**final** Pop3 & Starforce3 Conclusions

[thetest]

There are various methods to get around starforce3..It all depends on your motherboard...

I'll list them in order of simplicity...

No.1
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Starforce3 protection is rendered useless by some motherboards....
Such as ones with the ATI-RS480 chipsets...and some nForce2/3 chipsets...

People with these motherboards need not do anything but mount the image in Daemon Tools and play.
No disabling drives, unplugging or whatsoever is needed...
(I had one of these mobo's - the RS480 and could play right off the image...nothing else needed to be done..but now i got new comp and it doesnt work anymore..)

Those are the lucky few...

No.2
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Some others can get away with the various tools that are used to disable the ide channels etc etc...

PROVIDED THAT...the IDE drives were disabled before the very first time u ran the game...

If u ran the game the first time without disabling the drives, its no use disabling later..it will remember that you have IDE Cd-Roms...

To get around this use the Starforce Removal tool that is freely available..

Once you use the tool...it will ask you to restart..
After removal..disconnect the power cables to ALL your cd roms..
Then run the game...It will register that you do not have any real cd-roms...Starforce will be reinstalled...then restart..

Then run the game once..

After that you can reconnect your cd-roms..and hence forth dont forget to disable them using whatever anti starforce progam before playing again..

No.3
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Some of us can get away with disabling the ide channels in the BIOS of the motherboard..

You will have to take the same precautions as above not to run the game the first time without disabling the drives...

BEWARE: For me, when i ran the game first time without disabling..my computer would not boot again with the drives disabled...only once i re-enabled my cd-roms would windows boot...

I had to use the starforce removal tool..then disable the drives..then my comp would boot with them disabled...then run the game again...

IMAGINE IF UR CD-ROM HAPPENED TO STOP WORKING!!! COMP WONT BOOT!!

No.4
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As for the rest of us...the universal unplug the drives and play is the only solution....

And make sure theyre unplugged the first time u run the game...

Now i hope ppl dont keep posting new "HELP POP3 DOESNT WORK" threads anymore..

[FnF]

Since Ubisoft isnt using SF anymore, I think they should release patches in order to solve the Copy Protection for these games

[sYk0]

Since Ubisoft isnt using SF anymore, I think they should release patches in order to solve the Copy Protection for these games

I doubt that Ubi Soft will remove the StarForce Security from thier older games... in order to solve the Copy Protection
Just cause they don't use SF any more does not mean they will remove the protection schemes from the older games... they paid ALOT of money for the protection...

[al1uk]

I doubt that Ubi Soft will remove the StarForce Security from thier older games... in order to solve the Copy Protection
Just cause they don't use SF any more does not mean they will remove the protection schemes from the older games... they paid ALOT of money for the protection...

i aint planning on playing my starforce games, until a patch is released to remove it, or a new method comes around that allows you to play without the drivers. i've already experianced dma stepdown once, and i dont wanna risk it again.

[Thorandor]

In that case you are basically saying you are waiting for a crack for those games. There is - as sYk0 said - no way for the devs or the publishers to go back and bring out a patch for "older" (or existing) SF-games to make them SF-free. Ubisoft paid a lot of money for SF-protection on those titles, why would they f**k themselves over by now removing it just because they do not have a deal with SF any more? Seems pointless, don't you think?

[Kinlaadare]

Others did... I'm thinking at egosoft who released a patch for X2, free of SF. They might not be the only one.

[chrashoverraid]

KNIP
No.1
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Starforce3 protection is rendered useless by some motherboards....
Such as ones with the ATI-RS480 chipsets...and some nForce2/3 chipsets...

KNIP

i think you mean NFORCE 3/4...........

[mysterio619]

Well thetest theres one more method you forgot...
The USB cable trick...
Get yourselves an USB to IDE cable and connect your optical drives to it,thats the solution...

[AnalCobra]

Well thetest theres one more method you forgot...
The USB cable trick...
Get yourselves an USB to IDE cable and connect your optical drives to it,thats the solution...

Another good thing which comes with an USB to IDE adapters is, if SF games aren't working with the usb drive plugged in, when you can easily unplug the usb drive (hot plug).

[Underheaven]

...

Are you guys thinking of an IDE to USB adapter (usually comes with a separate power supply too)?