Forum Home
Press F1
Thread ID: 68569	2006-05-03 11:47:00	Does anyone know how to remove StarForce protection tools from a full version game?	MTLance (6768)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
451802	2006-05-05 10:09:00	If you guys are not expert enough in hardware and software read this info from StarForce Nightmare Authors. About StarForce games. And hope people will write letters to gaming industries to complain this. Here chapter 4 review notes from StarForce Nightmare. 4. Known issues Since starforce version 3.4.65.09 to prevent old star**** methods for deactivating cd drives starforce goes a very hardware incompatible way. StarForce protected game tries to reset ide channel before it begins to check protected disk. Therefore this can take up to 2 minutes before starforce begins with its disk check. All users, who have CD drive on SCSI controller, ATAPI CD Drive on ATA/RAID controller, CD drive on USB controller and even coming hardware innovation called CD drive on SATA controller, all those users are involved by this hardware incompability issue of Starfore protection. This hardware incompability appears even than, if you remove all your drives from IDE channel physically and deactivate your IDE channels in BIOS to set needed resources free, also you don't even need to use our program to find it out. That's, what you get with Starforce. It seems, starforce team doesn't care about its hardware compability and not just that, they don't care about software compability of their product, for which they want money. If they try to reset the channel, they "play" with priority system of windows os, therefore don't wonder if your computer will crash or after few times starting the starforce protected game in such environment you will not be able to start any windows application more. It happens since starforce version 3.4.65.09 and above. On our test systems we were very often able to reproduce this software crash issue. As you see, all what starforce has done before is useless. What they added to the protection is just rapidly increased hardware and software incompability, nothing more, nothing less. It's diffucult to imagine, what will be next hardware/software incompability level, if starforce tries to prevent methods present in this program. How far they will go with their paranoid idea to don't care about the hardware and software compability of their protection? How it will work on coming PCI Express? How it will work with controllers in native mode? I have already noticed many problems with starforce and native mode controllers. For example most of Nforce2,3+ users can already set their IDE controller in native mode since windows xp sp1> www.microsoft.com (www.microsoft.com) Just add to registry [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\PnP\Pci] "EnableNativeModeATA"=dword:00000001 And in the near feature native mode for IDE controllers will be necessity for coming windows systems to get "Windows hardware logo" from Microsoft. As you see, the world of hardware don't stay on the same level, but all what starforce do is degrading its hardware and software compability. If you, as game developer or distributer, bring your software, games or updates to users you have to take into account, that even with update of starforce protection the compability of your software will rapidly sink instead expected improvements. Especially by considering last events. Still want to protect your games with starforce? As user you have to take into account, that if you buy new hardware, for example, just new motherboard, it may happen, that your favorite games will not run on such system due the hardware incompability with starforce protection. Or if you are already a owner of last computer hardware and starforce game started till now without problems, than you can just install update on your game and you will no more be able to run it from original disk on your computer. Still want to buy such games protected by starforce? You see, to create this program you need deep expert knowledge of hardware architecture and as you see, we have it, else this program wouldn't exist. All, what I want to say with, my opinion described above is not just yeasty words, it is reality. So think about it, what you buy for your money. PS: it works fine even for starforce version 3.4.65.11, but as described above, by using the function "deactivate channel" since version 3.4.65.09 you may have to wait up to 2 minutes till starforce finished its senseless trying to reset your channel. It is the problem of hardware incompability of starforce and appears on every system without physically installed ATAPI drives on IDE controller. By using the function of deactivating cd drives separately it should start immediately :) 5. Contacts If you have some comments and suggestions, send your mail to: starforce.for.de@gmail.com (starforce.for.de@gmail.com)	MTLance (6768)
451803	2006-05-05 21:03:00	What are you saying isn't true? anyhow, If you look into how the games are cracked the security checks are littered through out the game, Not just in Starforce, Its just easier to fool other forms of protection. The posts that say I want it just because I don't like to put the CD in the drive as opposed to I pirated it. And I have some idea of how games are cracked thanks.	pctek (84)
451804	2006-05-05 21:45:00	It appears that in my absence from the forums for so long, I missed the fun stuff half way through this thread. I didn't look at the dates either, so I could be dragging up three week old news for all I know... I was simply going to emphasise the fact that none of us should be replying to this thread in criticism for MTLance's reasons. He asked a question, validated his legitimacy by saying "because I'm lazy", and so we must set about answering it. Telling him it's his own problem, to me, fundamentally contradicts the spirit of online forums in general - especially ones in which people are asking for help. The guy asked a question that some chose to answer well, while others put him on the defensive - I'm just not sure how right that is. And, of course, let's not forget that everything I say is right.	Growly (6)
451805	2006-05-06 12:31:00	I own plenty of games too but use images of them or no cd files. Apart from the inconvenience of getting the disks in and out of the drive there are other benefits: * It speeds up file browsing (folders etc take longer to show in explorer if there's a disk in there that has to spin up first) * If you participate in a LAN you don't need to be concerned about lost/stolen disks * It's quieter. My dvd and cd drives seem to make a heck of a noise at times. Most online games these days use registration codes anyway that circumvent using pirated copies. I believe that the question was valid too.	Jester (13)
451806	2006-05-09 05:50:00	Is anyone seeing the reason for using No-CD function? StarForce is not really protecting it, they are damaging your hardware. For faster game start use No CD image right? Anyone agree? Taking in and out CD is very inconvinient right? Anyone agree? Everyone want no lagging games right? Then use NO CD image of crack right? Is there any of the fact that you guys disagree with up here? Please post it. Thank you. There are more advantages for using No-CD for a high speed computer rather than slow speed computers. If anyone disagree please say it.	MTLance (6768)
451807	2006-05-09 05:54:00	Well, if u think NO-CD is better use it. BUT, if it doesnt work, well, thats the end of that. Complain to the guys who make the games.	Speedy Gonzales (78)
451808	2006-05-09 06:27:00	Thought I'd add my :2cents: to this :D I don't play PC games very often, mostly use my Xbox, so hadn't seen a 'StarForce' protected game in action until Friday night. I was at a mate's place and he just bought 3 new games, all starforce protected, a few days before. He wanted to show them to me so put a disc in for one of them. After a few seconds the Autorun menu poped up and he clicked on Play. Then the trouble began! The disc checking screen poped up and started checking the disc. This went on for about 3-4 mins until we gave up on it and tried another game. Same problem. Even had Windows crash a couple of times while trying to load one of the games. Restarted the PC and tried again. Eventually we got one of the games working after trying for about 15-20 mins. Any of his other games that aren't StarForce ones work perfectly first time. every time. I know I won't be buying any PC games that are protected with StarForce after seeing what it does!	CYaBro (73)
451809	2006-05-09 06:41:00	Thank you CYaBro for your comment. And I hope people will stop buying StarForce protected games. StarForce is locking games up not protecting. They only care for money. Read the chapter 4 review notes from StarForce Nightmare for more info.	MTLance (6768)
451810	2006-05-09 11:09:00	Thought I'd add my :2cents: to this :D I don't play PC games very often, mostly use my Xbox, so hadn't seen a 'StarForce' protected game in action until Friday night. I was at a mate's place and he just bought 3 new games, all starforce protected, a few days before. He wanted to show them to me so put a disc in for one of them. After a few seconds the Autorun menu poped up and he clicked on Play. Then the trouble began! The disc checking screen poped up and started checking the disc. This went on for about 3-4 mins until we gave up on it and tried another game. Same problem. Even had Windows crash a couple of times while trying to load one of the games. Restarted the PC and tried again. Eventually we got one of the games working after trying for about 15-20 mins. Any of his other games that aren't StarForce ones work perfectly first time. every time. I know I won't be buying any PC games that are protected with StarForce after seeing what it does! Must be something wrong with his computer. I run Starforce protected games no problems. Trevor :)	Trev (427)
451811	2006-05-09 21:30:00	Must be something wrong with his computer. I run Starforce protected games no problems. Trevor :) Ah... no. Like I said in my post he has other games, which also require the original CD to be in the drive, but aren't StarForce and they work with no problems at all. We did also remove and reinstall one of the StarForce games and it did that without any problems so it is reading the disc OK. The PC is also running fine doing everything else, only time it plays up is when trying to play a StarForce game.	CYaBro (73)
1 2 3 4 5