Re: Possibly the most copy protected Apple program I've seen

["Jplcsch" <jplcsch@wanadoo.fr>]

May be I'm wrong but the method is not a perfect way to crack the program.
Demuffin 'll be better
If  I've undertand you pull the programms with FID from the custom disk to a
DOS 3.3 ok but are you sure that this custom DOS don't have a flip flop to
read a second catalog track under an other format ? or even read one or more
specific sectors with bypass the catalog process ? FID pull only what it
found on catalog track and it seems that's not enough.
It seems very strange but what I'm sure is that's impossible to have a disk
uncrackable.


"Jayson Smith" <nospamratguyspambegone@nospamplease.bellsouth.ihatespam.net>
wrote in message news:Mik6d.60527$as2.22448@bignews3.bellsouth.net...
> Ok, maybe you aren't understanding.  I was able to crack the program,
using
> the method described in my first post, that of waiting until the custom
DOS
> was looking for the catalog track then quickly switching that disk for one
> that ran FID.  I could then copy the files from the program disk.  The
only
> problem I have seems to be the result of a bad disk, clear and simple.
> In all likelyhood the disk would not be imagable using ADT under a
standard
> DOS, but would be under its own DOS.  The trick is that with no access to
> Applesoft, whatever you want to run has to be run, either directly or
> indirectly, from the hello program on the standard disk.  Actually this
> wasn't a problem for me as I've got a disk set up so that the hello
program
> loads the Textalker software for the Echo card, then runs a file called
> autoexec if it exists.  That way I could just put whatever I wanted in the
> autoexec then delete it when no longer needed, and never have to mess with
> the hello program.
> Jayson.
>
> "Jplcsch" <jplcsch@wanadoo.fr> wrote in message
> news:4159c021$0$21149$8fcfb975@news.wanadoo.fr...
> > First : Could you send an image under .dsk format even if the disk don't
> > work ?
> >
> > Second :
> > It's possible that your original  disk'll be uncopiable (prolok
protection
> > for example) but it's impossible that the disk'll be uncrackable. Prolok
> is
> > the worst protection I know, it's an alteration of the magnetic area but
> > it's crackable.
> >
> > |Third
> > The others protection are a control between sectors. Look if you see
some
> > instrcutions like
> > LDA C08C,X
> > BMI xxx
> > Or look for a nibble count.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > "Jayson Smith"
> <nospamratguyspambegone@nospamplease.bellsouth.ihatespam.net>
> > wrote in message news:Gwi6d.60001$as2.56812@bignews3.bellsouth.net...
> > > Hi,
> > > Just thought I'd share my experiences with a very heavily copy
protected
> > > software and see if anybody has any thoughts as to what's really going
> on
> > > under the hood.  Unless there's interest, I'll not name the actual
> > program,
> > > especially since I have successfully cracked it but for an
unrecoverable
> > > disk error on my only copy of the program.  I'll just say that it is a
> > > program designed to be used with the Echo speech synthesizer card.
> > > The weird thing about this program is that normal DOS 3.3 can't read
the
> > > disk.  But, the custom DOS on the disk *can* read normal DOS 3.3
disks.
> > > This is actually important for one part of the program in question.
> > > Now, for some clever tricks this custom DOS has up its sleeve.  First
of
> > > all, hitting a reset causes about a half second delay (maybe it's
> erasing
> > > something in memory?) then a reboot.  That's probably pretty normal.
> But
> > > what's stranger is that when the program exits, or even if there's an
> > error
> > > loading the program, and you're left sitting at the Applesoft prompt,
> any
> > > command typed, or even just a blank line, will net the same result.  A
> > > slight delay, then a reboot!  So you can't load/list/save/etc.
> > > The way I cracked this is quite interesting.  I had a normal DOS disk
> set
> > up
> > > to run FID at startup.  Now remember that this custom DOS can read and
> > write
> > > normal DOS disks as well.  So I booted up the custom DOS, then just as
> the
> > > head was traveling to track seventeen so DOS could read the catalog
> track,
> > I
> > > yank open the drive door, pull out the disk then quickly, while the
head
> > is
> > > recalibrating after not being able to read from an open drive, put in
> the
> > > normal FID disk and close the door!  Voila!  Now Fid's running and I
can
> > > just copy the files to a standard DOS disk.
> > > Upon further examination, I found that the actual Applesoft programs
> also
> > > have a few tricks up their sleeves.  First of all, as each program
> starts
> > it
> > > messes up the reset vector so reset causes a reboot.  Also, should any
> > > program terminate in error, it clears itself from memory, so a 'list'
> gets
> > > you nothing!
> > > Jayson
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
>
>