Why?

[Rynai]

Just a simple little question. Why would you need a no-cd hack, unless you got the game illegally? In which case I simply say S.O.Y.
Any valid reason like you're sibling wants to play the same game on a different computer is understandable, because that's just plain annoying.

[thebluegr]

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

[Joe Forster/STA]

Very-very nice essay, gotta include (some of) it in the FAQ!

[temp]

Yes and i bet all i own the thread started uses warez also, everyone that knows a little about pc and WWW does, but they are just not allowed to talk about it here, your a idiot for not even knowing legit reasons for no/cds and not reading the FAQ's

[Joe Forster/STA]

It's still nice to have such information collected to a local documentation! This way, people don't have to search around the web, just read the local docs...

[Grumpy]

Yes I personally think 'thebluegr' did an exceptional job at writing that.

[thebluegr]

Thanks a lot guys You're welcome to add all this info to the FAQ and if possible, add my username in some place in the FAQ too

[joeypesci]

You should add GTA Vice City to that and Rockstar. The copy protection for this game was coursing lots of people to have delays and stutter in the game. In the end Rockstar caved in and suggested to its users they just use a NO-CD Crack as the amount of legiment copies of the game that were being returned was ruining their sales.

[Rynai]

I see, and next time I think I will search the forums before asking something like that. Never know, it might lead me to a little bit of even more interesting information.

[acal3000]

Originally Posted by joeypesci

You should add GTA Vice City to that and Rockstar. The copy protection for this game was coursing lots of people to have delays and stutter in the game. In the end Rockstar caved in and suggested to its users they just use a NO-CD Crack as the amount of legiment copies of the game that were being returned was ruining their sales.

Now that you mention that I never could get that game to launch with the original disk I had to use the no cd crack

[thedrtim]

Originally Posted by Rynai

Just a simple little question. Why would you need a no-cd hack, unless you got the game illegally? In which case I simply say S.O.Y.
Any valid reason like you're sibling wants to play the same game on a different computer is understandable, because that's just plain annoying.

i use fixes because a lot of the time the stupid originals wont work in my drives. how ironic that buying the original is actually the most sure fire ways of guaranteeing the stupid game wont work!!!