Since registering for this forum several days ago I have spent some time exploring and have enjoyed the discussions. I have been drawn to this forum through a sense of nostalgia, and remembrances of how much I enjoyed computing and gaming in my early years. My first machine was a Multitech PC/XT clone.

So now having taken the time to understand the site and locating my collection of old software I feel inclined to begin the process of archival, and share what I have at this time as well as discover titles I may have missed at the time. I only wish I had even more titles to share.

It seems that the topic of software preservation is that of a philosophical one; and I agree with what I view on this site. The topic of copy protection is a touchy one and it seems to be covered well here. I believe first that the original distribution (protection or not) of a title should be preserved in a purely digital medium. I always found it interesting from a purely academic standpoint if this could be possible, and how it could be done. It regards to copy protection I am not at all influenced by the legal aspect, especially now. But then there is the more practical aspect of distributing titles for all to enjoy; I would imagine some care not for preservation aspect so much and wish to have access to the titles for enjoyment exclusively.

With all of this in mind I have found that there are up to three ways that each title may be provided to satisfy the needs of all: 1) An unmodified digital image of the original medium. I would refer to this as the “mother” from which all files should be born. 2) An unprotected or “cracked” image of the mother. This version would as closely as possible resemble the original but modified as if copy protection had never existed (this would also require the original timestamps to be present as well). This could likely take on two sub-formats, for old and new machines. 3) A compressed file of the expanded or installed files, to which the installation routine would not be necessary, where applicable. These would be “emulator ready” but should still retain timestamps when possible. In many cases the same title would need multiple files if the configuration is a product of the installation (like SimCity for example). By browsing through this site, I see all of these represented. I would also venture to guess that the SHA1 tags are for data integrity reasons.

Moving forward I will be able to contribute cracked and compressed versions what I have first and then move to original images what that setup is up and running. I look forward to understanding more about the process as time goes on and contributing to the culture this site. Thank you.

Well, thanks and welcome to the forum!

You have got some really interesting thoughts there. Mostly I agree with you, and there are a couple of things, that seem worth to go into more detail:


How would you define a purely digital medium? Aren't the disks the games originally came on digital mediums? I would say to some degree even tapes (at least if they are used for computers) and punchcards could/should be considered digital.


I always feel a bit torn about that particular subject: While I think it is ridicolous that games are protected longer than the expected lifetime of the mediums they are sold on, and that people are making money by re-distributing them without having done anything to create those games in the first place, I can understand that creating a special (and most of all fair) copyright law for computer games in particular might be next to impossible, so you will always have to settle for a stricter version, that is the one where copying a game without the endorsement of its creators simply is illegal.


Certainly, and its their right to do so, as long as they keep things civil.


To be honest, to me those are my favourite versions, because more often than not you will find some special things that give them some sort of 'character'. Like High Scores of people you never knew, Save Games with characters you would never have created, intros of Hacker groups long lost in time, virus check files, trainers or cheats and so on. That's why I try to give the games I upload here my special mark.

Thank you for the welcoming!



Yes, this could have been better phrased. While disks do host digital information I still feel them as a physical object, and almost in the same way as how a game console now can be emulated by software. The word "image" seems to describe this just fine, suggesting the data can be transferred freely from one digital medium to another, as well as over the internet and from which a new "mother" disk can be born.



I likely do not have the legal background to backup this comment. I can say that if a particular protected title was still for sale by the original author I would only create an image for backup/archival purposes.




Beyond this, some enthusiasts also feel a sense of stewardship much like a museum curator would in regards to preserving writable media in images, as well as scanning manuals and inserts, so that it may continue to be enjoyed, and now many users can experience these titles in a more authentic fashion. To me, there is something quite magical about the boxes, art work, and disks that make it seem more real - which is why I still enjoy vinyl records.



Agreed - and even now, long after these titles have been removed from merchant's shelves they are indeed still evolving.

Hi Formulator,

very refreshingly thoughtful post for a change! Usually, newcomers just waltz in yelling …but I want!


In an ideal world with lots of people working on this in a systematic fashion and unlimited resources – or, as you put it, in academic terms – I perfectly agree! For me, there are clear priorities between the three, though, right where the practical reasons come in. As brutal as this may sound, for the purposes of a non-professional website like this one, option 3 is on top for me, option 1 following. Option 2 most certainly has to be classified as 'nice to have'.

It's the mother of irony that us few people are trying to cover at least two whereas certain commercial ventures don't even manage to get option 3 right (*cough* GOG *cough*).


Indeed, and wasn't this already the case back in the day? After all, which version of Stunt Car Racer does everybody remember? Right: Broken by Quartex

Ah, I guess now I get it: You want to digitize the whole medium the original information came on, that is with all the meta-information around it, like the disk header file, the way the information was put on the original master and so on.


Mostly agree with that one, though I have to admit, that if the authors ask for unreasonable amounts of money or make the process of obtaining the game rather straining, I tend to look for the game elsewhere.


You put that very nicely. Although I got accustomed to having all of the game's files, text and artwork on the computer, instead of an actual box, I still have some very fond memoeries of the times when this was uncommon. Like those RPG-games with the journals, where you had to read certain paragraphs to gather information. I liked them a lot, because they had such nice designs and actually felt like reading a journal. At least more than reading some random entry in a text database. Still, I guess that all those collector editions of recent times show that there is still a need for a tacticle experience or having something to put on your shelf.


Yes, I still don't get it why they have to use an installer instead of at least giving you the option of just downloading the game files to set them up yourself. In a couple of years it might be even harder to extract them from those installers, just think of all those Win95/98/ME games that are next to impossible to decently setup… let alone run.