No CD crack
A No-CD-Crack or No-DVD-Crack is a crack that switches off the copy protection check for optical storage media . These cracks are almost always tailored to the specific program version and language and do not work with other versions or other language editions of the software.
As the prefix No-CD suggests, not only is the copy protection query switched off, but any access to the CD is prevented. With some programs, this also leads to restrictions because optional data cannot be loaded. B. the speech output or the background music may be missing. Graphics errors or maintenance problems can also arise. In most cases, however, a manual supplied with the No-CD-Crack describes which folders must be copied from the DVD in order to avoid such problems.
In practice, a no-CD crack is usually an executable file that is copied instead of the original file and the program starts. These files are completely identical to the original, the only thing missing is the test query when starting the program.
Reasons for use
Apart from the piracy plugged for legal owners of the cracked software often one of the following reasons behind the use of this crack:
Extending the life of optical drives
Due to their mechanics, copy protection tests often cause loud and possibly also unusual working noises when accessing files on the optical drive . In addition, when the DVD or CD rotates and the read head moves, the current load in the power supply unit or battery of the computer increases significantly.
Consequently, it is argued that these accesses, which are actually unnecessary for the respective game, at least mechanically damage the drive and that the NoCD crack increases the service life of the drive and reduces the current load.
Time saving
There is no need to change CDs or DVDs to start other programs. The user saves time. In addition, the loading times due to no-CD cracks are sometimes considerably reduced due to the long access times of optical drives.
Incompatibilities
In some cases, the copy protection is not compatible with the hardware or other software of the owner. Reaching the manufacturer of the program or the copy protection can take days and the contact can even be charged, due to the variety of software and hardware configurations, they can often not be of any help. Downloading and installing a crack, however, only takes a few minutes and is usually free of charge.
Under certain circumstances, the upgrade to a more modern operating system only results in incompatibility: The Heavy Metal FAKK2 game, originally developed for Windows 95 , Windows 98 and Windows NT , ends with only one when it is started under the successor to Windows XP obscure error message, ultimately caused by the way in which it handles the hardware access to check the copy protection. Since the latest patch does not solve the problem and the manufacturer has long since stopped supporting the program, a no-CD crack is the only way to start the game under Windows XP in this case .
Illegal reproduction
No-CD cracks are also used to distribute black copies of the software, so the CD is simply copied without copy protection or a backup of the installed game is redistributed. Systems that work with special copies of the CD or DVD and simulate an optical drive are now used more frequently , which means that a normal data carrier with working copy protection is simulated and cracks specially tailored to the software are unnecessary.
Creation
No-CD cracks are mostly developed using disassemblers and hex editors , which require extensive knowledge of assembler . During development, the assembler code contained in the executable file is reproduced and changed, so nothing new is programmed. The most common way of bypassing CD verification is to jump to the first instruction after verification before it is checked. Carrying out the change in itself only requires basic knowledge in dealing with hex editors, whereas determining the positions for the jump instruction and the jump destination requires complex reverse engineering . Experienced crackers often succeed in completely removing the copy protection from the executable file, so that in the end it can be less than a tenth of the original size and still be fully functional.
Another way to create no-CD cracks is to build the game's executable file into a small virtual machine that makes the game pretend it is an existing CD. This will make the executable file larger than the original and, at least when playing games, there will be a noticeable drop in performance. Such no-CD cracks are relatively easy to program and are therefore usually available very early on. In the scene, however, they are less popular, mainly because of the loss of performance.
There is also the possibility of so-called mini images. Only the required data on the original CD is copied into a CD image file (for example an ISO image ), which is then activated with CD / DVD emulation software. Such a mini-image is usually only a few megabytes in size.
Legal position
According to German and Austrian copyright law, it is forbidden to circumvent “effective technical” copy protection measures or to create or distribute programs that are designed to circumvent this. However, this rule does not apply to computer programs; there is decompilation explicitly allowed by legal owners under certain circumstances to achieve the interoperability of the software.
