VOGONS

Common searches


First post, by markot

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

Hello,

I used to use different copy protection removal software for DOS games during the 1990s. There were some libraries where you could find the game name and the patch for removing the copy protection. I just don't remember anymore the names of these copy protection removal programs. If someone knows good ones, please let me know.

Reply 3 of 32, by acp

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

I would say that SoftIce for DOS was one of the best tools available, but it required a bit of assembly language knowledge. However thanks to 386+ hardware breakpoints functionality removing / bypassing many schemes of copy protection was just too easy.

As a side note, since products by REM Software are already mentioned in above link, I'm looking for other product by the same company: Infinity Machine - a generic cheat engine similar to Game Wizard. I've lost my disk long time ago and back in a day I really liked it.

ASM beyond Repair https://corexor.wordpress.com blog about assembly related stuff

Reply 4 of 32, by JayCeeBee64

User metadata
Rank Retired
Rank
Retired
acp wrote:

As a side note, since products by REM Software are already mentioned in above link, I'm looking for other product by the same company: Infinity Machine - a generic cheat engine similar to Game Wizard. I've lost my disk long time ago and back in a day I really liked it.

I still have my copy of The Infinity Machine (and still use it as well ^^).

bq4Yzinh.png

whLBTZzh.png

It's not for sale however - and I had to close my PM box due to real life issues I'm having at present, so I have no idea how to proceed from here.

OT: I also have my original copy of Locksmith version 2.0, probably used it 2 or 3 times at most.

Ooohh, the pain......

Reply 5 of 32, by acp

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

I still remember using /X option with Doom. thanks for pictures but let's not hijack this thread. If only I could "persuade" you somehow to share disk images... 😉

ASM beyond Repair https://corexor.wordpress.com blog about assembly related stuff

Reply 6 of 32, by saturn

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member
markot wrote:

Hello,

I used to use different copy protection removal software for DOS games during the 1990s. There were some libraries where you could find the game name and the patch for removing the copy protection. I just don't remember anymore the names of these copy protection removal programs. If someone knows good ones, please let me know.

don't copy that floppy 😎

Reply 7 of 32, by Beegle

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member
saturn wrote:

don't copy that floppy 😎

I've used Neverlock on games that I own, more than once.
Especially when I'm recording music and need to restart the game a few times with different sound cards, copy protection becomes annoying very quickly.

The more sound cards, the better.
AdLib documentary : Official Thread
Youtube Channel : The Sound Card Database

Reply 8 of 32, by saturn

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member
Beegle wrote:
saturn wrote:

don't copy that floppy 😎

I've used Neverlock on games that I own, more than once.
Especially when I'm recording music and need to restart the game a few times with different sound cards, copy protection becomes annoying very quickly.

Are you sure you own the game? and not just the right to use it? I don't know about you, but were I live braking copy protection in anyway is the same as piracy. I know it crazy, but it's better safe then sorry when walking down this path.

Reply 9 of 32, by gerwin

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t
saturn wrote:

were I live braking copy protection in anyway is the same as piracy.

Where is that? AFAIK supplying a no-CD fix/patch, without any part of the targetted software, is legal.
Actually DosBox is just as good as the DOS tool 'FakeCD' in bypassing the CD check, by giving a false positive, using a virtual CD instead.

--> ISA Soundcard Overview // Doom MBF 2.04 // SetMul

Reply 10 of 32, by MiniMax

User metadata
Rank Moderator
Rank
Moderator

If we are going to nitpick, I think it is unlikely anyone owns a game. At most, you have a license to use the copy that has been provided to you.

DOSBox 60 seconds guide | How to ask questions
_________________
Lenovo M58p | Core 2 Quad Q8400 @ 2.66 GHz | Radeon R7 240 | LG HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GH40N | Fedora 32

Reply 12 of 32, by Dominus

User metadata
Rank DOSBox Moderator
Rank
DOSBox Moderator
MiniMax wrote:

If we are going to nitpick, I think it is unlikely anyone owns a game. At most, you have a license to use the copy that has been provided to you.

If we are going to nitpick... I'm sure Jeff Vogel owns a game 😉

Windows 3.1x guide for DOSBox
60 seconds guide to DOSBox
DOSBox SVN snapshot for macOS (10.4-11.x ppc/intel 32/64bit) notarized for gatekeeper

Reply 13 of 32, by acp

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie
JayCeeBee64 wrote:

I still have my copy of The Infinity Machine (and still use it as well ^^).

Sorry for bring back this old topic but I do wonder if anyone actually broke IM copy protection scheme? Secondly JCB64 how can I contact you those days? Long time we haven't spoken, but I am glad I still see you posting here 😀

ASM beyond Repair https://corexor.wordpress.com blog about assembly related stuff

Reply 14 of 32, by kjliew

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie
acp wrote:

I do wonder if anyone actually broke IM copy protection scheme?

I don't mean to encourage piracy, I did break IM copy protection ~20 years ago when I was still a high school lad, using just the DEBUG.COM from MS-DOS on my 486. I still use IM today, it can even be used in DOSBox to accelerate my limited time of finishing old games that I enjoy replaying in different ways. 😊 I did it for a friend who bought the copy-protected floppy from the store. And since the copy protection was broken, I got to keep a copy for myself. 😀

I can summarize the challenges of breaking the copy protection:
1. The INFINITY.COM is encrypted, a very standard defense against disassembly.
2. You can't modify the .COM even after it is decrypted. It has another layer of runtime integrity check.
3. It uses INFINITY.HDN as a unique hardware profile to prevent others from copying it out from the machine that it was installed.

Addressing #1 was a must. Once the clear format of .COM was obtained, one could choose to defeat the integrity check (#2) OR generate a legit INFINITY.HDN (#3). It turned out that generating a legit INFINITY.HDN was very simple from the clear format of .COM because it was comparing the binary data un-obfuscated. So saving the binary data from destination pointer into INFINITY.HDN and yeah, you got a legit INFINITY.HDN that can be used by the original encrypted INFINITY.COM.

I hope I won't be banned from this forum. Moderator, please feel free to delete this post if deemed necessary.

Reply 15 of 32, by acp

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie
kjliew wrote:

I don't mean to encourage piracy, I did break IM copy protection ~20 years ago

I was suspecting that back in a day somebody broke the protection. That was the only info I've been looking for out of curiosity. Thanks.

ASM beyond Repair https://corexor.wordpress.com blog about assembly related stuff

Reply 16 of 32, by FabulousFurlough

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I have some experience removing copy protection from DOS games. If you guys really NEED something that doesn't involve Sierra On-Line's SCI interpreter, just let me know. Also, if you check the manual for IM, there should be a thanks to me in there. IIRC.

Reply 18 of 32, by FabulousFurlough

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

You can definitely still send me a PM. I just can't reply. So, go ahead! Someone else sent me a PM about old Sierra stuff. And prepare for a shock.

During the THG days, I didn't have a PC at home. I cracked all the games at work on my company provided IBM PS/2 55SX. That being the case, I didn't keep ANY of the games that I cracked. I'd download the protected versions from Candyland, crack them, package them up for release, upload that to Candyland, and then delete it off my local computer. (As I needed the space for work!). So, no. I don't have any of the old stuff. That being said. If you DO come across the Space Quest 4 Beta that we released, it has the Sierra SCI debugger built in it! That could be a great tool for anyone looking to tinker around with those games.

Last edited by FabulousFurlough on 2019-08-01, 20:05. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 19 of 32, by keropi

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

^ oh that's too bad to hear... it is always interesting to get archives of old "warez" even if they can be frowned upon. It's part of history and I have to say warez is the reason some games are still playable today even if someone has bought the original back in the day... 😀

🎵 🎧 PCMIDI MPU , OrpheusII , Action Rewind , Megacard and 🎶GoldLib soundcard website