"Please Insert Disk In Drive. . . . . . . . .
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Are you a gamer? Do you get annoyed that some companies make it so you have to have the CD or DVD inserted in the drive before it let’s you play your favorite game? If that isn’t annoying enough, if you use your computer for other things, such as business and you happen to travel. It is very easy while taking the stupid game disk out, to scratch, damage, forget, break, or just plain leave behind.
This is one of my minor annoyances with my #1 choice for gaming Any Company, although you can easily copy most disks and use the copy in your drive and leave your original in the box, there is a better choice. Slysoft promises to “unleash your games and go CD free in seconds” with their Game Jackal Pro software, and never modifies your game files or installing any virtual drives on your system.
That’s not all Game Jackal, also has to ability to stream data in image mode for those games that need to constantly access the drive. You can create gamer profiles and even password protect them to keep your little ones from playing games with questionable content, parental control!
Another option is you could search for “no cd patches” they are out there, but they actually modify the files in your gaming directory, and game specific, so this means you would have to have a patch for each game. There is also virtual cd software which make a clone of the game itself on the hard drive, if you want to go that route.
PC gaming is a multi-million dollar industry multi-billion dollar industry, and you have the right to protect your investment in the original software disk. The legality of the no-cd patches (usually found on warez or torrent sites) could be used to pirate the game and are questionable, Game Jackal is made especially for games and uses very little space on the hard drive. Game Jackal Pro is a commercial program by the Slysoft corporation and you can purchase, or just find more information on-line at the Game Jackal site.
Keep in mind in most countries you are allowed to legally make a back up copy.
Happy Gaming!
Disclaimer. . . Foolsville is not affiliated with SlySoft Game Jackal, this is not a paid advertisement .
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November 12th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
You can also go to gamecopyworld.com to grab a no-cd / no-dvd patch for your games. That means you don’t have to insert your original game DVD anymore on the drive
November 12th, 2008 at 10:33 pm
@michael Thanks for the info, I will check it out as well.
November 15th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
Yes you could use a no-cd crack to get around our copy-write protection but then you would be breaking the terms of use you agreed to when installing our game. Phantom EFX takes a hard stance against those who pirate our software and those who tell or show others how to. The “no cd patches” that you’re telling people to use are illegally reverse engineered.
November 15th, 2008 at 7:52 pm
Ok Justin I will gladly pull your name off of the post, I wasn’t telling anyone to pirate your game, just how not to have to have the precious original be put in danger, in case you didn’t know they aren’t copy-protected as far as making a back-up. I have purchased every copy I own and don’t play off-line, and from the look of things maybe not on-line either?
November 15th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
Making a backup and downloading an illegal crack for the game are two different things. There is no Questionable legality when it comes to cracks “no cd patches” as you call them is illegal and will get you into trouble with the company. For 1 the exe is usually out of date so you are more prone to contact their support department which means they are wasting their money trying to help you fix a problem that was caused by you illegally altering your game. 2 software companies have the right to copy protect their software in anyway they seem fit.
November 15th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
Can I backup my computer software?
Yes, under certain conditions as provided by section 117 of the Copyright Act. Although the precise term used under section 117 is “archival” copy, not “backup” copy, these terms today are used interchangeably. This privilege extends only to computer programs and not to other types of works.
Under section 117, you or someone you authorize may make a copy of an original computer program if:
* the new copy is being made for archival (i.e., backup) purposes only;
* you are the legal owner of the copy; and
* any copy made for archival purposes is either destroyed, or transferred with the original copy, once the original copy is sold, given away, or otherwise transferred.
You are not permitted under section 117 to make a backup copy of other material on a computer’s hard drive, such as other copyrighted works that have been downloaded (e.g., music, films).
It is also important to check the terms of sale or license agreement of the original copy of software in case any special conditions have been put in place by the copyright owner that might affect your ability or right under section 117 to make a backup copy. There is no other provision in the Copyright Act that specifically authorizes the making of backup copies of works other than computer programs even if those works are distributed as digital copies.
http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-digital.html
November 15th, 2008 at 11:30 pm
Yes great argument if I was saying you couldn’t make a backup of your game. I’m not. I’m saying you can’t legally use a no-cd crack for games you own. If you want to make a backup copy of the disk go ahead, just realize copy-write protection software like Safedisk and Securom look at those virtual drives as a pirate’s tool and will block you from using their legally purchased software. Might want to throw that warning up there as well.
November 16th, 2008 at 12:47 am
I wiki’d safe disk and got…
SafeDisc is a CD/DVD copy prevention and digital rights management program for Windows applications and games, developed by Macrovision Corporation, aiming to prevent software copying, as well as resisting home media duplication devices, professional duplicators, and reverse engineering attempts. There have been several editions of SafeDisc over the years, each one has the goals of making discs harder to copy. The current revision is marketed as SafeDisc Advanced.
Though SafeDisc protection effectively prevents regular home users from creating functional copies of CDs or DVDs, it is quite easy for skilled software crackers to bypass. The early versions of SafeDisc did not make the discs very difficult to copy. Recent versions 2.9+ can produce discs that are difficult to copy or reverse engineer, requiring specific burners capable of burning the “weak sectors” and odd data formats that are characteristic of SafeDisc.
Previous versions of SafeDisc were overcome by disc image emulator software such as Daemon Tools and Alcohol 120%. SafeDisc currently blacklists such software, meaning that those who want to use this method must install additional software to cloak the mounter. Examples include CureRom.
Another potential attack on SafeDisc is to pull the encrypted application out of the archive it is contained in. All SafeDisc encrypted discs contain an ICD file, an encrypted format used by SafeDisc to ensure that the original CD is loaded. UnSafeDisc circumvents and decrypts SafeDisc encrypted files by opening the ICD file format, decrypting it, and converting it to an EXE file. However each program requires a specific patch to enable full functionality.
and Securom
SecuROM is a CD/DVD copy protection product, most often used for computer games running under Microsoft Windows, developed by Sony DADC. SecuROM aims to resist home media duplication devices, professional duplicators, and reverse engineering attempts. The newest versions (v4 and up) prevent 1:1 CD-R copies from being made. Certain programs can circumvent its protection. The use of SecuROM is highly controversial because certain aspects of the protection are similar to functions of malware, and users are not always informed when SecuROM is included with a product.[1] A class action suit has been filed against Electronic Arts for this very issues.
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All I have to say is that it seems to be a losing battle for both sides no sooner than some protection scheme is released it seems to be already cracked.
I think you misunderstood my original intent, all I was getting as is If you play more than one game, and travel why take the chance of damaging the original disk that you paid for. I am not in anyway shape or form promoting piracy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SafeDisc
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SecuROM
November 16th, 2008 at 1:32 am
With all that said looks like Game Jackal would be the way to go since it doesn’t alter the game files or use any virtual drive.
November 24th, 2008 at 2:40 am
Wow! found your post via the Google blogserach page, Good post, I like your writing style! I’ve added to my feed reader, and will be reading your posts from now on.
December 9th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
@john the pirate Thanks for the compliment on the post, It seems to be a sore subject to some, I am not advocating piracy or illegal duplication. Phantom EFX has been lenient in allowing you to play their game on more than one family computer in the same household, and even used to give directions on how to bypass the cd check, they have since changed this stance and a cd is required to be in the drive when playing off-line. I personally find this annoying as hell and think it is a pain in the ass.
March 5th, 2009 at 12:43 am
Super-Duper site! I am loving it!! Will come back again – taking you feeds also, Thanks.
March 22nd, 2009 at 4:25 pm
Great quality stuff.
July 2nd, 2009 at 1:33 am
Now they probably wish they had players?