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Old 02-06-2006, 11:18 AM   #81
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I remember when I was 10 or so years old, I went to a convenient store with a few friends, and the storekeeper accused us of being shoplifters and made us empty our pockets.
Of course we didn't steal anything, so there was no real harm done, but we were insulted as hell nonetheless.
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Old 02-06-2006, 03:45 PM   #82
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Anyone have an answer to my question posted earlier? Can someone point me in the right direction? I'm worried my drive is going to die little by little each time I use it now.
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Old 02-06-2006, 04:00 PM   #83
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You're fine... the removal tool works.
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Old 02-06-2006, 04:37 PM   #84
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jayel
I remember when I was 10 or so years old, I went to a convenient store with a few friends, and the storekeeper accused us of being shoplifters and made us empty our pockets.
Of course we didn't steal anything, so there was no real harm done, but we were insulted as hell nonetheless.
Well said.

EDIT: Wait a second... who's who, in that parable? You're StarForce and the shopkeeper is the angry fans who accused StarForce of shoplifting even though they didn't, right?
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Old 02-06-2006, 06:57 PM   #85
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fov
Well said.

EDIT: Wait a second... who's who, in that parable? You're StarForce and the shopkeeper is the angry fans who accused StarForce of shoplifting even though they didn't, right?
It's no parable. I just felt like spewing out a random passage from the book of my life.
But I guess your interpretation makes sense too!
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Old 02-06-2006, 08:04 PM   #86
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Well my DVD-RAM drive has now stopped reading DVDs as well, rather annoying since it means I have to re-install all kinds of software and games (which read from that drive). I've read some forum post with users experiencing similair issues, not all of them reliable, but most seem to be genuine. Unbelievable how SF is actually gathering popularity with publishers
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Old 02-07-2006, 04:26 AM   #87
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Starforce has never caused me any hardware problems (yet), true, but the fact that it replaces my authentic factory drivers with theirs is enough to avoid them like the plague!

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Old 02-07-2006, 06:35 PM   #88
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So I just recent bought The Black Mirror, which has Starforce. After reading this thread I'm afraid to play it. I'm totally not tech savvy, so can I solicit some advice on whether I'm just being paranoid, or if there are some real issues that I need to be concerned about?
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Old 02-07-2006, 07:07 PM   #89
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Quote:
Originally Posted by natalia
So I just recent bought The Black Mirror, which has Starforce. After reading this thread I'm afraid to play it. I'm totally not tech savvy, so can I solicit some advice on whether I'm just being paranoid, or if there are some real issues that I need to be concerned about?
I'd say play the game as fast as you can, then uninstall it and use the starforce driver removal tool (google it) to get rid of the drivers . It'd be a shame not to play the game, but then again, it's a shame SF killed my DVD-RAM drive

I'm boycotting SF games from now on, no matter how good they might be.
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Old 02-07-2006, 07:22 PM   #90
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jjacob
I'd say play the game as fast as you can, then uninstall it and use the starforce driver removal tool (google it) to get rid of the drivers . It'd be a shame not to play the game, but then again, it's a shame SF killed my DVD-RAM drive

I'm boycotting SF games from now on, no matter how good they might be.
Thanks for the advice!
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Old 02-07-2006, 08:41 PM   #91
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Just play the game. You'll be fine.
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Old 02-07-2006, 08:46 PM   #92
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fov


Just play the game. You'll be fine.
That's what I thought when I started playing SC:CT, so excuse me for being a bit angry at Starforce
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Old 02-07-2006, 09:50 PM   #93
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My DVD drive died a few weeks ago, did I blame Starforce? No, it was old and a "gift" from my sister...

I've had tons of Starforce games with that DVD drive, if Starforce killed it, it sure tooks it's time...

Lots of non-tech savy people are blamming every little problem they have on Starforce...

When that Sony incident happened, how long did it take for people to prove it was true?

How many years has Starforce been around? And yet NOBODY can really prove it was Starforce who killed their PC?

Frankly I don't know if Starforce is evil or not, but I'm not going to stop buying a game just because it has it or get rid of it as soon as possible "just in case"...
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Old 02-07-2006, 09:50 PM   #94
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jjacob
That's what I thought when I started playing SC:CT, so excuse me for being a bit angry at Starforce
How do you know Starforce had anything to do with it?

I'm genuinely curious. There are a lot of things that can make a drive stop working (including the drive's age, as Tanukitsune pointed out), so I wonder how people who install lots of stuff on their machines to begin with can be so convinced that Starforce is the culprit. Please, someone, enlighten me.
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Old 02-07-2006, 10:34 PM   #95
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Well I'll just say this....I own quite a few (very good) games that have starforce attached to them. I don't like it, but since Starforce has not ever given me any bad effects I simply just ignore it. Games like Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory are worth it in my eyes.

Also....I would rather endure this crummy driver than to endure the DRM that is Steam. At least with starforce I do not need to be connected to the internet, and with the fall of the company/server my game will still work as it should.

Just my two cents.
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Old 02-07-2006, 10:38 PM   #96
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I only asked for advice because two people on this thread mentioned having problems they believe to be related to installing Starforce protected games. I believe Jackal mentioned that the company admitted problems with previous builds.

Like I said, I'm not tech savvy, so does that mean there could be problems with older games, if so which ones? I tried going to the Starforce web site to find any info, and came back empty handed.

I've done a google search and saw a multitude of pages dedicated to problems installing Black Mirror because of the copy protection system, including a lengthy one at these forums. Those installation problems seem to have a solution, so that doesn't worry me as much as the possibility the copy protection may cause my DVD/CD writers to blow up.

Frankly, going to Starforce's web site did nothing to mitigate my concerns. The press release I read was extremely unprofessional, filled with typos and spelling errors -- not at all confidence inspiring (which in the world of public relations is critical). They dismissed all complaints out of hand at the opening of the release as rumors. Is this the case? Are the, admittedly small, number of DVD/CD writer problem cases mentioned in the earlier post about Ubisoft legitimate? Starforce doesn't address this at their web site.

So, anyway, my point is I don't want to go off of anecdotes in either direction ('I've never had a problem with Starforce games' or 'I've heard that so many people have had a problem with Starforce games'). I'll probably just wait to play it untill I can find more concrete answers.
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Old 02-07-2006, 10:46 PM   #97
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Well, I installed and uninstalled Black Mirror over a year ago and my computer didn't blow up. As well as a number of other games that have Starforce. I have a 4+ year old machine and frankly, with all the crap I put on it, I'm amazed it still runs as well as it does.

I'm not trying to minimize your concerns. I just don't think that "I had this problem with Starforce" stories have much merit. Any problems that do exist are not reproducable. It's not like every person who installs a particular game has a particular problem as a result. Honestly, I wouldn't worry about it. Install the game, play it, and enjoy it... it's extremely unlikely anything bad is going to happen.

You take a chance when you install ANY software. A game with Starforce on it is no more likely to muck up your computer than any other game. Really.
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Old 02-07-2006, 10:59 PM   #98
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fov
Well, I installed and uninstalled Black Mirror over a year ago and my computer didn't blow up. As well as a number of other games that have Starforce on it. I have a 4+ year old machine and frankly, with all the crap I put on it, I'm amazed it still runs as well as it does.

I'm not trying to minimize your concerns. I just don't think that "I had this problem with Starforce" stories have much merit. Any problems that do exist are not reproducable. It's not like every person who installs a particular game has a particular problem as a result. Honestly, I wouldn't worry about it. Install the game, play it, and enjoy it... it's extremely unlikely anything bad is going to happen. (You take a chance when you install ANY software. A game with Starforce on it is no more likely to muck up your computer than any other game. Really.)
I understand what you're saying, emily (and man, I definitely respect how much effort you put into that thread I read about people having problems installing the game). And I know that I'm being irrational and will probably play the game at some point since Road to India is boring me right now. I'm just trying to do due diligence for my hubby since the computer is his baby.

On a somewhat tangential side note, I just wish all of this stuff were more user friendly. I briefly read some marketing research aimed at computer and technology companies. Basically, these companies have to start making their systems easier to use in order to capitalize on the literally billions of dollars that are going untapped because people can't cut through all the techy fog to play a game or print a digital picture, etc...

Anyway, I'm rambling now because I'm suffering from a 'bout of insomnia and just wish I could get some sleep.
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Old 02-07-2006, 11:03 PM   #99
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Quote:
Originally Posted by natalia
I'm just trying to do due diligence for my hubby since the computer is his baby.
I got a blue screen recently while trying to defrag my computer and my boyfriend made a snide remark about how if I didn't install so many things on it, I wouldn't have had that problem. (He's not a gamer. )

To which I responded, "You realize my computer is about to turn four, right? And it still runs pretty well, in spite of the fact that I install and uninstall and reinstall at least 5-10 programs on it a month?"

He had no choice but to admit that it's served me pretty well, considering.

EDIT: As for technical problems -- I don't know specifically which thread you're referring to, but keep in mind that A LOT of tech requests are made by people who are not running legal copies of the game, and fail to mention that fact. Please don't take tech requests as an indication of a game's stability.
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Old 02-07-2006, 11:07 PM   #100
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fov
I got a blue screen recently while trying to defrag my computer and my boyfriend made a snide remark about how if I didn't install so many things on it, I wouldn't have had that problem. (He's not a gamer. )

To which I responded, "You realize my computer is about to turn four, right? And it still runs pretty well, in spite of the fact that I install and uninstall and reinstall at least 5-10 programs on it a month?"

He had no choice but to admit that it's served me pretty well, considering.
Heh. Now that you mention it, my husband is a gamer, so if anything happens to the computer, well, who's to say it wasn't something he installed, hm...

Regarding tech requests: It was a thread back in 2004 I think. I've actually been lucky so far with a lot of other games that I've read people had problems installing. I'm just a worrywort by nature, hm... which could explain the frequent bouts of insomnia.
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