problem with Starforce v3.3

[Jito463]

You don't seem to grasp what we're saying.

Let's say you have an actual SCSI-based optical drive in your system that you wanted to play your SF3 protected game from using the original disc. As long as you have any IDE optical drives in your system, the copy protection will not permit that. Unplugging your IDE drives is the only way it will allow you to use the original disc from the SCSI drive.

It's the same concept behind unplugging them so that you can play from a backup in DTools. It has nothing to do with how good DTools is at avoiding blacklists at that point. They use a blanket blacklist against any SCSI device. The only way to get around it is to eliminate your IDE drives.

Is it a perfect solution? Absolutely not. But it is the only solution, for real or virtual SCSI drives.

[professorx]

@mods - forget about my earlier request to move this thread back

[professorx]

Funny, I thought this forum was about DT?
If DT could unplug the drive for me then yes, DT has defeated the protection, otherwise it's just a workaround.

@B
Normal DPM did make a big difference. I hadn't realised the A120 fixed setting starforce profile.

[Jito463]

Disconnecting the physical drives allows DTools to avoid the generic SCSI blacklist. In other words, if any physical IDE optical drives are connected to the system, the copy protection will not allow you to play with an original or an image from any SCSI drive. If you don't have any IDE optical drives (e.g. you use USB drives like me or you unplug them), then the copy protection allows the use of SCSI drives as an alternative. So yes, unplugging the physical drives to play from an image is beating the copy protection.

[professorx]

@B
So you think that physically disconnecting optical drives is genuinely defeating starforce; well I guess it's just as well your not a DT beat tester then!

Silence means that I'm not completely sad e.g. sleeping, eating, working - some things you may not be too familiar with.

I don't even care if YOU don't have the original Gangland cd yourself that's your business, but don't go around spreading bullshit about people u don't know or have any genuine reason to suspect.

I don't have to prove that I have 20+ original titles with starforce protection (from War & Peace to Flatout 2) to u or anyone.

[ß]

Starforce 3 on cd remains undefeated as far as I can tell since late 2002!

keep talking crap.

i asked you to send me the last part of the alcohol log and you said you would remake it. i waited and watched you post in dozens of posts on the board after that. (so you weren't too busy) you also sent back the email receipts so i saw you read both mails i sent. still nothing. i said i was getting suspicious and you said talk here. so i am. a day+ has passed and still no log. and you never told me if either of the mds's you made worked. you alluded to the fact that it doesn't matter now since the mini image you downloaded does the job. (I got hold of the mini image which did work)
i did look at your 2 x mds's you sent and like i told you the small one, i can not even mount (yet you say it works) and the larger one does not work, correct, and i told you to use normal dpm for starforce, not high. and why do i find it suspicious ? because we talked on email and responses were swift. within minutes. i asked you to do a quick test which requires the original disc then silence. i"ll do it later, you said. after that several posts on dt board. then a day passes and nothing.

every starforce game from version 1.xx to 4.70 works using dt 4.09 with no rom drives. (and perhaps even starforce v5, but i have no title with that version yet, so can not test.) if it doesn't it's a bad image.

[Terramex]

I have one drive connected as secondary master IDE - SONY DVD RW AW-G170A

Then you can try the following:
- Mount image
- Sc.Master Off in SFNightmare
- Play
- Sc.Master On in SFNightmare

I've tried using sfcure as well without success.

SFCure does not enable/disable drives. It was needed for DT 3.47 to bybass SF file blocking. Got obsolet with release of DT 4.

[professorx]

Thanks Jito463.
There is no mention of attachments in the DT vBulletin FAQ - "Why should I register?"; only that attachments *may* be allowed by the administrator.

[Jito463]

@ß
I think non-customer's don't have the ability to post attachments.

[professorx]

@mods
also, please move this thread back to bugs section as I belive there is a genuine problem with making image using starforce profile.

[professorx]

@mods
please explain why I don't seem to have permissions to upload an attachment??

[ß]

are you telling me that if you click on ADVANCED on this boards post module (don't use the fast reply one) you don't have a paperclip picture next to a smily face and and arrow ???

so, once you figure it out, please post both mds's ...the dt pro and the good one , i'd like to examine them both, thanks,
if not i'll give you my email address....

[professorx]

more progress...
Gangland is English/UK version (unpatched at the moment).
I made an image with Alcohol (starforce profile) which passes cd check.
This makes me think that the DT settings for starforce image creation may need some attention (for CDs at least).

Alcohol file sizes:
GANGLAND.mdf 685,935KB
GANGLAND.mds 3KB (same size as mini image version)

DT Pro file sizes (no compression):
GANGLAND.mdf 597,276KB
GANGLAND.mds 24KB

Theres still the problem of having to disconnect the physical drive.
Fingers crossed for next version...

ps can't see any paperclip!

[ß]

Where do I upload the mds file to (I don't have permissions for attachments) ?

on this board ? are you sure ? why not ? (attach it using the paperclip icon - go to advanced)
what language is your version of gangland?

so what works for you now ? do you now have a good mds ?

[professorx]

ok, at the risk of getting told off, I got hold of the mini image which did work. Comparing the mds profiles I see the mini image one is smoother compared to my "noisy" one. Mine hasn't got any spikes I must say.

BTW I can do perfect images of discs with Securom.

should I try non-starforce reading profiles??