DAMN CD CHECKS! - Help needed: Advice on CD Image programs

[jonnyGURU]

These games that have CD checks drive me up the wall!

I feel so "dirty" when I go looking for CD cracks, despite the fact is that I paid for these games but it's a pain in the rear to put the stupid CD in the drive whenever I want to play DESPITE doing a full install! :|

Why don't they make it so when you REGISTER the game online, the COMPANY THAT MADE THE GAME gives you a code to enter that gets rid of the CD Check.

How's that sound?

 

[Killbat]

Which game are we talking about?

 

[Tripleshot]

Definately one of my pet peaves in computing!! I need the disk for HL and Opposing Farce and Sims. What are you pissed at?

 

[ViRGE]

Like it may cost the game industry a few $.

 

[JellyBaby]

CD checks are annoying. I have a feeling the situation will only get worse, too Companies are beginning to require software registration (look at what M$ is doing/planning with Windows and Office). At some point, some company...probably M$...is going to require registration for every title they sell. And I can see a day when you'll need to connect to an M$ validation server to prove you own a license, otherwise the programs won't start. I plan to fight this trend tooth and nail and will not buy any product that has a system like that.

In the meantime, the consumer has CD "hack" executables to try and virtual CD images to name some options. But a day will come when both aren't enough to defeat the evil corporate greedos.

 

[Killbat]

I love the Unreal series. After a certain point, the newest official game patches have removed CD checks from Unreal, Na Pali, and now UT!

 

[jonnyGURU]

I have an idea. This may be common knowledge, but what if you used one of those CD Image programs and copy the whole CD over to the hard drive (I wanted to get a larger drive anyway). Then, do a MINIMAL install so you're not taking up TWICE the hard drive space than you have to.

For those of you that have done this:

Does this really defeat the CD check?

and...

If you do the minimal install, is the game still fast because the data that is left on the CD is actually on the hard drive and hard drives are significantly faster than CD ROM drives?

and...

Does every CD image take up 650 MB of hard drive space as an image wether or not the actual CD is full?

and...

Is there a Freeware CD image program that, at the very least, I could test drive the concept? I know that IWill boards used to come with a copy of an image program, but my work doesn't have any IWill boards I could bogart the CD out of.

Thanks in advance!

BTW: The games I'm currently playing that want CDs are Q3A (of course), Beetle Buggin, all of my Hasbro games (Life, Battleship, etc.), and of course Starship Titanic which is a real pain since it's 3 CDs! :Q

 

[Czar]

jonnyGURU

A friend of mine has this setup, has about 10 cd's on his hd. To bad I cant remember the program he used, think it was Virtual Drive, anyway he just puts the cd in makes a new image (think it takes just the amount of mb as the data takes), then he just loads up whatever image he wants. Very neat, I would do it but my space is full allready. And no CD checks with this

 

[jonnyGURU]

Hmm..... I'll have to try it.

Anyone do this first hand, though?

Roller Coaster Tycoon is another one.

 

[jonnyGURU]

Still looking!

Haven't found anything that works well in 98.

Found one that LOOKS nice, but only works in NT.

Dammit!

Come on people. I'm sure SOMEONE has a program like this out there and can give me some pointers.

 

[vi edit]

look here

 

[jonnyGURU]

Well...

You can't complain taht I didn't use the SEARCH function because that post went up AFTER mine!