Marauder II v1.2 Readme File February 12, 1988 This disk contains Release 1.2 of the Marauder II disk backup utility. The following notes represent changes and additions to the original Marauder II manual. Please read this file carefully before contacting Discovery Software technical support. - IMPORTANT NOTE! You must send in your Marauder II user registration card in order to be eligible for telephone tech support, software updates, and access to the DSI bulletin board system. The manual erroneously states that users who have upgraded from the original Marauder do not need to send in their new user registration card. We apologize for the error. Send the card in now! - Several new titles have been added to the Marauder II backup list. The following titles can now be copied and/or deprotected by Marauder II: Files preceded by an asterisk <*> are recent additions. LeisureSuitLarry Marblemadness! (2nd release) If analytical copy does not work... Make a verbatim copy and type: execute makemarblemadness at the cli prompt. MusicMouse SilentService - (4th release) The Black Cauldron Kinderama - (2nd release) Read & Rhyme - (2nd release) Math Wizard Dark Castle Test Drive HardBall! Plutos World Games (2nd release) *Test Drive - (2nd and 3rd releases ) NOTE: see backuplist for detailed instructions. *King of Chicago *Shadowgate *Gee Bee Air Rally *Into the Eagle's Nest *Q-Ball *Kinderama - (3rd release) *Math Wizard - (2nd release) *Read A Rama *Read & Rhyme - (3rd release) *Texture - (Requires Roland MPU 401 interface) *Moebius *PAL (european) DeluxeMusic *Strip Poker - (2nd release) - New features of Marauder II version 1.2: - The section of the manual describing purchase verification is obsolete. You no longer need to enter a random word from the manual to make MarauderII work. Disregard this section of the manual. - New features of Marauder II version 1.1: A few new features have been added to the options menu in MarauderII - Extended track capability: You can now have MarauderII copy tracks 80 through 82 in addition to the normal 0 through 79 copy operation. Currently, there are no copy protection schemes which depend on copying tracks 80 through 82. To try extended tracks out, simply select the ending track from the Extended Tracks menu and MarauderII will copy from track 0 in to the track you specify. - The internal parameters of Marauder II have been relaxed to ensure reliable operation on machines performing slightly outside factory specifications. Marauder's internal intelligence data has also been refined. Some older titles will now copy more reliably. - There is a program included on the release disk for determining which version of copy protected software you own. The program is called Ident, and is used from the CLI. usage: Ident dfn:filename where n is a drive number and filename is the name of the file to be examined. When Ident is run on a file it will generate a unique set of numbers for that file related to the file's size, content, and creation date. Some companies have released multiple versions of titles which are functionally identical but which have different protection schemes. Since MarauderII checks for specific information on the disk when copying protected software, copying all versions of a specific title with a single brainfile is occasionally a problem. The Ident program will allow the user to be sure which version of a program (s)he has and get the appropriate BrainFile for the job. When calling Discovery Software with questions about a particular version of a program you own, be sure the Ident code you have was generated from the ORIGINAL of the program, not a copy, as the Ident code will be misleading. - Discovery Software International maintains a bulletin board system for registered users of MARAUDER II. The BBS telephone number is (301) 267-9921. The system is available 24 hours a day, operates at 1200-N-8-1, and supports XMODEM file transfer protocol. Access to the upgrade system is strictly limited to those users whose Marauder II registration cards have been received by Discovery Software. The latest and greatest Marauder II Brain Files and update information will always be available first on the BBS. Brain Files can be purchased with MasterCard or Visa from the BBS. Although users cannot currently download the brainfile directly from the BBS, the brainfile will be shipped on disk at no additional fee. Ordering upgrades from the BBS is the fastest and easiest way to keep your Marauder II up to date. - Brain Files and other DSI products ordered on the BBS will be processed within 24 hours of reciept of the order. - User generated mail to the BBS SYSOP is answered about once per fortnight. - Users who do not have access to a modem may purchase Marauder II Brain Files directly from Discovery Software. We accept MasterCard, Visa, or prepayment by check. Brain File updates will be provided only to users whose Marauder II registration cards have been received by Discovery Software. If you have lost your registration card you will need to send in your original Marauder II disk in order to verify that you are a valid owner. Contact Discovery Software for details of Brain File pricing and availability. - The Marauder II Brain Files are CUMULATIVE. For example, the latest Brain File will always include all titles covered in the previous Brain Files. You only ever need to have one m2.brain in the L directory of your Marauder II. The backuplist supplied with the Brain File reflects the total number of titles handled to date by that Brain File. You needn't worry about 'missing' an update for this reason. If you have a new title which you can't copy with your present Marauder II and are thinking of purchasing the latest Brain File, please make sure that the title you are interested in appears on the latest backuplist. Discovery Software cannot be responsible for your purchase of an upgrade which does not contain the titles you have. To verify what the latest upgrade covers, please check the BBS Bulletins or contact Discovery Software. - Correspondence with Discovery Software International should always include a daytime telephone number. We may not be able to respond to user questions or comments if no telephone number is provided. - Marauder II will automatically deprotect the majority of titles on the current backup list, and in general will always deprotect a title whenever possible. We have received many calls from users who mistakenly assumed that only the titles listed in the Decoder section of the manual could be deprotected. The Decoder is a bonus utility provided specifically to handle a limited set of titles, but the capabilities of Marauder II go much further. - Hard Disk Installation: Many people have expressed an interest in installing MarauderII onto their hard disks. You can do this by dragging the MarauderII icon into the hard disk's disk icon or into the hard disk's window. Next, you will need to drag the m2.brain icon from the "L" drawer on your MarauderII release disk into the "L" directory on your hard drive. You can simply drag the entire "L" drawer if your hard drive has no "L" drawer icon. You should then be able to open the hard-disk's disk window and use the Marauder II just as usual, by double-clicking on its icon. - The Decoder: This utility is a sophisticated decryption program which can be used to remove all protection from a limited and specific set of copy-protected disks. You must know how to use the CLI and AmigaDOS in order to use the Decoder. If you are not familiar with how to use AmigaDOS and the CLI environment then you should not attempt to use the Decoder. It is not required to make successful working backups of any of the titles it can deprotect. We recognize that this bonus tool may be too difficult for some people to use, but the very nature of its deprotection approach requires a higher level of user comprehension than Marauder II, which is completely automatic. Please note that you must substitute appropriate AmigaDOS filenames for the command line parameters "inputfile" and "outputfile" on line 14, page 11 of the manual and that the brackets should not be entered. It is up to you to figure out the correct inputfile name by examining the "c" directory of the copy protected original and locating the file which has the ".dat" filename extension. Also note that you must use the AmigaDOS "Protect" command to change the deletion status of both the ".dat" file and the file in the root directory which you execute to run the program. - Thank you for reading this file, you will now be able to get more use from your Marauder II. We hope it becomes the most valuable program in your Amiga software library. Thank You, Discovery Software International