How to defeat Starforce by spending 20/20$ (full IDE support)

[Zak]

Hello all,
this is how I defeated StarForce.
As you know, the current StarForce releases check you IDE channels for Optical drives and refuse to launch from SCSI/DT4 if one is detected.
However there is an easy and cheap solution to this problem:

- get an extra IDE controller that is compatible with ATAPI drives
- plug all your optical drives in there
- launch the image via daemon tools v4

The best thing is: you don't need to disable anything! You ONLY need daemon tools, that's it. No channel disabling, no cable disconnecting.

I recommend an ATA133 raid controller using SI0680A because it will still have some potential use if there's another method around Starforce. Plus those babys are just roughly 20 or 20$ shipped.
Here's a list of eBay auctions for those cards:
US http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=8723150538
DE http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...tem=8721713305
UK http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...tem=6822575483

They are cheap everywhere and it really is the best solution I've seen so far. Should work with older controllers as well as long as they support ATAPI aka optical drives.

[overlrd]

Heh...this indeed works perfectly.

Civ 4 now works without using Sd4hide and X3 runs perfectly using only DT4.

A good thing I had one of these controllers just lying around.

Of course...now my CD and DVD drives show as scsi drives in Device Manager...so since I no longer have ide...there is no blacklisting of the scsi.

[Underheaven]

...

This is how I have my system configured.

[Dllfile]

yup, use Raid IDE controller here, have

- 2 Drives - Stripe 0 Raid (IDE 1)
- 1 DVD-RW Drive on IDE 2 along with Slave IDE HDD
- 3 HDD's on motherboard IDE's (Didn't want them on Raid, Storage and backup drives)

lol

Wifes I do not have a IDE Controller for, just the one on the board itself, so have to unplug hers, (my other 3 IDE Controllers are in my server :P she cannot have any of them)

But, works for her unplugged since we mount all out images over network anyhow. She plays racing and Swat 4, I play everything else.

[demoneye]

want to do....

great man , try this and got past the protection
this method was on my mind for couple of months and got no time do it....
i got also pci ide controler ata 100 from promise company...
now after u try and its work i gona format my pc and use this method also!

wounder if it can work with alcohol also! , i think it shold

[octopus72]

IDE replacement

Is it possible to have mds/mdf file burned on ("scsi") dvd-disc as a file (not burned as image) and then mounted directly from optical disk, so that starforce and other games actually run same as if image was on harddrive? Can someone test it?

I ask because I have a backup disk with few games, so there are few mds/mdf images burned on dvd disk, I want to mount & run them directly from dvd-drive, with ide unplugging it can't be done.

Maybe could have a first try with friend's ata-to-sata converter.

[cinamon]

great tip

awesome tip, can someone kindly confirm that this particular hardware will do the same - thats what i can get at my locate store, thanks in advance - just want to make sure before buying this

http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=002778&cid=IO.570

[sin316]

awesome tip, can someone kindly confirm that this particular hardware will do the same - thats what i can get at my locate store, thanks in advance - just want to make sure before buying this

http://www.canadacomputers.com/index...778&cid=IO.570

exactly that

[overlrd]

awesome tip, can someone kindly confirm that this particular hardware will do the same - thats what i can get at my locate store, thanks in advance - just want to make sure before buying this

http://www.canadacomputers.com/index...778&cid=IO.570

Thats where I had got my controller as well. Although mine is the Promise Sata2 150 tx2 plus.

[Rag]

Sorry, but I'm really new to this things?!

I just wonder why starforce can't detect the CD/DVD (IDE-drives (CD/DVD) just because they are connected to the motherboard via a PCI controller-card, instead of directly to the motherboard???
Do you have to disable the IDE-drives via the controller-card before you mount with DT4?

My PC consists of:
AMD64 +3700
Abit AKN8 motherboard
Nec CD/DVD (2 of them)

Is there any particular "things" (interface, versions,...) about the controller-card I must be aware so it is supported by my system?

Thank you in advance (excuse me for my weak english)

[MindFever]

Hmm...this is so simple and yet verry smart and much more "cleaner" to bypass the "logic" of starforce protection(s)... Great idea.

Could there be a software that SIMULATES every optical drive as to be shown as SCSI drives in WinXP???Could there be a way to "trick" winXP in that manner ?I thought of that for some time,but im not a programmer...

Oh man,what if someone makes a FAKECD clone app. (remember that DOS app,wich emulated a CD drive from a directory?) ,would it be possible to make such thing for winXP? (i think someone mentioned that before...)

Does it work if i disable the drives in BiOS only? Well,i will wait until a month passes.Only then i will try to buy this IDE controller and try the thingy.Since it would mean - If that much time had passed - SF bypass is (possibly) no-way near a completition ...

If i indeed choose to buy an extra IDE controller and use it,will it impact the performance of CD(-rw)/DVD(-rw) drives? My logic says it wouldnt...i never looked into this stuff more closely though.
Answers please! I was quite long,so thanks for your patience (to anyone who read this from top to bottom )

[Da_Junka]

Will these work on a 64 bit system?

[demoneye]

aint working

i got ide from promise ata100tx2 and its not working if i am not disconecting the ide drives!

[81RED]

Same problem here, but with a Promise Ultra66 controller that I had floating about.
Drive recognized as SCSI, no optical IDE device present.
Asks for CD to be placed in another drive unless I disconnect power from the DVD

[anihlator]

i tried this method with king kong with a silicon 0680 chipset using the latest drivers from siliconimage but it didnt work. i have an older promise 100ultra which ill try out later today. but other then that the only way i have been abble to play the backup is by removing the power.