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StarForce leaves garbage on your system
#113240
11/30/03 11:33 PM
11/30/03 11:33 PM
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 40,644
southeast USA
Jenny100
OP
GB Reviewer Glitches Moderator
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OP
GB Reviewer Glitches Moderator
Sonic Boomer
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 40,644
southeast USA
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For anyone who has played Black Mirror (and probably other games that use StarForce copy "protection") - The game install installs StarForce drivers on your computer. Uninstalling the game does not remove these drivers and they may conflict with other software. Of special interest is this part
Bugs or problems:
Black Mirror uses a copy protection system provided by StarForce. On Windows98SE, I encountered two severe problems, both of them related to some device drivers that were installed by the StarForce copy protection software:
Uninstalling the game does NOT remove the StarForce drivers; this is completely unacceptable behaviour. I have complained to Dreamcatcher and demanded that they provide me with facilities to remove the drivers. Dreamcatcher has since sent me a program called "sfclean.exe" that appears to remove them.
The StarForce device drivers conflicted with the device drivers for my USB memory drive, and caused my machine to crash (BSOD) whenever I plugged in my memory drive. This problem has not yet been resolved by Dreamcatcher.
Contact Dreamcatcher if you have uninstalled your game, and find any of these files remaining on your disk: prosync1.vxd, prosync1.sys, sfhlp01.sys, prohlp02.sys, prodrv06.sys
Last edited by looney4labs; 06/25/07 11:59 AM. Reason: remove broken link
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Re: StarForce leaves garbage on your system
#113241
12/01/03 07:14 AM
12/01/03 07:14 AM
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 205
florida
ErnestineZ
Settled Boomer
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Settled Boomer
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 205
florida
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Does anyone know whether Quarterdeck's CleanSweep works on XP? If it did, it might fix this. Symantic also has a "clean sweep" program but I don't know anything about it. Anyone out there know about any software that cleans up on uninstall?
Salty
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Re: StarForce leaves garbage on your system
#113243
12/01/03 07:59 AM
12/01/03 07:59 AM
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 904
Philly
kwbridge
Settled Boomer
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Settled Boomer
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 904
Philly
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I just emailed them - the files are on my machine - and asked for a fix to the problem. I also told them that it is unacceptable that an uninstall would leave files behind and that I would not purchase any more of there games until they corrected this problem.
Kim
(Anti) Social Development
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Re: StarForce leaves garbage on your system
#113244
12/01/03 08:43 AM
12/01/03 08:43 AM
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 7,764
Kentwood, Left my heart in New...
JohnBoy
BAAG Specialist
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BAAG Specialist
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 7,764
Kentwood, Left my heart in New...
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Kim, I will do the same. The files are also on my computer.
I Baag, Therefore I Am. Update: I Don't Baag Anymore, Therefore I Ain't! Update: I'm baaging again but just a little.
JohnBoy
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Re: StarForce leaves garbage on your system
#113245
12/01/03 09:14 AM
12/01/03 09:14 AM
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Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 46
mississauga ontario canada
james laurie
Shy Boomer
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Shy Boomer
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 46
mississauga ontario canada
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Thanks for the info.
First does this affect xp also?
If so,how do I fine these drivers in my pc?
I'm running xphome edition.
Thx for any help.
Jimmy
jim laurie
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Re: StarForce leaves garbage on your system
#113246
12/01/03 09:31 AM
12/01/03 09:31 AM
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 7,764
Kentwood, Left my heart in New...
JohnBoy
BAAG Specialist
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BAAG Specialist
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 7,764
Kentwood, Left my heart in New...
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Jimmy, Go to start and click on search for files and folders and type in the file name.
I Baag, Therefore I Am. Update: I Don't Baag Anymore, Therefore I Ain't! Update: I'm baaging again but just a little.
JohnBoy
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Re: StarForce leaves garbage on your system
#113247
12/01/03 10:22 AM
12/01/03 10:22 AM
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 334
the Netherlands
Betje
Settled Boomer
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Settled Boomer
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 334
the Netherlands
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Does anybody have an email address for me to email Dreamcatcher? I can only find an on-line form. TIA.
The beaded curtain slams shut behind you. There's no turning back now...
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Re: StarForce leaves garbage on your system
#113250
12/01/03 10:41 AM
12/01/03 10:41 AM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 7,858
North Florida
BillyBob
BAAG Specialist
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BAAG Specialist
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 7,858
North Florida
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I use Win98SE and have those files on my computer, but not the game (anymore). So far, I have not noticed any problems with my computer that might be associated with the Starforce Protection. Still, I don't like having them on here. Do I HAVE to get that "cleanup" file from Dreamcatcher or can I just eliminate those files from my computer that are mentioned in the article?
I didn't do it......and if I did I'm not guilty!
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Re: StarForce leaves garbage on your system
#113251
12/01/03 11:09 AM
12/01/03 11:09 AM
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,947
Land of 10,000 Lakes
MrLipid
Addicted Boomer
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Addicted Boomer
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,947
Land of 10,000 Lakes
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Originally posted by BillyBob:
Do I HAVE to get that "cleanup" file from Dreamcatcher or can I just eliminate those files from my computer that are mentioned in the article? Probably depends on whether or not StarForce drops something into the Registry. If it does and the drivers have been removed, there could be a problem. Usenet reports suggest that sfclean.exe appears to restore a system to its pre-StarForce state.
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Re: StarForce leaves garbage on your system
#113252
12/01/03 11:29 AM
12/01/03 11:29 AM
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 904
Philly
kwbridge
Settled Boomer
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Settled Boomer
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 904
Philly
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If we all email them and tell them we are going to boycott their games until they correct problems with copy protection maybe we can cause a change for the better.
Copy protection irks me - it is causing problems for legitimate owners of the game. Also, I believe that people who pirate games are not going to then buy the game if they can't get a copy of it - they don't plan on EVER purchasing the game. I bought a music cd recently with some sort of copy protection on it and I can't play it on my computer at all - it will only work in my cd player. Since I purchased this cd I should be able to play in wherever I want to.
End of rant ...
Oh - does anyone know if the copy protection on BS3 leaves files behind too? As far as I can tell it isn't Starforce ...
Kim
(Anti) Social Development
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Re: StarForce leaves garbage on your system
#113254
12/01/03 01:07 PM
12/01/03 01:07 PM
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 1,800
Ardsley, New York
Llewton
Addicted Boomer
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Addicted Boomer
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 1,800
Ardsley, New York
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I use Windows 98 SE. I have 3 Starforce 3 games currently on my computer in various stages of play (Runaway, Broken Sword 3 and finished Black Mirror) and have not had a single problem since they were installed.
If the world didn't suck would we all fall off
Now playing Post Mortem, Midnight Nowhere and Still Life
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Re: StarForce leaves garbage on your system
#113257
12/01/03 01:31 PM
12/01/03 01:31 PM
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 904
Philly
kwbridge
Settled Boomer
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Settled Boomer
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 904
Philly
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I filled out this form ... http://www.adventurecompanygames.com/tac/forms/tech_support.html It is been my experience that it will be a good 5 days before I hear back from them. I don't think the issue is so much whether the leftover files are affecting our computers in a negative way as it is that an uninstall does not remove all files. My computer is working fine but I don't want extra Starforce files left behind on my system.
(Anti) Social Development
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Re: StarForce leaves garbage on your system
#113258
12/01/03 01:35 PM
12/01/03 01:35 PM
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,947
Land of 10,000 Lakes
MrLipid
Addicted Boomer
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Addicted Boomer
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,947
Land of 10,000 Lakes
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Originally posted by Salar of Myst:
Is the utility Dreamcatcher offered just for 98se or is it good for other OSes? That's not clear. It may only be for Win98SE.
I guess I could just copy each file name listed into "search" and delete it manually, yes?
Maybe. Maybe not. It appears that the files are referenced in the Registry as part of the StarForce Protection Environment. Not clear what effect deleting just the file might have.
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Re: StarForce leaves garbage on your system
#113259
12/01/03 01:36 PM
12/01/03 01:36 PM
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 1,800
Ardsley, New York
Llewton
Addicted Boomer
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Addicted Boomer
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 1,800
Ardsley, New York
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If you are currently playing another Starforce 3 game (ex. Runaway, BS 3) do not delete anything yet as it would probably affect those games. Even though Runaway doesn't have the keycode/serial it is still a Starforce 3 game.
If the world didn't suck would we all fall off
Now playing Post Mortem, Midnight Nowhere and Still Life
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Re: StarForce leaves garbage on your system
#113262
12/01/03 03:13 PM
12/01/03 03:13 PM
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 7,764
Kentwood, Left my heart in New...
JohnBoy
BAAG Specialist
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BAAG Specialist
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 7,764
Kentwood, Left my heart in New...
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I agree with you 100 percent Jenny. Amen!
I Baag, Therefore I Am. Update: I Don't Baag Anymore, Therefore I Ain't! Update: I'm baaging again but just a little.
JohnBoy
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Re: StarForce leaves garbage on your system
#113263
12/01/03 03:29 PM
12/01/03 03:29 PM
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Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 694
Stockholm, Sweden
Lagavulin
Settled Boomer
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Settled Boomer
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 694
Stockholm, Sweden
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 I am not a 100 % sure that Starforce really does this at least not always. I played and un installed In Memoriam, which also is protected by Starforce. The files mentioned above were never installed, in this case any way. (I Use Win XP) Cheers
ON:Ether One Redux
Recent:Stasis,Gabriel Knight3(RP),Gabriel Knight2(RP),Barrow Hill D P,Syberia2(RP),Secret Files P C,Inner World,Eyes Of Ara
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