how do u know if a backup works

[jcrc76]

just curious to know, is the only indicator that your backup works is if it runs or as i have heard some programs continue to run however they degrade and eventually they will no longer work. Thanks. Does anyone know if i can purchase alcohol retail or if i have to purchase it online. I donot like to make online purchases. Thanks

[RincewindTheWiz]

If you have an exact backup, it will work forever. However for the securom new games, a method of copying was developed that allows you to use it as a backup, but the backup isn't an exact copy. So in future updates the copy protection could kick back in. What you probably heard about was FADE from Operation Flashpoint. This is an extra copy protection that kicks in when you try to play online with an invalid cd key. These two are about the only examples of degrading play I can think of.

[bOOls eYe]

in several games released by JoWooD (e.g. Industry Gigant 2), there is an additional Fade-like protection.

and you can expect more...
http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=58048

[RincewindTheWiz]

I don't know. From what I heard it was a simple extra check that disabled some game features after about an hour playing. To me it seems like not enough checking done by the original crackers, if you know about it, it shouldn't be too hard to change those extra checks. I think FADE is something much more than that and much more difficult to get rid off. But I guess you'll know a bit more about it, Bools :D