No-CD patch from scratch

[TippeX]

clonyxxl = dead, redundant.. bin it...

"I know I'll have to look for the winapi's for driver security issues"

makes no sense to me.. winapi's for driver security issues?

perhaps you mean driver access.. CreateFile -> DeviceIoControl is what you may be interested in.. but honestly, it looks like you're trying to run before you walk...
i'd suggest learning the api's getting your assembly knowledge up to scratch first, perhaps make some 'hello world' style programs in c or whatever, and debug them to get a feel of how everything works, and what the compiler does...

then, and only then move on to protections, perhaps working with OLDER versions first, safedisc 1/2, securom 5 and so on, then move on to tages / starforce / securom 7 etc as/when your skills increase... you'll achieve nothing but frustration by doing things they way you are currently...