GTL DVD without Starforce???

[wide2tele]

Gotta ask this as it's bugged me for years. I have GT Legends on a legitimate DVD I purchased. It does not have Starforce.
Everything I have ever found online says the DVD versions all had Starforce. I'm just curious if anyone has any information as mine definitely does not.

 

[Bjarne Hansen]

Curious if the GTL.exe is a NoCd version ( No DVD in your case ) or you have to have the disk in the drive?
There are the ~ 2008 NoCd and the Steam GTL.exe out there maybe you got a 3th one?

 

[wide2tele]

Curious if the GTL.exe is a NoCd version ( No DVD in your case ) or you have to have the disk in the drive?
There are the ~ 2008 NoCd and the Steam GTL.exe out there maybe you got a 3th one?

Didn't want to say anything about the crack publicly, not sure what the rules are here.
I am going to do a re-install of GT Legends. It is possible after the initial install the DVD may have had Starforce. I'm so used to doing the install and then immediately applying the crack maybe I never noticed Starforce was there as the crack removes it.
This is possible so I will confirm what happens once and for all as soon as I get a chance to do an install.
The install certainly is quiet and doesn't inform you Starforce is being put on your system I can tell you that much. I can also tell you I've had no issues whatsoever with the DVD or game at any time, Starforce or no Starforce. To be honest, I never had issues with Starforce even when we were all using Starforce games.

 

[David Wright]

Didn't want to say anything about the crack publicly, not sure what the rules are here.
I am going to do a re-install of GT Legends. It is possible after the initial install the DVD may have had Starforce. I'm so used to doing the install and then immediately applying the crack maybe I never noticed Starforce was there as the crack removes it.
This is possible so I will confirm what happens once and for all as soon as I get a chance to do an install.
The install certainly is quiet and doesn't inform you Starforce is being put on your system I can tell you that much. I can also tell you I've had no issues whatsoever with the DVD or game at any time, Starforce or no Starforce. To be honest, I never had issues with Starforce even when we were all using Starforce games.

I wouldn't bother. While I too had no problems with Starforce back in the Win XP days, by all accounts it does not react well to more recent versions of Windows.

The cracked version had some dodgy sound files when it first came out. Not sure if they updated it. The best solution IMO is to use your on-line code to get a free Steam version. Or just stick with your current install.

 

[Ole Marius Myrvold]

Wasnt/Isnt Starforce the thing that makes modern windows not start?

 

[wide2tele]

Wasnt/Isnt Starforce the thing that makes modern windows not start?

There are horror stories galore regarding Starforce, always have been, but there are also many horror PC users as well so no guarantee what you read is reliable.
If I have Starforce I will soon be able to tell you that is clearly a myth. lol

 

[wide2tele]

Wasnt/Isnt Starforce the thing that makes modern windows not start?

Oh, even if it's true as long as you immediately apply the crack before a reboot you will be fine as that is what I would've always done. I'll post back confirmation of everything as soon as I can.

 

[wide2tele]

I wouldn't bother. While I too had no problems with Starforce back in the Win XP days, by all accounts it does not react well to more recent versions of Windows.

The cracked version had some dodgy sound files when it first came out. Not sure if they updated it. The best solution IMO is to use your on-line code to get a free Steam version. Or just stick with your current install.

I'm not a fan of Steam and avoid Steam games when possible as some games with Steam versions can have problems. I think even if Starforce is there as long as you remove it with the crack there are no issues. Never had any sound issues or issues of any other kind using the DVD/crack combo. I will still stick with the DVD regardless.

 

[Ole Marius Myrvold]

Oh, even if it's true as long as you immediately apply the crack before a reboot you will be fine as that is what I would've always done. I'll post back confirmation of everything as soon as I can.

Maybe it doesn't apply to Win 10 then. But I remember with Win 7, if you had Starforce installed, it doesn't matter how much you cracked games, as Starforce itself was installed on your PC, and you would never be able to boot it again until you installed a clean Windows.
Which is why SimBin gave download links to Starforce-free version of their games if you could prove you owned a legit copy.

 

[wide2tele]

Maybe it doesn't apply to Win 10 then. But I remember with Win 7, if you had Starforce installed, it doesn't matter how much you cracked games, as Starforce itself was installed on your PC, and you would never be able to boot it again until you installed a clean Windows.
Which is why SimBin gave download links to Starforce-free version of their games if you could prove you owned a legit copy.

Doesn't apply to Win 7 either because I had it on Win 7 for years. Have Win 10 Pro now.

 

[wide2tele]

David's post has sparked my interest about sound issues with the crack. I remember I've read mention but can't recall what the problems were. I'll try and find some answers but I've never come across any issues.

 

[wide2tele]

In seconds I am finding sound issues with the Steam version! lol

 

[wide2tele]

Here's a forum post of interest I came across just now:

"Unfortunately, StarForce doesn't want to support it's own protection system. It says on their website, that versions before 3 are not compatible, and never will be with Windows 7. I have bought a legit copy of GT Legends, and couldn't use it, because of the stupid StarForce drivers. I got fed up, and downloaded a cracked EXE with no protection, I installed the game, cracked it, and happily playing it on Windows 7. That's a big flip-off, from me, to StarForce, with love. Jerks. "

 

[wide2tele]

Finally, here is the link to the full thread I quoted from above with people on Win 7 trying to run Starforce games. No tales of terror regarding PC's being destroyed. Their games just don't work.

Star Force Protection driver patch - Windows 7 Help Forums

Hi, Again got a problem. The other day when I installed 'Blazing Angels' into my laptop with Win 7 an error massage comes as ' Star Force Protection driver is not compatible without a p

www.sevenforums.com

 

[Ole Marius Myrvold]

Finally, here is the link to the full thread I quoted from above with people on Win 7 trying to run Starforce games. No tales of terror regarding PC's being destroyed. Their games just don't work.

First, you are allowed to use the "edit" button! Also, I went by the fact that SimBin offered the games without Starforce due to booting issues.
I am not saying it's not possible, however, I am saying that I wouldn't do it at all. I've ended up having to reinstall Windows myself, as it wouldn't even go in to the boot menu or safe mode after installing GTL.
There are ways to get rid of it, but you would need to do so before rebooting to be on the safer side. And of course use the unofficial uninstaller, as the official on doesn't actually remove the sys-files that causes the issues on the starforce versions that's on these old games.
I have always, and will keep recommending that people stay away from installing starforce, it's not worth the risk.

That, and threads like:
[RD] GT Legends and Starforce protection
After installing game (GTL) with starforce protection PC won't boot
Windows 7 doesn't start after installing a game with StarForce protection
(Note: Blue screen solved, now I need to figure out why no win 10 apps work) After updating and restarting, my computer kept going to a blue 0xc0000225 (blue screen was due to Starforce)
Windows 10 corrupt boot file sfvfs02.sys
Windows 7: Unsigned Starforce Drivers problem with startup
Star-Force Starforce copy protection almost ruined my hard drive
Okay, so Starforce is evil… but, kill the OS completely?!
My computer won't start!!!
ToCA Race Driver 2 - how to get it running on Win7, Win8, Win8.1 without breaking your PC!
Windows 8 will not boot after installing TOCA Race Driver 3

 

[GTR233]

the 2008 nocd uses mp3 sounds so you can hear cracking sound noise or whistling during gameplay.
the first versions of starforce removal tool did not delete registry entries but the latest official version removes all. Moreover they have updated their driver for vista so GTL DVD can work as is under XP/Vista.
this website is old but you can find more info on how to remove starforce for modern OS such as win7/8/10 :

Boycott Starforce

I think microsoft has released a fix recently to prevent users to install starforce nowadays because I installed gtl dvd on win8 few months ago and I totally forgot starforce : after reboot my pc displayed a message like "driver not installed because your system is not compatible"

 

[wide2tele]

First, you are allowed to use the "edit" button!

Haha, sorry. I'll take a look at all those posts you linked.

the 2008 nocd uses mp3 sounds so you can hear cracking sound noise or whistling during gameplay.

I'll have to load up GTL and check. I've never heard any of what you have mentioned that I know of. I usually run my race games with the volume quite high too. I'll check it out.

 

[wide2tele]

Resolved!

I get a DNF and GTR233 finishes first place on the podium.

I did a new install of GTL and yes, the DVD does install Starforce. As mentioned, I never even noticed because I immediately after an install would apply the crack which does remove all the Starforce dll's.

Sooo...I've decided I will continue with the DVD. I've used it across 3 different systems. (Win 7 x2 / Win 10 x1)
Had no problems whatsoever. I need to check sound but I'm certain there will be no issues there. I'm thinking it's likely something that affected some systems but not others. I will check it anyhow.

To be safe, the only thing I will always make certain is to apply the crack immediately after install before a reboot.

Quite a long thread to get to this conclusion but hey, I finally know what is going on now so I'm happy! lol

If anyone else uses their DVD, post here if you have any issues.

 

[GTR233]

you know you can have multiple gtl installs to make comparisons : make a new gtl install with your dvd (delete gtl registry key first otherwise the dvd installer won't display install option) in c:\GTL10AP (WITHOUT YOUR NOCD) then extract all GTL 10th Anniversary PATCH files in c:\GTL10AP and click on PATCH_FOR_DVD_VERSION.BAT, now use a headset and compare lotus cortina engine sound with your nocd version
Indeed, 2008 nocd uncompresses mp3 lossy sounds to overwrite wav files protected by starforce whereas 10th AP uses great quality DucFreak's sounds

 

[David Wright]

Initially the cracked version sound files resulted in short gaps in the engine sounds. Someone else fixed the gaps and the fixed sound files were available from a different source to the crack.

Getting somewhat off the topic, but the post quoted above about Starforce not supporting their product is not actually correct. Starforce could not supply updated drivers that would actually work with GT Legends and later versions of Windows. The copy protection is so integrated with the exe file, it would have required 10tacle to publish a new exe file.

 

[wide2tele]

Ok, thanks guys. I'll take a closer look at the sounds.