No-CD patch from scratch

[FamousJS]

I was just wonderin if anyone knew how to make a no-cd patch / crack

[Joe Forster/STA]

Read tutorials. However, you'll need at least half a decade to learn to be able defeat today's commercial copy protections. So, I guess, that's it.

[acal3000]

Don't bother it's very hard

[LeMooski]

with some goodwill it's not an overcoming problem...

Besides, some good tutorials need some updating: http://www.crackstore.com/

not a single tutorial is available anymore... I'm already so far that I can find the corresponding dll's in my ASM, but now I need to know how to alter them...

hex editor maybe?

[TippeX]

dlls in your asm? huh?...

hexeditor is for editing the binary files to apply changes...

and the information on that site is damned old, things have moved on a fair bit from then.... firstly you need to remove the protection (if the game is protected), then you need to find cdchecks (and others) and figure out how to remove them safely, and without messing up the stack.. you also nowadays have to pay attention to dep..

i still can't figure out what you're on about with 'dlls in asm'..

to make alterations, you find the code you changed in memory, note it down, open the binary in a hexeditor (a good one with va->offset calculating would be an idea), and apply the patch... its not really that difficult if you're using the right tools...

[LeMooski]

One second,

I'll show you an example:

http://img352.imageshack.us/img352/223/76334756yz9.jpg

Here you can see that some stuff from the ntdll is pushed on the stack. I ran into this several time.

I can't find a sollution yet for the Tages Basic protection.

[TippeX]

ntdll is NOT pushed on the stack

a pointer to the string '[Heap Handle != NULL]' is pushed
and then DbgPrint is called, printing debug strings to debug output...

i think you're well out of your league here..

if not, then why the hell are you debugging nt api's....?
the protection isn't in ntdll....

i'd suggest you try simpler targets and then work your way up to tages... you're definately showing signs of being lost and guessing (and being wrong...)...

that, and you're tracing effectively a call to ExitProcess.... or didn't you figure that out?

[LeMooski]

I might be out of my league, definately, but I'm searching for a way, not having to wait for 6 months for the right version to come out for my game on GCW. I just want to make a contribution. Next to this, I hope this can be an experience in which I can pick up some usefull things on asm, hex editing.

About that stack, sry if I expressed myself wrong, but indeed a pointer is pushed.

I know I'll have to look for the winapi's for driver security issues. My post was perhaps a bit too quick (instead of looking a proper example, forgive me).

Tools I have:
- ClonyXXL
- Ollydbg
- HexProbe Hex editor
- Pen & Paper

Just need to be put on track as a sort of speak...

[caki]

www.tuts4you.com

That's where the journey begins for most reversers these days. I recommend you check out the video tutorials by lena151. They will take you from nothing to something in a week, all you have to do is pay attention and follow along.

[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...

[LeMooski]

Thanks for the help, it is appreciated... Will get in touch soon again...

it is ok to use this thread to post my findings?

[caki]

Sure...

@mods: better move this to game coders.

[TippeX]

so it is written, so shall it be done

[DABhand]

Its trying to "run before you learn to walk" btw Tip :P

[TippeX]

heh shit, good point...
my reversing logic bit me in the ass there