Playing PC games off HDD?

[ArkiStan]

I hear there is a way to copy your PC games to your HDD and play from there so the load times are faster and without the CD spinning noise. Is it possible? Any tips on this?

[ProMinx]

Download a program called Daemon tools. It will create a mountable virtual cd or dvd drive (actually...multiple virtual drives, so you could feasibly have all 7 phantasmagoria CDs "in" at the same time). You may have a problem with copy protection though, if you're not actually using pirate images downloaded from game-hacking groups (lots of those game images may be available through places like isohunt.com, so you may be able to find the games you actually own and want to play). Good luck, Stan.

PM

[ArkiStan]

Woah, what's funny is that the Daemon tools program was installed on my computer at home for the longest time! I didn't even know what it was for. I guess my brother was a little more knowledgeable about this stuff than I was. THanks!

[zippyjuan]

Some games include copy protection software that looks for programs like Damens Tools and the game will not work if it detects it on your computer.

[BigJon]

That's when you get s4hider.

[shocky123]

Some games include copy protection software that looks for programs like Damens Tools and the game will not work if it detects it on your computer.

--Sounds like an aweful thing for a company to do. I know for sure that if I ran into that problem, I'd never buy software (legally buy.... which entitles me to copy my media) from a company ever again if I had issues with something as stupid as that.

~Kyle

[gwilks98]

Check out this blog by Mark Russinovich before you go playing:

http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/2006/02/using-rootkits-to-defeat-digital.html

[zero2dash]

--Sounds like an aweful thing for a company to do. I know for sure that if I ran into that problem, I'd never buy software (legally buy.... which entitles me to copy my media) from a company ever again if I had issues with something as stupid as that.

~Kyle

From experience, that guarantees that you'll never buy another EA game again (those use SafeDisc)...I believe F.E.A.R. is also SafeDisc as is Half-Life 2. :)

But yes I agree...all this rampant anti-piracy measures that end up harming the legal users are a bunch of BS. :nono:

Daemon Tools is supposed to emulate SafeDisc and other copy protection schemes so that it's not detected, but my experience has been that it's still detected and the games won't work. :throw:

[shocky123]

Maybe I misunderstood what he was saying... I was under the assumption that the program itself, running off it's correct CD wouldnt function if D-Tools was installed.

But yeah, the anti-piracy crap0la is pretty ridiculous.

~Kyle

[PrObLy]

Maybe I misunderstood what he was saying... I was under the assumption that the program itself, running off it's correct CD wouldnt function if D-Tools was installed.

But yeah, the anti-piracy crap0la is pretty ridiculous.

~Kyle


This is correct. They blacklist Daemon Tools and Alcohol 120% typically....even if you're NOT running the game off of an image.....but DT or Alcohol is running; then you can't play the game.

Luckily there are ways around this.

And one seemingly completely legal solution is this neat little program (costs money, however): Game Jackal (http://www.gamejackal.com/home.asp)

There are a few free utilities that un-blacklist DT and Alcohol 120% too, they can be found with some looking.

[Bires]

So go out and buy Galactic Civilizations and GalCiv2 and reward the software writers that include NO copy protection at all.


As a descenting viewpoint, when I bought Space Rangers2, I was initially irritated with it because it includes Starforce and I heard that Starforce causes your computer to become a WMD and blow up your neighborhood in a nuclear fireball.

I installed it anyway, played the game (still my favorite strategy game...but GalCiv2 might topple it from what I've read) and have had no problems.

[_=DeltaForce=_]

Alcohol 120% and Anti-Blaxx do a good job...