If you’re a retro gaming enthusiast, you’ve probably come across the term “dumping” before. Dumping refers to the process of creating a digital copy of a game cartridge, which can be used to play the game on an emulator or preserve the original cartridge.
But how do you know if your dump is a good one? That’s where checksums come in. A checksum is a mathematical algorithm that is used to verify the integrity of a file. By comparing the checksum of your dump to the known checksum of a good dump, you can determine whether or not your dump is a good one.
But checksums aren’t the only thing to consider when dumping game cartridges. There is also a wealth of metadata that can be present in a dump, including:
- Version: This indicates what version of the software is contained in the dump. For example, a Nintendo cartridge might have a version number of 1.0 or 1.1.
- Date: This indicates when the cartridge was manufactured. This can be useful for identifying rare or valuable cartridges.
- Size: This indicates the size of the dump file, in bytes. This can be useful for determining the amount of storage space that a dump will require.
- Manufacturer: This indicates the company that manufactured the cartridge. For example, a Nintendo cartridge might be manufactured by Nintendo or a third-party company like Acclaim.
- Region: This indicates the region in which the cartridge was intended to be sold. For example, a Nintendo cartridge might be marked as “NTSC” (North America) or “PAL” (Europe).
Here are some examples of metadata that you might find in dumps of Nintendo and Atari cartridges:
Nintendo:
- Super Mario Bros. (Version 1.0, Date: 1985, Size: 128KB, Manufacturer: Nintendo, Region: NTSC)
- The Legend of Zelda (Version 1.1, Date: 1986, Size: 256KB, Manufacturer: Nintendo, Region: NTSC)
Atari:
- Missile Command (Version 1.0, Date: 1981, Size: 4KB, Manufacturer: Atari, Region: NTSC)
- Pac-Man (Version 1.1, Date: 1982, Size: 4KB, Manufacturer: Atari, Region: NTSC)
By using checksums and examining the metadata of your dumps, you can ensure that you have good copies of your favorite retro games. Happy dumping!