InsanelyMac Forum > StarForce on Vista

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~pcwiz

Mar 19 2008, 07:44 PM

Some games (even freeware ones like TrackMania Nations) install a copy protection software known as StarForce. StarForce is renound to be called malware and to make it worse, it crashes Vista, something that I experienced recently. After rebooting after installing the StarForce driver, Vista will not boot normally and it will give you a driver error. Luckily, it was a quick fix but here is how to destroy StarForce from your system:

Boot Vista in Safe Mode or Last Known Good Configuration if possible
Uninstall any games that are using StarForce completely
Download the StarForce uninstaller from here
Unzip the archive and run the executable inside
It will take a few moments and it will tell you to restart to complete uninstallation
Restart and StarForce should be gone from your system

However, if you are a user that MUST play a game that requires StarForce, do this:

Install whatever game that requires StarForce
DO NOT reboot if prompted
Download the StarForce Update Utility here
Run the executable to update your StarForce drivers
Restart computer and hope everything goes well!

I hope this helps people with StarForce on Vista

P.S. In relation to TrackMania, TrackMania Original, Sunrise, and Nations all install the StarForce driver. TrackMania United, the newest in the series, uses StarForce protection built into the executable, but it does not install StarForce drivers.

Meowy

Mar 19 2008, 07:59 PM

My Vista works fine after installing TMN.

~pcwiz

Mar 19 2008, 08:08 PM

I don't know, maybe a problem because I'm using Vista x64, but I can tell you that its not uncommon

http://www.tech2.com/india/news/pc-games/v...starforce/527/0
http://forum.nival.com/eng/showthread.php?t=29270

ExtremeTech confirms it:

QUOTE

Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
The latest stealth action thriller from Ubisoft doesn't work in Vista, but
it's probably not any fault of the application itself – it's the StarForce
copy protection. StarForce installs a low-level (ring 0) driver to access
your optical drive, and this driver has not been Vista certified. So
Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory asks you to reboot after installing, which you
do, and then upon reboot Vista informs you that it won't load the driver due
to "compatibility problems." The 32-bit version of Vista will allow unsigned
kernel-level drivers if installed from an account with admin privileges --
as ours was. We were unable to find any sort of workaround or Vista-ready
driver on the StarForce site.

What's worse, the StarForce driver will try (and fail) to load every time
you reboot, even if you uninstall the game, and the removal tool doesn't
work properly by default. It doesn't give you any indication that it didn't
work, however. You have to run it as an administrator by accessing the
Compatibility tab in the removal tool's Properties menu. Visually, it looks
like it's doing the same thing as when you don't run it as an admin, but it
will at least get StarForce off your system.

So yeah, its mostly with Vista x64, StarForce has Vista x64 drivers on their site that I don't care to try, because I have TrackMania United, which does not install the StarForce drivers (apparently the dev of the TrackMania series took the hint)

InorganicMatter

Mar 19 2008, 09:51 PM

Solution #2: download a modified ISO of the game that has Starforce ripped out.

~pcwiz

Mar 19 2008, 10:03 PM

Yes, that would work too. One with the drivers ripped out that has a custom setup program and a modified exe. Those would be easy to make, but they are hard to find...your best bet is instead of running the setup that comes with the app, create a new setup program (easy to do) that doesn't install StarForce and that installs a hacked NO CD/ NO DVD executable.

After all, if you own the game then theres nothing saying that you can't modify it and use it.

Beerkex'd

Sep 1 2009, 01:27 AM

A few years ago, a perfectly legit and store bought Starforce protected copy of TOCA Race Driver 2 permanently damaged my old DVD burner, it can't read or write CDs anymore. I've tried firmware upgrades and downgrades, using it with different OSes and computers, shock treatment, yelling at it, nothing works. DVDs work fine though. I'm never going near anything with Starforce in it again. Thankfully some titles are available on Steam in non-Star{censored}ed versions.

It's awkward to have to search for and use cracks for games that you've paid for. It sucks when there's a patch out and you can't install it because you have to wait until a new crack is out. But what sucks the most is when you can't play your original game online because you have to use a crack for it.

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