VISTA INSTALL, will my "fixed" games still work?

I swear I've seen this before... and while I'm at it, why are you admitting to cracking games?

Actually, technically it is illegal. The act of bypassing a copy protection scheme (like using a NoCD patch) is illegal under Digital Millenium Copyright Act.

Now I'm not saying its 'morally' wrong--to each their own. I find CD checks absurb (especially when you need a unique CD key to play a game online anway....).

As for Vista working with 'cracked' games. Since everything is *new* I think you'll have to find that answer for yourself.

Stealing games is lame...real lame.

Save up the $40-$50 and buy the game.

The funny thing is that most advance burning software automatically bypasses the copy protection...

Let me preface this all by saying that I don't agree with these copy protection schemes. Ignorance of the law is not an excuse. Therefore, saying that active/passive breaking of copy infringement determines your guilt is kind of moot.

It depends on the game - reg settings can help, but a lot of games stick files in weird place, usually Application Data in your Documents and Settings folder...

When I was running Vista beta I did get Medieval War II and Call of Duty 2 to run off my games drive without installing them. Whether they are cracked or not shouldn't make a difference. Daemon Tools works fine in Vista so if you make images of your CDs to avoid having to change CDs for each game, that should be fine too. Battlefield 2 refused to run though.

It is a little known fact most programs work without installing them (running them off some other installation).

look, what are you going to do- if i walk around and find a PC game laying on the street next to a circuit city am i going to pick it up and take it home, or bring it in to the store to return. more than likely they would think i stole it in the first place and was looking for a reward.

point being-- were all going to be dead shortly, so i dont think we should get worked up over breaking paper laws that don't mean anything to the common man. there are many, many laws and it would be quite difficult to follow all of them.

the incentive to purchase a game is because you need to anyway if you want to play online. otherwise, if you find a game on your HD, you shouldnt have a problem playing it, testing it out. besides you cant return open software anyway, so good luck renting to try it first.

Your arguments make no sense.

Find a full version game on the street? Much different from going into the store and shoplifting a game. Downloading cracked games is not causally "finding" a game lying around - you are actively searching to steal the game.

Paper laws? Last time I check there is a VERY real cost to software companies of pirating.

Difficult to follow the laws? LOL - yeah those warez sites keep forcing themselves upon you.

Good luck renting? Most PC games have free DEMOS.

Finding games on your HD? Yeah, it's funny how random cracked games just pop up onto hard drives... the game fairy must have brought them during the night.

yes ok i am a theif. i dont care. what i am saying is that perhaps you are a theif too and do not know it.

and actually- a game will only last a long time and maintain its popularity through the online part of it. sure, a game might be good for a few months, such as doom3 as an example. but that game is a joke now. great, so the graphics were cool and the single player was alrite, but its finished already. and no one is playing hl2 for the single player. the online component makes or breaks todays games. face it. why do you think counter strike and WoW and other MMORPGs are becoming so big. because everything is internet. and you need a legit key to play.

heres a situation for you. you work at a retail shop. theres a bunch of hardware and software in front of you. your boss is an idiot and doesnt deserve any money that hes making. there is an oppurtunity for you to collect some of his merchandise and keep it for yourself on a regular basis. no one will find out. sure its illegal but whats the difference. you need to decide for yourself what is legal and illegal and follow that, not what a government that doesnt know you says. of course, this is only to a certain extent, so dont interpret that as go live in anarchy.

great post.. keep up the good work

true dat

You get even funnier. The Govt doesn't completely( If at all really) what is legal or illegal. That's made by people, and people with certain moral convictions. Stealing is one of those universal things most people can agree upon. I don't need uncle same or the EU to tell me that downloading a video game that I paid nothing for and have to run a little crack program to actually use it, is illegal. I have a basic moral compass that tells me that suchs things are wrong.

Stealing from an idiot shop keeper is OK, because he wont know his stuff is missing ? Again, personal integerity stops most people. Of course, it's people like you that sours the rest of the world

i dont believe it's personal integrity as most people lack that. it is more likely due to fear. most things people do are dictated by fear, and ill leave you with a quote from final fantasy vii-

"Rufus: That's right. I'll let you hear my new appointment speech. …Old man tried to control the world with money. It seems to have been working. The population thought that Shinra would protect them. Work at Shinra, get your pay. If a terrorist attacks, the Shinra army will help you. It looks perfect on the outside. But, I do things differently. I'll control the world with fear. It takes too much to do it like my old man. A little fear will control the minds of the common people. There's no reason to waste money on them"
(copyright- squaresoft).

From an economic perspective.

Stealing is rampant when the costs of a good is above people's willingness to pay. Games are far too expensive.

Since right and wrong are generally a subjective issue anyway, and game piracy is rampant, it stands to reason that the general consensus is that, albeit against the law, game piracy is not "wrong".

On the issue of cracks, they're not illegal in many countries. I use them despite owning the game because it's easier. Many games are starting to include cracks with the (Dawn of War).