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EDIT BY MODERATOR: banned for 3 days !!!

You really want to get banned hm?
The link is not forbidden for fun.

What does it matter? The "no-CD" dll doesn't work. It's total crap.

Seems the crackers are working on bypassing the authentication by releasing the steam-download files, but totally ignoring the issue of people with the retail box version who need a noCD fix.

re
 

well i didnt bother reading any of these posts before buying this game today at woolworths for a massive £35...it took 1 hour to install then crashed on me 5 times while waiting to unlock file (wtf) unlock what i bought the game lol, anyway after that i tried to get it to run without connection didnt no i needed it..started net up authenticating cd key wtf again we cant authenticate cd key due to the...(f*ckin wank steam servers being gay as ****) anyway after 4 hours with a 1 meg bt bb connection the game starts up jerk like **** cos xp had installed the game in all the spaces on my drive lol 2 hours later my drive is defragged...yipee ready to play....

f*ckin bollocks its goin back to the shop tomoz with a note in the cd case saying "valve are nothing but a bunch of **** s*cking totalitarianistic russia loving twats"......i mean is this game reflecting the state of russia in its demands ffs i live in the uk we buy a game we play the f*ckin thing not all this crap.halflife 2 is a total load of crap i only bought it cos im a big cs fan play it all the time..........ill stick to cs1.6 and halflife i think

I won't take the game back. With the code gone to steam, you could retrieve the game without paying for it.
I see lawyers rubbing their hands.

valve can blow my d*ck i couldnt give 2 f*cks about it woolworths will take it back cos ill say its faulty ive looked the word up in a dictonairy and as far as im conserned this game fits the f*cking bill...

and on another note no one should buy this game as all it does is vindicate the use of this type of protection....

O.k., if i have to.
 

Sorry. I just get off on telling certain types of people off. It's a strength and a weakness. People like..."Hey,I'm mad about something else and you're not paying attention to me"..or like...."Hey, i'm over here. I have nothing important to say, but I'm gonna say it." Kind of like this post. Pointless.

Well, if that's the case, then where the hell are these files? I'd be very appreciative if someone could direct me to where I might download these. I have no internet at home (not even a phone line) So I seriously need a way to bypass steam authentication. I've already tried dragging my computer all the way to work and hooking it up to the net, but the net wouldn't let me connect because it didn't recognize my MAC address or soemthing, I guess. Really lame, I own the game, but I cannot play it yet...

Edit: I've been frantically searching since the 16th, but I haven't come across anything that anyone says actually works. Even tried playing with the dlls and other files in Visual C++, but since I know veyr little about programmings I didn't make any progress.

re
 

i beg to differ i own the origional dvd playing the game without the dvd is second to being able to play it without the w*nky internet.

Haha ok you exaggerated a bit and I don't like exaggeration, but it looks like we actually agree about activation sucking ;) Works for me.
Yawn. If I can afford hardware good enough to run Half Life, I think I could afford Windows. In fact, I had both 98 and XP on here before I deleted them. I just choose not to use them. This means I can't play Half Life 2, but I'm not screaming about it. Life goes on. I only mentioned it to make the point that I wasn't whining about it, even though I am prevented from playing just like someone who has no net access. THe point, in simple terms is this: I am moving on, people without net access can too.

But this just in: Transgaming's Cedega will support Half life 2 on Linux, so looks like I can play after all. Probably still won't, 'cause activation sucks ;) (why do you think I don't use windows anymore?)

Bottom line: activation is dumb. But it is not discriminating against poor people, and since dalver said he was just exaggerating to get a response anyway, I don't think I disagree with anyone here. I just think it's possible to point out the drawbacks to activation without breathless hyperbole.

Apparently people are only allowed to discuss things if they agree with you? After you rant about how this is a place for discussion you tell me not to discuss? You probably don't even realize how hypocritical that is. But please, stick by the weak claim that Valve is paying me off. And try to draw politics into it as well. Violate Godwin's Law while you're at it.. And do it while all the while you try to shut someone up, cause this is a place for DISCUSSION don't you know!

How clear can I make it that I am not buying Half Life 2 because of the activation, which I find ridiculous and unnecessary? As far as I can tell, you are pissed at me because I am not denouncing it with the same frothy mouthed rabidness that you are. I hate it, but not because it discriminates against poor people. Oh fark, I don't hate it as much as you do, I must be silenced! Fark, even dalver said he was just exaggerating about the discrimination. "'Spit in poor peoples eye' is an exaggerrated-phrase used by me to spark a reaction, which I got." Going to try to shut him up too now?

Since you appear to be dense: my point was not that activation is good, it was that it is not discrimination. If you're going to say activation sucks, use real reasons. Here are some of them:
1) it annoys the tard out of people who pay for it legally
2) it doesn't inconvenience people who download it illegally at all.
3) it is therefore a waste of money, moeny which could be spent on other parts of development
4) pissing off people who buy it legally will likely cause more of them to get it illegally, thereby defeating the purpose

So .. wow. One guy accuses me of not being able to afford Windows, the next accuses me of being a republican elitist. And for what? I didn't disagree with dalver's point (activation=bad) I disagreed with how he made it. For that I am accused of being poor, or rich, or something bad. Good grief.

Bout time some proper discussion took place in the PC Forum :D

Anyways, concerning the Steam cracks you people are trying to use. Dont that just apply to the Steam version of the game? Good luck trying to get them to work with the retail.

Nice.
 

Well, it's been nice talking to you! You do have some nice comebacks. But, this is no fun. You start off pissed off. You remain that way. Try smiling. Your face won't crack. Oh, and i forgot.... shut up. :p

>Oh, and please let's stop this. There's more important stuff to talk about here. Like how to get software developers to stop killing the industry. K?

Presumably a "fix" for the broken EMPiRO release, though apparently that 'fix' is also broken, hence the byte-patcher fix. Or maybe there are two fixes for the broken release, and that's a drop-in replacement while the other is a patcher. I don't know. Whatever it is, replacing the original game file with the one linked at the allegedly forbidden site (it's just client.dll, that's it) does not remove the CD check done at startup. Thus far there is no known method for bypassing the CD check on the box retail version of the game, however people who purchased and downloaded the game through Steam do not have to deal with such a hassle.

Whoever made this decision should be tortured.

OK OK, my skin is a bit too thin sometimes ;) We agree about activation. I won't be mad at you for reacting to my posts, cause I did the same. It's cool :)

I'm not whining because I can't play HlafLife2. I'm not buying or, er, "pirating" it for the same reason I have yet to see anything more than the teasers for any of the new star wars movies. And I own ALL versions and releases of the old ones.

What did upset me was the rabid commercialism that Valve shows and their assumption that everyone without internet is a thief. It is a bit of a stretch to come to this conclusion but it is nevertheless how I see it.
The 4 numbered points mentioned by Otaru, go without saying, for everyone I presume.


Another point that seems to have got overlooked, from my original post was this:

What an internet-online-account-copy-protection means to me is that the pirates and hackers and crack programs will need to change direction and also become better and more specialised, meaning the internet security will drastically drop. As it is now hackers are hacking cd-s and copy-protection-specific programs not online databases, at least not to crack a mere game for a no-cd crack - which will need to be done in order to crack this sort of “future” protection.

Is there actually a way to bypass activation through steam for those of us that bought the retail version of the game. Seems some files are missing from the cd install. This is very frustrating, maybe I should just give up till I can get internet connection about a month from now.

@ManiyaOtaru
I didnt accuse you of not being able to afford Windows! I merely asked a question on why you dont use it! It now seems it is because you choose not to! Like I said "its all about choices" and you made your choice! Thats all I was asking you! Note the '?' at the end of the sentence! ;)
Seems a lot of people are very frustrated with the activation and as Ive mentioned in another post previously, a good discussion will usually become heated or hostile! Many people have differences of opinions thats what makes discussions heated. We all think we are right until thru discussion we get another insight into what others think. Only then can we maybe learn that there is another point to every argument and maybe then we may actually learn from them and become a little more tolerent to others ideas or way of thinking. Sometimes things seem very obvious until someone gives another insight into it. Alot of things I read here I think to myself "thats a good point" then someone else says something to make me again think "Hmm thats also a good point". A lot of people tend to write things in the heat of the moment, me included, but that is what happens when we all think we are the ones who are right!
P.S: My appolagies to any 'poorer' people who got offended at my comments directed to them. It was a cheap shot! I do appreciate its not their fault they were born in their countries and I do feel very lucky to have been born and bred in Australia. I also appreciate that even if people are born in a richer country that circumstances, sometimes beyond their control, can make them poor!

Hmm. Apparently there is a way to get around the CD check by ripping an image via BlindWrite, with a SecuROM 5 ini file. Unfortuntely, for some reason BlindWrite does not like my DVD-ROM drive, and as such it bails before it even begins extracting my DVD image.

Perhaps someone else could have better luck pulling a DVD image via BlindWrite?

Instructions (in German), were found here http://forum.copybase.ch/de/index.php?showtopic=3526

Apparently it also involves tweaking the registry to hide Daemon Tools from the SecuROM check.

Well, I'm glad that's over. I thought i was gonna pop a vessel in my head. :D

Online activiation isn't necessary for me
 

I won't accept this condition by Vivendi/Valve, also I won't buy this fantastic game.
We don't need this game, but the companies depend on selling their products!!! :p
We have the power, they have to serve ! :)
Don't forget, unconditional love in eternal living is reality! ;)
Lets show the companies, who is master who is slave! :)

so, i have buyed hl2 via steam

after 3hours of decryten,registering and installing i backup my hl2 folder.

are the backup.exe encryted oder decrypted ?

Cool, now we need someone from Germany to translate this for us english folk :P

Any1 here no how to copy half-life 2 ??
 

im trying 2 copy half-life 2 but securom 5.03.06.0002 is giving me :mad: probs :mad: when i try 2 play it.it comes up with a emulator software error msg if somone can help me here it would be more appericated then you think..ok anways thanks in advance guys

yeh no probs m8 its securom 5.03.06.0002..do u no how 2 copy it by anychance?? as i burnt a workin copy from my mates orginal but im getting a emulator error msg..ok & thnks in advance

MODERATOR-EDIT:
Read the board rules !!!
You're banned !

seriously not on topic, but...
 

My head has a problem with everything related to the HalfeLife engine. The first engine. All games that are made on that engine (like HalfLife 1, Counter Strike, Gunman Chronicles, Opposing Force) give me an instant headache. And I mean it in the biological way. Doesn't matter if I'm tired or not, if I play in the morning, at noon or at night. After 5 minutes MAX of playing I get a serious headache, complete with nausea and everything and it lasts, half a day.

That is the only engine that I have experienced something like it. It is very strange, because I play games, many games, different games - but only HalfLife engine has a headache incorporated.

Does anyone recognise this, has it happened to you?

For uk/usa People where don't understand german :)

You Need Blindwrite5

First download this
http://forum.copybase.ch/de/uploads/...fil_SrNew5.rar

then extract it to your B5 Profile


Then go to the "READ" Menue
Push the Read Button, wait until blindwrite5 is finish with reading the dvd.


push your start button go to "implement" push it

For Winxp give regedit in the implement on.
for win2k give regedt32.exe in the implement on.


The DVD are protected with Securom 5 and has Blacklisting of Daemon Tools and Alcohol here the trick to make securom5 happy

then goes to

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\HARDWARE\DEVICEMAP\Scsi\

you must find d347prt for Daemon Tools
and you musst find a347scsi for Alkohol120%

in the scisi under folder you must find the ports thats belong to the two tools

by me are it scisi port 2 and 3

then under winxp right click the port
and under win2k marks with the left button

under winxp select characteristics
under win2k goes to Security

Under winxp and win2k are the "read" whery important under characteristics of scisi port.

Makes a chop by "read" refuse an goes to "take over" then goes to ok and make the same by the other scisi port.

You must make this each time you start window new.


then you can mount hl2 the image and play





before the first troll or flamer cames :)
this manual was maken with school english and google

Excellent procedure, never thought of doing that,
here's what I did with the registry (on winxp)

Start -> Run -> Regedit

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\HARDWARE\DEVICEMAP\Scsi\
look in the port keys (scsi port x) for one that has SCSI Bus X\target id x\logical unit x with a value of the device name used for demon tools "generic DVD" for example or whatever you called it in the daemon tools config
right click on that port entry and select permissions
check "deny" on "read" and "full control" for the list of users/groups that are there.
apply.

do the same for the port that has blindwrite

now my question is this: do i need to deny all users or just "administrators" or "system"

just administrator everytime you reboot your pc

question
 

How large is the launcher.exe file, i have 196 608 bytes.
launcher.exe and hl2.exe has a DOS application icon. should it be so or there is another icon?

is there any encryption used?

i copied hl2 from DVD iso.

thank you!

I already deciphered the BlindWrite instructions.

My problem is that, for some inexplicable reason, BlindWrite refuses to extract the DVD image. It gives me the error "Can't find a method to read a CD DATA track".

Does anyone else have this problem? Has anyone been able to extract the image via BlindWrite? Does anyone know of a possible workaround?

I've used BW in the past (previous installation of XP), and I don't remember having this problem.

I had to do it for "Everyone", because my main playing account is not an Administrator-level account (because only an idiot runs as Admin all the time :p )

I did not change it for "RESTRICTED" or "SYSTEM".

I have never used BLindwrite before. Does this method only work with the DVD version of this game? or can I do it with my 5 cd retail copy??

So now i found out, there is a "Backup files" option in the Steam-Menu (right-click on the game title).
But when i do that, Steam tells me "Half-Life 2 kann erst gesichert werden, wenn die Aktualisierung abgeschlossen wurde."
(english: Half-Life 2 cannot be backed up until it has finished updating.)

Which actualization/update?
When will it be ready?
I can play the game without problems!
How can i tell Steam "update now"?

PS: It's a very cool game!

The .ini file linked at the forum is just for SecuROM on DVD. If you could find a similar .ini file for CD-ROM, you could probably use it for the first disc.

I'm still trying to figure out how to make BlindWrite work with my DVD-ROM drive :\

Is this game transferrable?
 

I guess that I'll ask this question here since it's as good a place as any....

Is it impossible to transfer ownership of this game? I want to sell my copy as soon as I am done playing it through. Or am I permanently stuck with it?

Halflife2
 

Two Scenarios:
1. My friend has no Internet connection, how can he set things up so he can play offline?

2. I want to be able to play at a LAN party and they won't have an internet connection there, how can we all play offline?

Answer:
There are several ways to do this that will work for players without Internet access as well as for LAN Parties where there won't be internet access.

Note:
You have to be online somewhere at least once to perform all of the following steps.

The first step here is to perform the latest update and capture it. This is very important to make sure you get the latest content and bug fixes. Everyone that will be participating at the LAN event must have the latest update!

Easiest way
Bring the computer that will be playing offline to an available internet connection at a friend's house, school or perhaps business. Log into the account and do all the updates, make sure it all works.

Then "exit" (do not log out!) from Steam, go to the Steam folder and make a copy of the clientregistry.blob file (just in case). Write-protect the copy (mark it Read/Only).

Physically unplug the computer from the internet, start up Steam and let it fall back into offline mode. Make sure the computer will play both Listenserver (LAN), client and the single player ok, then exit from Steam again.

WIN98
If this is a WIN98 computer, it will act like it's stuck updating and not logging in, JUST WAIT! It will take about 90 seconds for it to finally figure out that there isn't an active internet connection then it will prompt you to retry or go into offline mode.

The computer is now ready to play offline at home unless he accidentally logs out ...

If he does this he won't be able to play unless he verifies online again >> or << exits from Steam, then copies the copy of the clientregistry.blob file back which will restore his offline play.

NOTE: MAKE SURE THE ACTIVE ClientRegistry.blob FILE IS NOT WRITE PROTECTED!

It certainly wouldn't hurt to burn a CD of the working offline installation for him.

Next Easiest way
Do all the above on a different computer, IE: install Steam, log into his account, do all the updates, exit from Steam, make the copy of the Clientregistry.blob file, start up and let it fall back into offline mode, make sure it all works, then exit again.

Then burn a CD of the install and take the CD to the remote computer and copy the install there.

Very Important! Make sure the files are placed on the exact same Disk and Path!

LAN Party Setup:
Clients
All clients that are going to play on the LAN should have unique Steam Accounts. You might also have to assign unique clientports to each computer if they are going to play online as well as offline. Please refer to this FAQ for help in configuring multiple clients behind a router.

Most home DLS and cable connections will only be able to support 6 or 8 players on a 128K uplink and 12 to 16 players on a 256K uplink, assuming that they are using a reasonable rate (7500) and cl_cmdrate (30) settings. You might have to lower the cl_cmdrate to 20.

The Server
The first step is to decide if the server is going to be a Listen Server or a Dedicated Server.

If this is a small party (4 players or less) just for fun, then a Listen server will probably be the easiest way to host a quick party, but it's important to remember that the player who's computer is running the Server has an advantage over all the other players.

If there are going to be more players, or if the players are more serious players and want a level playing field, then a Dedicated Server is the best way to go, and assigning a computer to run only the Dedicated Server (no clients) is the very best.

If this is for a Stand-Alone Dedicated Server, be sure to get the latest Server update.

If family and friends want to watch, then it is a good idea to set up a couple of extra computers for spectators and run the HLTV spectator proxy.

The first requirement is that you need a 10/100 switch or router for setting up the core network. This can be part of a router, and you can daisy-chain several switches to connect everyone else if you need more ports.

The key here is to use that one switch or router (we'll call it switch #1) to join up to 4 additional switches (assuming it's a 4-port switch) which then can support up to 16 players (at 4 ports each). This way, there is one central switch/router and up to four other switches.

If there is internet access available, then the central router can connect everyone on the network for authentication and web browsing if they need to.

For best performance, plug the Game Server into the central router or switch, that way it will have 1/2 the delay to everyone (you'll only have 3 ports then to connect additional switches to). It's a good idea to make sure the Server has a 100mbit Ethernet adapter.

NOTE: Do not use mixed ethernet speeds with "dumb hubs" they can't handle it. If you have a hub and not a switch, you'll have to make sure that all ethernet connections on the network are all 10MBit only.

Speeding up Fallback into Offline Play:
It's actually quite easy to make Steam fall back into offline mode with almost no delay.

1. go to network properties
2. right-click on your internet connection "local area connection"
3. disable it
4. start Steam - it only takes about 2 seconds to pop up to the start in offline mode.
5. then re-enable your connection and you can play on LAN.

One warning, XP might get upset if you disable your NIC and think that you are changing the hardware in your computer (happens when you re-boot, so enable the NIC before rebooting!).

XP identifies 7 devices on the system when it is installed and if the identity of those devices changes too much then XP will complain and may require you to re-activate.

YES YOU CAN TRANSFER....IF YOU REMOVE THE ORIGINAL FROM YOUR PC........YOU CAN GET ALL THIS INFO FROM THE VALVE WEBSITE.

TRICHOMEZ, it says in www.play.com *you need access to the internet to be able to play this game* so im guessing theres no way of playing it without having to activate it through the internet.

Could you be a little more specific? A link or an e-mail address perhaps?

In the forum at steampowered.custhelp.com is a thread with this question:
Can I transfer my CD Key to another Steam Account?
The Answer is:
Transferring CDKeys from one account to another is not supported at this time.