Changes

CF2 Compact Floppy Disc

223 bytes added, 19:49, 15 October 2020
/* Pictures */
My comments - == 3 Inch Discs Comments from Jonathanen: == When [https://web.archive.org/web/20110428132206/http://www.pcwking1.netfirms.com/ John King ] has told me about using CF-2DD discs as standard CF-2 discs for the first time after I've purchased one of them (with the [[Media:CF2DD Blue.jpg|Blue label]]) back in Friday 2nd April 2004 as a souvenir as well purchasing other Amstrad CPC / PCW stuff from him (I was his regular customer, always calling him to reserve the items for me to collect after I've checked out his web site and then I travel 2 - 3 hrs by train, checking / testing out the merchandise at his house when I got there, collect, paid him by cash and then make another 2 - 3 hrs back on my way home, I didn't care how far he lives or how heavy the items that I'm carrying on my way back, as long I got the items that I always wanted), I thought he was making it up, until when I got home and decided to tested out his own theory, it turns out that he is right along and it works perfectly. Then, I've tried the reverse order using any standard CF-2 discs as CF-2DD discs, and it turns out that I'm right as well, as it works perfectly - check out my [https://web.archive.org/web/20130505073822/http://www.jonathanen.com/pages/Help/badsector.html "Re-using 3 Inch Floppy Discs with Bad Sectors"] link to see what I mean.
== 3 Inch Discs Comments from MacDeath ==
A 3" disk could be somewhat 360ko in total, basically the same as a quite basic 5"1/4DD, except that you would have to flip side on a CPC. quite rapidly, the 3"1/2 went for DD in 720ko or HD in 1.44mo at quite lesser price per disk (the disk drive could be quite expensive on the other hand) which was more suitable for 16bit computers (those would at minimum sport 512ko of RAM most of time passed the Atari STfm release / after 1986).
Some specific moded disk drives could perform special formats that were actually used as copy protection for some games, the most (only?) known exemple being Defender of the Crown on CPC. The french developper for the CPC version [[Brice Rive]] developped this specific method and went on to become UBIsoft copy protection specialist. He produced/coded [[Defender of the Crown]], but also E.X.I.T and copy protection for various [[UBIsoftUbi Soft]] prods on CPC.
The story of this copy protection scheme was explained at CPCrulez french forum. The method consisted of moding some specific 3" floppy disk drives models so they could format the 3" floppies into something like 200-240ko 220ko per sides... Normal unmodified disk drives wouldn't be able to format disk the same way so the datas would need more floppies to be spread on and the copy, while still possible, would ask for many more disk switch and would render the game experience far less enjoyable. Cracked version of Defender of the Crown using 3 sides instead of only 2. Un-modified disk drives would still be able to read the specially formated floppies anyway (well, most of times I guess) and the extra sectors would not all be used actually.
File:CF2D.jpg|Maxell CF2-D for Amstrad PCW (Sealed)
File:CF2DD Blue.jpg|Amsoft CF2DD for Amstrad PCW
Image:AmstradAction046-50.jpg|AA Issue 46 - Page 50
</gallery>
2,104
edits