Rob aka MaximumRD aka OldSchoolRetroGamer and THIS is my world http://about.me/maximumrd

"For you, the day Bison graced your village was the most important day of your life. But for me, it was Tuesday."

 - M. Bison

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Ah OK downloaded and Extracted. I this case the image format is a CDI file ( .CDI extension ) to handle such a file I actually had to update IMGBURN with some .dll's, but it works now and is of now consequence for MAC. Though obviously whatever Burning program you end up with for your MAC it will also need to be able to handle that format. 

 

ANYWAY, I burned the image successfully as far as I can tell. So, exploring the resulting disc on my PC it appears as THIS: 

 

As you can see several files. If you have but a single file ( possibly the same as extracted file NesterDC SE 3165 by cOcO! ) that means you simply copied the entire image to the disc and not burned the image contents back to a bootable Dreamcast disc. 

 

THIS should be the files you see on the properly burned Disc. If you can get this result do same onto a CD-r, if it still does not work try a different brand CD-r (Dreamcasts CAN be picky) IF YOU ARE SURE YOU ARE BURNING TO CD-r PROPERLY BUT CAN NOT SUCCESSFULLY BOOT A DISC AFTER TRYING THE CD-r WITH DIFFERENT BRANDS TRY ANOTHER DREAMCAST IF POSSIBLE. Some will tell you about later model MIL-CD or some such Dreamcasts that were incapable of booting backups. I have 3 Dreamcasts spanning first to last production run and it would be very unlikely you'd have a Dreamcast that simply does not boot backups, I believe most people that make that claim simply burn their discs improperly. 

 

ONCE PROPERLY BURNED THE RESULTING DISC APPEARS AS FOLLOWS ON MY PC:

 

qU0z2UL.jpg

 

 

HERE ARE THE FILES ON THE DISC, YOU SHOULD BE SEEING AT LEAST THE SAME NUMBER OF FILES AND FILE-NAMES:

 

 

8NGbF7y.jpg

 

 

I hope these are your results or that you can figure out how to replicate these results in the end. Good Luck To You. 

I am Rob aka MaximumRD aka OldSchoolRetroGamer and THIS is my world http://about.me/maximumrd

"For you, the day Bison graced your village was the most important day of your life. But for me, it was Tuesday."

 - M. Bison

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MAXIMUM!!!!

I found this:

http://www.theisozone.com/tutorials/dreamcast/burning-and-backup/burning-cdis-on-a-mac-w-liquid-cd/

 

Of course, the link to download that program tried to get me to download some nefarious programs, so I went to the source directly.

 

I downloaded the newest version, followed the instructions & this is the result:

 

21884680501_3e5e139eee.jpg

 

THANK YOU AGAIN!!!

Now to download every emulator I can find. I need to be able to play everything that will be in the High Score Club!  :spot:

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MAXIMUM!!!!

 

I found this:

http://www.theisozone.com/tutorials/dreamcast/burning-and-backup/burning-cdis-on-a-mac-w-liquid-cd/

 

Of course, the link to download that program tried to get me to download some nefarious programs, so I went to the source directly.

 

I downloaded the newest version, followed the instructions & this is the result:

 

21884680501_3e5e139eee.jpg

 

THANK YOU AGAIN!!!

 

Now to download every emulator I can find. I need to be able to play everything that will be in the High Score Club!  :spot:

 

Excellent, see I knew everything you need is right on that site and there all all types there using PC / Mac etc. CONGRATS, HAVE FUN !  :thumb: Clearly you are well on your way and have can figure things out for yourself. Welcome to the world of backups / Emulators / Homebrew etc. 

I am Rob aka MaximumRD aka OldSchoolRetroGamer and THIS is my world http://about.me/maximumrd

"For you, the day Bison graced your village was the most important day of your life. But for me, it was Tuesday."

 - M. Bison

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