Descent 3 CD One

For system help, all hardware / software topics NOTE: use Coders Corner for all coders topics.

Moderators: Krom, Grendel

Post Reply
Mr. Necktie
DBB Cadet
DBB Cadet
Posts: 10
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2008 9:22 pm

Descent 3 CD One

Post by Mr. Necktie »

Hello, fellow pilots!

I seem to have scratched a CD...My Descent 3 CD in fact.
I was noticing a lot of unnecessary read action coming from my CD Drive, and when I opened it up, lo and behold, there it was -- spinning at full speed and shaving off bits of plastic like no tomorrow. I managed to stop the CD before any major-er harm came to it. There is now a ring of scratches on the very outer edges of the CD.

Oddly enough, the CD is readable, and I can launch Descent 3. However, I do not want to play a game with it, for fear of causing further damage.

I have a full (980 Meg+Merc, I think) install of D3 on my computer at the moment with (soon to be) the no-CD 1.4 patch (not crack or warez). I'd like to burn a copy of Disc One, which is still readable, to a point. There is a 48-megabyte file entitled \"zrun.dcb\" that is unreadable and crashes Windows if I try to copy it, move it, or otherwise modify it, due to the scratch.

Does anyone:
A) Have a utility I could use to recover and copy this file?
B) Have a copy of Descent 3, Disc One? If you could post the file somewhere that would be great.

Allow me to save my ass here/explain B:
I do not know what zrun.dcb does at all. Not even the mighty Google knows what this file is. If you check the link. The only result, if there is one, is this post or the one on WarBoards, which is the same thing. I doubt that by posting one forty-some-odd-megabyte file somewhere will do much harm at all, considering nobody on the 'net has said what it does. I would like to have a fully-functioning Disc One to roll back to, should the need arise.

Thanks for any help!

-Mr. Necktie
User avatar
fliptw
DBB DemiGod
DBB DemiGod
Posts: 6458
Joined: Sat Oct 24, 1998 2:01 am
Location: Calgary Alberta Canada

Post by fliptw »

D3 only used a disc check.

you can just dump it with you local cd burning software.

tho, you may replace your cd drive. disc should go into a cd drive and come out untouched.
User avatar
Ori_Prior
DBB Cadet
DBB Cadet
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Aug 17, 2006 4:51 pm

Post by Ori_Prior »

That happend to me a while ago, except my descent 3 cd exploded in the cd drive. opened the cd tray and little pieces fell out.
User avatar
Krom
DBB Database Master
DBB Database Master
Posts: 16045
Joined: Sun Nov 29, 1998 3:01 am
Location: Camping the energy center. BTW, did you know you can have up to 100 characters in this location box?
Contact:

Post by Krom »

There is freeware software out there that can read from a disk and make an ISO image file, try using one of those to make an exact copy of the disk. If it is still readable that is.

You also probably want to invest in a new CDRW/DVD burner drive, $30 can get you a very nice drive like the Pioneer 20x DVD burner I have (they burn CDs too).
Mr. Necktie
DBB Cadet
DBB Cadet
Posts: 10
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2008 9:22 pm

Post by Mr. Necktie »

Thanks very much for the suggestions.

I don't think I'll be replacing my CD Drive yet though. I just installed a back-up utility and I think it imaged my CD Drive somehow... :/
I've also come to believe that it's attempting to image non-existent floppies in that drive, too.

I've also got a DVD Drive as a secondary, so I'll probably be using that.

Thank you all very much!

-Mr. Necktie
All strategies and tactics are engaged. Omniperceptive; they see players and objects even without line of sight. Highest level of accuracy, ranging less than 1° off target.
-\"Godlike\" Difficulty in Unreal Tournament 2004
User avatar
JMEaT
DBB Meat ByProduct
DBB Meat ByProduct
Posts: 10047
Joined: Wed Mar 10, 1999 3:01 am
Location: USA

Re:

Post by JMEaT »

Mr. Necktie wrote:Thanks very much for the suggestions.

I don't think I'll be replacing my CD Drive yet though. I just installed a back-up utility and I think it imaged my CD Drive somehow... :/
I've also come to believe that it's attempting to image non-existent floppies in that drive, too.

I've also got a DVD Drive as a secondary, so I'll probably be using that.

Thank you all very much!

-Mr. Necktie
You can capture an ISO of a disc (It will even grab the offending file you speak of) and just keep the ISO file on your Hard drive until you have a CD burner. At that point it's just blowing the ISO up back onto a disc.
User avatar
Krom
DBB Database Master
DBB Database Master
Posts: 16045
Joined: Sun Nov 29, 1998 3:01 am
Location: Camping the energy center. BTW, did you know you can have up to 100 characters in this location box?
Contact:

Post by Krom »

And if you are pressed for hard drive space, don't forget to compress it with maximum zip (or even better 7zip) compression. It is easy to get the image file almost 200 MB smaller that way.
Mr. Necktie
DBB Cadet
DBB Cadet
Posts: 10
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2008 9:22 pm

Post by Mr. Necktie »

Cool. Thanks! I'll try the ISO image as soon as I can -- I'm hoping to be able to do so ASAP. I'm looking forward to getting back into D3!

-Mr. Necktie
All strategies and tactics are engaged. Omniperceptive; they see players and objects even without line of sight. Highest level of accuracy, ranging less than 1° off target.
-\"Godlike\" Difficulty in Unreal Tournament 2004
Cuda68
DBB Captain
DBB Captain
Posts: 745
Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2001 2:01 am
Location: Denver, CO USA
Contact:

Post by Cuda68 »

What about that no cd util that someone made, so the program does not do the cd check. Or is that a no no on the board?
Mr. Necktie
DBB Cadet
DBB Cadet
Posts: 10
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2008 9:22 pm

Post by Mr. Necktie »

Well, the ISO didn't work. I was able to get 659 of the 663 megs on the first go...I'll try again in a few minutes, after I search for a possible backup I may have stashed somewhere.

For now though, the call goes out for someone to post zrun.dcb at their earliest convenience. Sorry if it's not legal to post 48 megs of unknown files, but what's the alternative? This is Descent 3 on the line! :P

-Mr. Necktie

EDIT: 659 on the second try, too. Four megs unreadable. If posting zrun.dcb is illegal here, please remove this as necessary.
All strategies and tactics are engaged. Omniperceptive; they see players and objects even without line of sight. Highest level of accuracy, ranging less than 1° off target.
-\"Godlike\" Difficulty in Unreal Tournament 2004
User avatar
Aus-RED-5
DBB Friend
DBB Friend
Posts: 1604
Joined: Fri Apr 23, 2004 7:27 am
Location: Adelaide, South Australia
Contact:

Re:

Post by Aus-RED-5 »

Mr. Necktie wrote:....Sorry if it's not legal to post 48 megs of unknown files, but what's the alternative? This is Descent 3 on the line! :P
eBay ;)
Cuda68
DBB Captain
DBB Captain
Posts: 745
Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2001 2:01 am
Location: Denver, CO USA
Contact:

Post by Cuda68 »

I found the link to the no cd in another post. At least you can play your installed game untill you find a replacement.

http://www.descent3.com/patch/D3_1.4_Patch.exe
User avatar
BUBBALOU
DBB Benefactor
DBB Benefactor
Posts: 4198
Joined: Tue Aug 24, 1999 2:01 am
Location: Dallas Texas USA
Contact:

Re:

Post by BUBBALOU »

Cuda68 wrote:I found the link to the no cd in another post. At least you can play your installed game untill you find a replacement.

http://www.descent3.com/patch/D3_1.4_Patch.exe
yeah find your replacement here

just do not grab the one with the Pink Cd1, those are bad pressed version that came with an old linksys hub networking kit autorun file is corrupt on that pink puppy
JRock
DBB Ace
DBB Ace
Posts: 244
Joined: Sun Aug 08, 1999 2:01 am

Post by JRock »

Worse comes to worst, you can pick up a new sealed copy of Descent 3 with the Mercenary pack included for around $10 on eBay these days. =)
Post Reply