Hacking Starforce 3 with BIOS

[RKR]

This only works for Motherboards with VIA chipset. (I’m serious, don’t even try this on other MB).

Original review in original language HERE.

WARNING: WCPREDIT is a very powerful tool witch edits BIOS in HEX language and allows almost anything. This means there is one hundred and one ways to KILL YOUR HARDWARE. So do this at your own risk. If something doesn’t go as it’s written in the review, don’t do this.

The way how Starforce 3 works:

1. First it detects all the IDE controllers and obtains the ID numbers from windows database.
2. Connects to those IDs (in bios mode) to check the CD/DVD media. (Daemon virtual drives are virtual SCSI drives and don’t belong to any controller, that’s way it’s so hard to hack it.)

The main idea of this is the availability of dual identification numbers and ability to change them. What we are going to do is put a bug in BIOS. We will give two different IDs to the same IDE port. Starforce will get the ID Windows uses, ant try to connect to the same ID in BIOS mode, and it will fail here. Good thing that after a failed connection it thinks that there are no IDE ports and starts the game.

Liked it? Now give a second thought and only go further if you know what you will be doing. Because the show begins:

1. First download the software needed HERE or HERE.

2. Extract the files and start the wcpredit.exe, then press CTRL+D and select the IDE port your CDs/DVDs are connected to. You should see something like this:



3. Take a look at the Device ID number. This should read something like 0571 (number varies depending on MB), and the same number but in other order should be found in the 03-02 and D3-D2 sections. If these numbers don’t show up, this trick won’t work for you.

4. If everything is OK, then let’s go further. Press the D2 section (71)/ press edit/ the number in HEX section/ and type in the new number (add +1; if you had 71, then type 72). Then press save. Agree that you really know what you are doing.

5. If your computer didn’t explode, then you can mount the image in Daemon tools and start the game. If even the game works, then you can write down these numbers: PCI bus, Device, Function and the new number you typed in (data). (register is D2)

6. Now turn off wcpredit and start instDD.exe It installs the wcprset. After reboot start WCPRset.exe then press add and fill in the numbers you have (don’t mistype them!!!) and press OK, check “start” and OK again. Now restart the computer again and pray for the game to work.

This works great for TOCA 3, but GTR: FIA GT doesn’t.

If you try this please write if it worked and write what games it worked with.

Sorry for all my Anglish.

[Joe Forster/STA]

If I understand it correctly, this doesn't change the BIOS (software), "only" the current computer configuration.

In that case, if I'm not mistaken, you can recover your PC, if you manage to mess up something, by switching it off, enabling the "clear CMOS" jumper on the motherboard (see the manual), switching the PC on for a few seconds/minutes, switching it off, and disabling the jumper. Please, confirm.

However, I don't quite understand what the BIOS has to do with all this. I thought that - along with HAL.DLL etc. - Windows loads in its native IDE driver and doesn't use the BIOS for IDE access anymore. This is kind of proven by the fact that disabling the IDE controller in the BIOS does not fool (newer versions of) Starforce. Also, another fact that Starforce cannot re-activate disabled IDE devices on nForce chipset proves that - at some point(s) - Starforce actually accesses IDE devices directly via the IDE controller.

I also don't understand what all those instances of 0x0571 are (there are four of them on the picture!). I would've assumed that only one of them is the device identifier and the others are backups/mirrors/placeholders/whatever.

No, I don't have a VIA-chipset motherboard but, if I had one, I would first want to understand what this is all about before actually trying it...!

[RKR]

1. This only changes the BIOS that is loaded to RAM. No info is stored to MB, all the changes are made during the win boot (that's why wcprset is needed). But still, that HEX code contains all the info all HW (CPU, RAM, everything...) is controlled, so you can easily burn your RAM. Some people rewrite memory controling sofware here.

2. The IDE is not disconnected in bios, just it's ID is changed. And yes windows don't use the BIOS to excess the IDE, but SF does. And the non-working ID doesn't allow SF to acces that IDE directly.

3. The IDs: the first squere on the top is the device ID rewriten from the second red squere. The lowest red squere is the ID which SF (and other non-win) software uses.

4. If you want to know everything read the original review

[Joe Forster/STA]

Thanks for the explanations!

[Zulu]

At least with my CMD 0649RAID Controller this method is history with SF 3.7.16 (Spellforce 2 and Blazing Angels after first patch) Also tried modified drivers, no go

DTM/Race Driver 3 and Blazing Angels 1.0 working (RMPS copies)

[LoedD]

I just tried it and works perfectly.

Games tested so far:

Race driver 3
POP 3
TM Sunrise
TM Original
Worms 4 Mayhem
King Kong
Bet on Soldier

SCCT doesn't work!

[daniel_pt]

Originally Posted by RKR

6. Now turn off wcpredit and start instDD.exe It installs the wcprset. After reboot start WCPRset.exe then press add and fill in the numbers you have (don’t mistype them!!!) and press OK, check “start” and OK again. Now restart the computer again and pray for the game to work.

I don't quite understand this part... what numbers are those? and where do I check them?

well, I still dunno what those numbers are, but even so I tried to start toca3 and it passed the cd check.

now, it only CTD loading the tracks!!

[RKR]

These are the numbers from wcpredit discussed in part 5.

[Lumaan]

Works with L.A Rush

[alibaba126]

I get the following screen
http://img109.imagevenue.com/img.php...31307_wprc.JPG
Is there anything i can fix here, or do I've the wrong MB
I've this MB http://www.giga-byte.nl/Support/Moth...me=8S651MP-RZC
Thnx
Ali

[RKR]

You have SIS chipset. It is still possible to hack starforce, but this requeres other methods. You will have to read the full russian review (SiS section).

[magister123]

I have a via chipset mb and did all you said and even had the same numbers...71...changed it to 72, installed, rebooted....inserted the numbers and nothing...same ol same ol...

[magister123]

GUYS

if you did all that and it didnt work...like it didnt work for me, try this...

I went to torrentspy cuz i was really desperate and downloaded a torrent with
racedriver3 mds and some crack...but...i just replaced the image with the one
that was in the torrent and voila just like that the game worked and i smiled and started writing this...

try it

[Muji-FightR]

You could as welll have visited copybase.ch and downloaded a proper mds file, which is (in contrast to what you did) totally legal...
Think about it

[Smiffy29]

just came across this thread,couldnt get toca3 to work,
using an asus A7V8X-X,via KT400a chipset and im amazed
changed both registers as u said using wpcredit and............

now playing through TOCA3!!!
beers are on me!!!!

G

thxs 1000X