CD emulation software conflict with Call of Duty game.

[CougTek]

I have a customer who complains that since he installed (himself) his DVD drive, his favorite game (I think it's CoD) no longer works. When he starts it, an error message appears saying that this game detects that a CD emulation program is installed and that it is not compatible with it.

I'm not a gamer, I have no idea what the trouble is. I suspect that the customer might have installed a kind of hack to try to play his game without having the game media in the drive, but I have no proof and really no idea currently how to detect this.

Help?

 

[mubs]

Daemon Tools is a well known freebie CD/DVD drive emulator. Virtual Drive is a for-pay emulator. Yuo might want to look for these two in CtlPnl/Add-Remove Progs.

Daemon Tools recently released a new version that defeats most games' detection of emulators. But it does this by installing a driver in root-kit fashion, so there is a lot of controversy about it. Apparently, the only way Daemon can do its emulation function without being detected by the game is to burrow deep into the OS.

If the customer didn't install a CD/DVD emulator, I fail to see why the game is freaking out.

 

[CougTek]

I googled a little and the issue seems to be over-agressive copy-protection from Activision's games. Basicly, most burning programs installed with the default options will piss off CoD somehow because Activision wants to prevent the user from pirating the game. I'll have to configure its burning software (probably Nero) not to load in the system tray and then maybe CoD will work.

 

[Bozo]

You might also stop the burning software from starting each time a cd/dvd is put into the cd/dvd drive.

Bozo :mrgrn:

 

[ddrueding]

There is a nifty trick to make SecuROM not detect Daemon Tools. Do a search of their forums, it involves changing the permissions on some files and registry keys. It does work.

 

[Santilli]

Well, they also wrote in something in the United Offensive upgrade package. The following setup file is not present in the initial Call of Duty, which installs, and runs fine, on 2003 SERVER.

Figure their must be a way to support 2003 with a quick text change, but, I can't figure out what it would be:

Ideas?

I bought this package, and, am it's legal owner, installing on only one machine.

"[Info]
Name=INTL
Version=1.00.000
DiskSpace=8000 ;DiskSpace requirement in KB

[Startup]
CmdLine=
SuppressWrongOS=N
ScriptDriven=1
ScriptVer=9.1.0.429
DotNetOptionalInstallIfSilent=N
OnUpgrade=0
RequireExactLangMatch=0404,0804
Product=Call of Duty - United Offensive
PackageName=Call of Duty - United Offensive.msi
MsiVersion=2.0.2600.0
EnableLangDlg=N
UI=1000
DoMaintenance=N
ProductCode={A662E280-64A8-4CF5-8407-13D0808602B3}
ProductVersion=1.00.0000
SuppressReboot=N
PackageCode={D74AB9F2-BB6B-4AD9-84D9-439B8F87E408}
CloneSetupExe=Y

[SupportOS]
Win95=1
Win98=1
WinME=1
WinNT4=1
Win2K=1

[Win95]
MajorVer=4
MinorVer=0
MinorVerMax=1
BuildNo=950
PlatformId=1

[Win98]
MajorVer=4
MinorVer=10
MinorVerMax=11
BuildNo=1998
PlatformId=1

[WinME]
MajorVer=4
MinorVer=90
MinorVerMax=91
BuildNo=3000
PlatformId=1

[WinNT4]
MajorVer=4
MinorVer=0
MinorVerMax=1
BuildNo=1381
PlatformId=2
ServicePack=1536

[Win2K]
MajorVer=5
MinorVer=0
MinorVerMax=1
BuildNo=2195
PlatformId=2

[Languages]
count=1
default=409
key0=409
[Call of Duty - United Offensive.msi]
Type=0
Location=Call of Duty - United Offensive.msi
[Setup.bmp]
409=409\coduo_splash.bmp
Type=0
[instmsiw.exe]
Type=0
Location=instmsiw.exe
[instmsia.exe]
Type=0
Location=instmsia.exe
[ISScript.msi]
Type=0
Location=ISScript9.Msi
"

GS

 

[CougTek]

There is a nifty trick to make SecuROM not detect Daemon Tools.

I'm pretty sure CoD uses Safedisc protect, not SecuROM.

 

[Sol]

Santilli I would suggest;

Try running in windows 2000 compatability mode (if you can in 2k3)
Try manually opening Call of Duty - United Offensive.msi
Change SuppressWrongOS=N to SuppressWrongOS=Y

Call of duty and united offensive are based on the Quake3 engine. Games using this engine don't require any registy keys or shared dlls to run (except for cd keys) so if you copy the fully installed game from another computer, delete the configuration files, (only needed if the computers can't both use the same resolution or something) and re-enter your cd-key (there is a menu option for this in CoD and UO) then it should work perfectly normally.

For the emulation software detection the most common one I see is Alcohol 120% which is a burning suite that also has a drive emulator. Frustratingly it doesn't ask before installing the emulation componant and you can't uninstall it without removing the whole program.

As a general rule copy protection software doesn't care if your actually using the virtual drive software or not, just having it installed will cause the system to refuse to run. There are a variety of anti-blacklist programs that will prevent games from detecting your virtual drives but if you'd rather not use them then you'll probably have to uninstall whatever is offending your game.

 

[mubs]

There is a nifty trick to make SecuROM not detect Daemon Tools. Do a search of their forums, it involves changing the permissions on some files and registry keys. It does work.

Do you need to do that for Daemon Tools ver. 4.03? (Latest ver AFAIK).

 

[Santilli]

Santilli I would suggest;

Try running in windows 2000 compatability mode (if you can in 2k3)
Try manually opening Call of Duty - United Offensive.msi
Change SuppressWrongOS=N to SuppressWrongOS=Y
TRIED THE ABOVE THREE, AND MORE, NO JOY.


Call of duty and united offensive are based on the Quake3 engine. Games using this engine don't require any registy keys or shared dlls to run (except for cd keys) so if you copy the fully installed game from another computer, delete the configuration files, (only needed if the computers can't both use the same resolution or something) and re-enter your cd-key (there is a menu option for this in CoD and UO) then it should work perfectly normally.

I'LL GIVE THIS A SHOT, SINCE I CAN EASILY INSTALL TO A DRIVE, AND COPY OVER, ON ANOTHER COMPUTER.

120% is installed on my main computer, but not on the game machine. See if copying from one, to the other, works...

Answer later...

 

[Santilli]

The last technique worked.

Have a functioning copy of United on 2003, now.

Also, while PowerDVD won't install on 2003, the Mediaplayer set works great. Watching Pam Andersen in the opening part of Barbwire, and, she's incredible...
WOW..


"One more person calls me babe...."
ROFL
:mrgrn:

Thanks

Greg

 

[ddrueding]

There is a nifty trick to make SecuROM not detect Daemon Tools. Do a search of their forums, it involves changing the permissions on some files and registry keys. It does work.

Do you need to do that for Daemon Tools ver. 4.03? (Latest ver AFAIK).

I doubt it. I'm still; using 3.47 with this mod. Works for everything.

 

[CougTek]

Just to confirm, uninstalling CloneCD fixed the issue. And the game was Medal of Honor, not Call of Duty like I first thought.

 

[Sol]

Oh yeah, clonecd added a virtual drive somewhat after alcohol 120% came out with thiers... Very few people use it anymore though and most stopped prior to the version with the virtual drive.

FYI: Medal of Honor is pretty old now, there are no-cd cracks for the latest version that work perfectly on line and there havn't been any new patches for years.