No CD cracks for games, legal or not?

[Schadenfroh]

Discuss

Assuming you own a legit copy of the game and only using it so you dont have to shuffle cds.

 

[quakefiend420]

as long as you own the game, i don't see any reason why it should be illegal...although i suppose it depends on the eula of each game

 

[mundane]

I'd guess illegal - techincally, you're modifying the content of the distributed software, which is probably against the license agreement. Ethically, I don't have a problem with it.

 

[neonerd]

Not sure if it's legal or not...I use them all the time. It's a pain to get the cd's out every time.

 

[Forsythe]

Originally posted by: diegoalcatraz
I'd guess illegal - techincally, you're modifying the content of the distributed software, which is probably against the license agreement. Ethically, I don't have a problem with it.

Think that's correct. However, something like Alcohol 120% is legal. And i use it all the time. There's a reason i have 400GB harddrive space.

 

[Bateluer]

I say legal, provided you own the legit version of the game. I use them a lot. I despise having to switch CDs, my system ahs 3 DVD ROM drives in it, but that wasn't enough.

 

[homercles337]

Originally posted by: neonerd
Not sure if it's legal or not...I use them all the time. It's a pain to get the cd's out every time.

Agreed. There should be some form of CD/DVD verification so you dont need the damn thing to play. I currently have about 6 games installed and my case has a facade which makes it more than a usual pain to change CD/DVDs.

 

[WT]

Gamers use these all the time, simply because they play more than one game on a weekly basis, and its annoying trying to dig thru a stack of CDs looking for the one you need. Unreal Tournament required the CD up until patch 4.32 I think, at which point Epic removed the CD check. I use them on every game I buy which is a verrrry low number, probably three games a year.

 

[sirjahmez]

No CD cracks are legal if you own the game and use it. Like others have said. It helps releive the hassles of trying to browse through packs of cds so you can play a game. As it prevents the cds from getting messed up. My old copy of Diablo 2 doesn't work anymore cause of all the scratches because of all the times I had to stick it in my cd-rom drive. Some of my newer games too are starting to sustain from heavy scratches cause some companies don't bother with cd cases, but instead use the cheap cardboard.

 

[Zugzwang152]

Originally posted by: sirjahmez
No CD cracks are legal if you own the game and use it. Like others have said. It helps releive the hassles of trying to browse through packs of cds so you can play a game. As it prevents the cds from getting messed up. My old copy of Diablo 2 doesn't work anymore cause of all the scratches because of all the times I had to stick it in my cd-rom drive. Some of my newer games too are starting to sustain from heavy scratches cause some companies don't bother with cd cases, but instead use the cheap cardboard.

this is not true, technically speaking.

the EULA says that modifying any of the files of the game is not allowed. No CD cracks take out the CD check in the main exe usually, hence it is modifying the code, hence against the EULA, hence illegal in the most technical of views.

that said, i doubt the game makers care as long as you've purchased a copy. much like i doubt microsoft cares that people make copies of Windows CD's, so long as they have appropriate licensing.

 

[kamper]

You should erase the poll and start over. One poll for illegal vs. legal and one poll for moral vs. immoral. I get the impression that most people that have voted for legal so far really mean moral.

 

[shortylickens]

There arent any LAWS which prevent you from using them.
Many EULA have statements saying they cant be used. But several courts have already ruled that EULA are not a legal contract.
You cant state any terms you like and have it be a legal document because someone clicked "YES".

You need to have verified signatures and witnesses.

I have an RPG book that says on the first page:
"No Part of this publication may be scanned, OCRed, or reproduced in any way."
Well, sorry guys but no dice. The law says I may back up ANY medium I have payed for. VHS, Beta, LaserDisc, DVD, CD, cassette, games, books, magazines, ROMS, whatever.
But, there are no laws saying they have to make it easy for me.
If they choose to use copy protections of various sorts (to stop or slow me down), thats their right.
Id is perfectly justified in scanning your system for Clone CD prior to installing Doom 3. They can set it up to not install the game if I dont get rid of any programs they dont like. And there isnt sh1t I can do except try to hack the installer.
Which is also legal. I would have to run the setup program in order to see the EULA and then I would have to agree to it for a normal installation.

But the copy of Doom 3 I bought is MINE. To do with as I see fit. However, I cannot sell the original or edited Doom 3. That would be making money off someone elses work, which is copyright infringement.
But so many corporations with expensive lawyers would like you to believe otherwise.
DONT LET THEM BRAINWASH YOU. They still have a great deal of politicians to bribe before we lose our rights completetly.
Oh and keygens are probably illegal. At using them.

End Of Rant.

P.S. I find some older win98 games wont run at all unless I use a hacked executable. Homeworld Cataclysm for one.

EDIT: I took so long another person made a post before me. Yes the EULA says many things. Even if it were a legal document, I would still have to run it and agree to it. Which isnt needed if I plan on hacking executables.

 

[tooltime]

if it's not it should be legal if you and you lan party friends all own a copy of the game, it sure makes it easier running a game on a lan. i'm also more likely to buy a game i saw at a lan party

 

[sandorski]

Legal

 

[Malak]

Originally posted by: sirjahmez
No CD cracks are legal if you own the game and use it. Like others have said. It helps releive the hassles of trying to browse through packs of cds so you can play a game. As it prevents the cds from getting messed up. My old copy of Diablo 2 doesn't work anymore cause of all the scratches because of all the times I had to stick it in my cd-rom drive. Some of my newer games too are starting to sustain from heavy scratches cause some companies don't bother with cd cases, but instead use the cheap cardboard.

It's illegal actually. It's against the law to bypass copy protection.

 

[kamper]

Originally posted by: shortylickens
Id is perfectly justified in scanning your system for Clone CD prior to installing Doom 3.

I liked what you were saying all up to that point. Regardless of legal issues, nobody has any business scanning what I have installed on my cd nor should they be allowed to deny me access to their software because I also happen to use other software. Of course software companies should be allowed to try to prevent piracy, but they should not do it by going on the offensive (by which I mean using means that are morally wrong).

 

[shortylickens]

You got a point. I should correct that.

Id would be justified IF they told you what they were doing ahead of time.
And maybe being more honest about it.
The first time I tried to install D3, it gave a short list of programs that could not be running in the backround for setup to continue.
CloneCD was NOT on the list and it doesnt have crap running in the backround.
I had to come here, AT, to find out it actually wanted me to uninstall CloneCD, which I didnt like at first. I installed D3 and then used the no disc hack and reinstalled CloneCD. No problems since.

So now that I've rethought my previous statement, its OK if they let you know ahead of time. Like on the retail box. So I can see it before I even buy. But that probably wont happen.

 

[kamper]

I still don't agree with you. Id should not require you to allow them to search your computer period. They should not try to stop you from running their software alongside other software unless there is a genuine technical reason why they can't coexist. Now if they want to search your computer and you let them, that's your issue; but it has to be voluntary.

 

[statik213]

Originally posted by: kamper
You should erase the poll and start over. One poll for illegal vs. legal and one poll for moral vs. immoral. I get the impression that most people that have voted for legal so far really mean moral.

agreed

 

[Malak]

Originally posted by: kamper
I still don't agree with you. Id should not require you to allow them to search your computer period. They should not try to stop you from running their software alongside other software unless there is a genuine technical reason why they can't coexist. Now if they want to search your computer and you let them, that's your issue; but it has to be voluntary.

Sacred scans and won't run the game if you have things like daemon tools running. That software is illegal in their native land.

 

[Snapster]

Originally posted by: Zugzwang152

Originally posted by: sirjahmez
No CD cracks are legal if you own the game and use it. Like others have said. It helps releive the hassles of trying to browse through packs of cds so you can play a game. As it prevents the cds from getting messed up. My old copy of Diablo 2 doesn't work anymore cause of all the scratches because of all the times I had to stick it in my cd-rom drive. Some of my newer games too are starting to sustain from heavy scratches cause some companies don't bother with cd cases, but instead use the cheap cardboard.

this is not true, technically speaking.

the EULA says that modifying any of the files of the game is not allowed. No CD cracks take out the CD check in the main exe usually, hence it is modifying the code, hence against the EULA, hence illegal in the most technical of views.

that said, i doubt the game makers care as long as you've purchased a copy. much like i doubt microsoft cares that people make copies of Windows CD's, so long as they have appropriate licensing.

Which is still my standpoint (continued from other thread)

 

[BFG10K]

It's illegal but I don't think it's immoral any more than say burning your own CDs to your HD. Fair use policy and all.

 

[skace]

It is not clear cut legal or illegal, but shortylickens mainly summed it up. No CD cracks are necessary for valid backups of media.

 

[Smilin]

whether this is legal or not might be open for debate.


What isn't open for debate is this:
It is illegal to install and run a game you don't own. This applies whether you use a no-cd crack or any other method.

I happen to own all the games I install and run. I also happen to use no-cd cracks to make my (rather large) collection bearable to use. Legal or not, I'm not going to lose any sleep over this.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: neonerd
Not sure if it's legal or not...I use them all the time. It's a pain to get the cd's out every time.

Agreed. You paid the publishers their money. You should be able to use it in your own home as you see fit. Just like my CD collection - I don't even know where most of the discs are. But all my songs are easily accessible, stored in FLAC format on my hard drive. And after I had an original program disc blow up in my DVD drive, I prefer to keep backups of discs stored on a hard drive too; just decompress the image file, and run the setup program. Granted, some setup programs will make sure they're being run from a disc - I'm sure there are programs out there to mount disc images, but I just pop a CD-RW in the drive and make a disc.