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This question has been answered millions of times, search the forums. I'll give a reply
All protections have blacklists which stop you from using legitimate programs or from copying yout CD. People prefer no-cd cracks because:
1) They don't want to use their original CD all the time, as CDs become unreadable very easily (from scratching, temperature, humidity etc etc). I for one put my CDs in CD wallets to save space and to keep them organized, but I've had a couple of old CDs (some 6 year old ones) that are unreadable now. Data doesn't last for ever, therefore you NEED backups
2) Many people don't like swapping discs if they play 2 games in a certain period. CD images are a good way of swapping disks quickly and effectively
3) Because of the blacklists they have, protections don't allow you to use legitimate programs like AnyDVD, IdleDVD, Alcohol, Daemon tools etc. For example, Safedisc crashes if IdleDVD is installed and StarForce is known to affect the normal operation of Nero
4) Protections like StarForce install system drivers in order to work. These drivers affect normal system operation by intercepting system calls and altering them. Starforce installs 6 drivers to work (!!!) and has been reported to damage optical drives
5) The drivers that these protections install run with SYSTEM priviledges (that's more priviledges than administrators have, and they obtain those priviledges because they're drivers), which means they can do anything they want to your system. Some of these drivers (e.g. Starforce) have been known to have security holes in them, allowing malicious users to take over your PC remotely. Plus, you are not allowed to install games if your Windows account doesn't have administrative rights (because these protections want to install their drivers)
6) The checks that these protections make take time. Starforce takes ages (up to 2 minutes) just to verify that the disc inserted in the drive is oriignal. Can you wait for that check every time that you want to play a game? What if a game crashes often with a certain system configuration or is poorly written? How many times can you endure the delay that CD protections add to the beginning of the game?
7) Because of the anti-piracy measures they have, protections can affect the performance of games. The constant on-the fly decryption of Starforce for example affects normal game performance, as it decrypts parts of the original executable each time from disc
8) Certain protections (e.g. Starforce) don't allow you to use trainers because they don't allow the memory that the game reserves to be altered
9) Companies fail to mention in the game's EULA that they want to install drivers on your system which will affect its normal operation. Those drivers are installed without you knowing, which makes the whole game protection scheme a bit of shady in the eyes of the law
10) Many companies have chosen to remove game protections from their games in newer patches because of the many problems that legitimate users report. I can remember Neverwinter nights, for example, which used Safedisc and then it was removed in a subsequent patch because of the numerous number of complaints received from users.
11) Protections harm legitimate businesses like net cafes. Imagine having users that want to play a protected game over LAN. As a business, would you give them your original CDs without worrying about scratches and/or theft? Plus, it requires more money and space to watch over who uses your original game CDs and when
I could keep going about why people like no-cd cracks, but I believe you get the idea... search these forums for more answers
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