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Starforce - how does it stuff up your pc?

H

hangar18

Landlubber
Hi All,

I've been reading from a number of sources that the "Starforce" protection system stuffs up your PC. Can anyone explain to me what it does to the PC and the dangers of playing games that use it to combat piracy? I'm not going to buy AOP as explained in my earlier "Bugs again??" post but I know of at least one other game I have that uses SF and am especially worried it might be slowing down my PC speed or stuffing it up in some way. Would be really grateful if anyone could explain to me why SF is a problem and how it can / does stuff up your PC?

Cheers,
 
<!--quoteo(post=164374:date=Sep 28 2006, 08:08 PM:name=hangar18)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hangar18 @ Sep 28 2006, 08:08 PM) [snapback]164374[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
Hi All,

I've been reading from a number of sources that the "Starforce" protection system stuffs up your PC. Can anyone explain to me what it does to the PC and the dangers of playing games that use it to combat piracy? I'm not going to buy AOP as explained in my earlier "Bugs again??" post but I know of at least one other game I have that uses SF and am especially worried it might be slowing down my PC speed or stuffing it up in some way. Would be really grateful if anyone could explain to me why SF is a problem and how it can / does stuff up your PC?

Cheers,
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

I just found out that SF was installed on my computer (from X3:reunion, a game I bought last november and never got it to work). I used the SF removal tool and my computer runs better now. with star force everytime I booted my computer with a CD or DVD in my DVD drive, it spun at top speed for at least 30 second or until I removed the CD from the drive. The same thing happend when I opened explorer with a CD in the drive (and it took a long time to open Explorer). This only happened to the DVD drive where I installed X3, The DVD burner which I installed after X3 never had that issue. Other than that my computer was runnig fine but I don't know how the high speed spinning is affecting the lifespan of my DVD drive.


P.S.: I haven't bought AOP yet since Idon't want star force again on my computer. When a patch comes out to remove SF I will buy it. Seadogs had no copy protection and I bought 2 copies, one for me and one for my brother. A game worth playing is a game worth buying. I quit smoking last year and can afford buying 2 games each month (cigarettes are *#@$% expensive).
 
Thanks. I too have X3 Reunion installed (and also had difficulties getting it work at a reasonable speed). You said you removed SF with the SF removal tool - where is this exactly? Sorry I'm not much of an IT tech guru so things need to be explained via a long and slow route with me.

Cheers,
 
<!--quoteo(post=164385:date=Sep 28 2006, 10:17 PM:name=hangar18)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hangar18 @ Sep 28 2006, 10:17 PM) [snapback]164385[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
Thanks. I too have X3 Reunion installed (and also had difficulties getting it work at a reasonable speed). You said you removed SF with the SF removal tool - where is this exactly? Sorry I'm not much of an IT tech guru so things need to be explained via a long and slow route with me.

Cheers,
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

I found the removal toolhere:
<a href="http://www.glop.org/starforce/remove.php" target="_blank">http://www.glop.org/starforce/remove.php</a>

if you don't want to remove it by deleting the files manually look for "I'm providing a mirror of the Starforce removal tool. " on this page were you can download a tool that removes it, just unpack it, double click it and reboot your computer. If you can't find it I can send you the program per email

j
 
Starforce is going to experience a "passive boycott" by the player community and the media.

It is perhaps the biggest piece of Faeces to ever touch the surface of a hard disc.

I'm all for anti-software-piracy systems, and protections, like Steam and stuff...

But when systems like Starforce start lowering the overall performance of your computer, that's when I effectively view it as "MalWare", because in essence, it is.

AS for your question of what it actually does to your PC. It installs various libraries on your computer, which alters and interferes with several CD processes. This can interfere with boot-ups. That's as far as I can tell....

There are currently 2 sides fighting against starforce:
1. It slows down the computer in much of the same way that Mal-Ware does.
2. It doesn't protect anything. It failed protecting *every single game* that it was released with. It completely, utterly, frankly and un-deniably failed to fulfill it's side of the bargain, for which companies like Akella paid for.

It is beyond me, how companies continuessly hire complete failures in hopes of fighting piracy. It's like buying the cheapest drug out there as some form of Placebo for a false sense of security. "No.... I took my security pill today... i'll survive a bullet-shot... so there is no need for bodyguards like the ones Valve have... "
 
Thanks Jkarolat and Kaydra! I will uninstall SF with immediate effect and never buy a game that uses such stupid technology (unless there are ways of bypassing it).
 
In my opinion they are trying to catch two birds in the bush, but pissing off the one one bird they've got in the hand.
 
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Thanks Jkarolat and Kaydra! I will uninstall SF with immediate effect and never buy a game that uses such stupid technology (unless there are ways of bypassing it).<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

There always is a way to bypass it :p
Try google with "name-of-your-game + starforce + crack"

However in some casses it is possble that you can't play the MP of that game tough <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/type_1.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":nk" border="0" alt="type_1.gif" />
 
<!--quoteo(post=164394:date=Sep 28 2006, 09:16 PM:name=kaydra)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(kaydra @ Sep 28 2006, 09:16 PM) [snapback]164394[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Starforce is going to experience a "passive boycott" by the player community and the media. <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->Pasive my [censored censored censored]!!

and there are already lawsuits against starforce.
join one today!! <a href="http://eplaw.us/starforce.html" target="_blank">http://eplaw.us/starforce.html</a>
 
<!--quoteo(post=165194:date=Oct 3 2006, 11:53 PM:name=rupertlittlebear)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(rupertlittlebear @ Oct 3 2006, 11:53 PM) [snapback]165194[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
<!--quoteo(post=164394:date=Sep 28 2006, 09:16 PM:name=kaydra)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(kaydra @ Sep 28 2006, 09:16 PM) [snapback]164394[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Starforce is going to experience a "passive boycott" by the player community and the media. <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->Pasive my [censored censored censored]!!

and there are already lawsuits against starforce.
join one today!! <a href="http://eplaw.us/starforce.html" target="_blank">http://eplaw.us/starforce.html</a>
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Good. This should be the beginning of the end for SF.
 
As said on <a href="http://www.glop.org/starforce/" target="_blank">http://www.glop.org/starforce/</a>


<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->For example, here's one of the common problems brought by Starforce: under Windows XP, if packets are lost during the reading or writing of a disk, XP interprets this as an error and steps the IDE speed down. Eventually it will revert to 16bit compatibility mode rendering a CD/DVD writer virtually unusable. In some circumstances certain drives cannot cope with this mode and it results in physical hardware failure (Most commonly in multiformat CD/DVD writer drives). A sure sign of this step down occurring is that the burn speeds will get slower and slower (no matter what speed you select to burn at). Starforce, on a regular basis, triggers this silent step down. Until it reaches the latter stages most people do not even realise it is happening.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

SF install a virtual machine on your PC (that's why your PC runs slower), which virtual machine checks your DVD if its original, now if there is a CD-KEY with the game SF installs a root kit which saves the key to work only for your PC, so that game doesn't work anymore on other PCs.


<b><!--sizeo:3--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->To GrayAngel, Akella and PLAYLOGIC, YOUR GAME WILL DIE EXACTLY WHEN WINDOWS VISTA COMES OUT. DON'T THINK FOR A SECOND STARFORCE WILL GET A CERTIFICATE FROM MICROSOFT TO RUN SUCH A MALWARE APP(STARFORCE) ON THEIR NEW OS. NOT EVEN FOR A SECOND.<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--></b>
 
<!--quoteo(post=165501:date=Oct 4 2006, 10:08 PM:name=Ravenheart)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Ravenheart @ Oct 4 2006, 10:08 PM) [snapback]165501[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
<b><!--sizeo:3--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->To GrayAngel, Akella and PLAYLOGIC, YOUR GAME WILL DIE EXACTLY WHEN WINDOWS VISTA COMES OUT. DON'T THINK FOR A SECOND STARFORCE WILL GET A CERTIFICATE FROM MICROSOFT TO RUN SUCH A MALWARE APP(STARFORCE) ON THEIR NEW OS. NOT EVEN FOR A SECOND.<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--></b>
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
We shall see. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/dunno.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":shrug" border="0" alt="dunno.gif" /> Did they state this anywhere?
 
If I have been running the game for about 5 months and haven't removed starforce yet and now remove it does it leave any permanent damage\bad karma on my PC?
 
<!--quoteo(post=180758:date=Jan 27 2007, 09:24 AM:name=Thor the Bassist)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Thor the Bassist @ Jan 27 2007, 09:24 AM) [snapback]180758[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
Ok i've removed starforce but now when I play the game the cannons fire like machine guns!!!
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
that'll be a problem in SuperMod

You be a needin the latest supermod patch.
 
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