Re: Cracks/De-protects

[Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net>]

TWS writes ...
> 
> I am the owner of several original apple IIgs games on 3.5 disk
> 
> I would like to be able to run these games from my hard drive, without
> having to fool with floppies.
> 
> I tried the hard.drive.install program, but I could not figure out how
> to use it, even with the instructions translated to plain english.
> 
> Is there an article/webpage/program/source of cracks/deprotects for IIgs
> programs?
> How about someone that reads this group that has knowledge of this
> subject?
> 
> I am not a pirate.  Pirated games tend to be cracked/deprotected so they
> can be distributed.

     There are several reasons for deprotecting old software which have
nothing to do with software piracy. A very good one is that so much
protected software tends to go bad fairly easily. Many old games have
been cracked and at least partially deprotected so that they can be
archived and preserved. This makes out of print software available to
Apple II users and to users of on-PC and on-Mac emulators. 



> I want to take my ORIGINAL copies, and make them
> easily runnable on my IIgs.

     Deprotection usually involves creating a separate copy. Doing mods
directly to an original is, often, not possible and, in any case, never
recommended. Protections can vary by release date and version. It is too
easy to mess up an original. 

     The chief source for deprotection information is the approximately
100 issues of Computist. If you do not own this collection, you may be
able to purchase one on comp.sys.apple2.marketplace .

     Some popular cracks have been placed on various ftp sites. Check
the new Asimov-GS archive at ...

ftp://apple:applesite@obsessed.ml.org/d%3A/apple/Misc.Text.and%20Docs/Deprotects/


 
> Call me lazy.  I don't like to search through 500+ 3.5" disks for the
> right one, when all of the data is already on my hard drive.

     For sure, being able to run programs from hard disk is a major
convenience. There are no guarantees that you will be able to get all of
your stuff to run from hard disk-- just incompatibilities with System
6.0.1 is a significant barrier. Even so, you are likely to succeed with
some products and, at least, end up with copiable on-diskette backups of
many others. Good luck!



Rubywand